Kids who groan at a plain letter page will often finish one with a pumpkin on it. That is really the whole idea behind these Halloween beginning sounds worksheets. The practice is the same thing you would do any other week of the year, listening for the first sound in a word, but the pictures are bats, candy, spiders and a cat that looks a bit too pleased with itself.
There are seven pages in this set, and each one is its own PDF in both US Letter and A4. Everything is black and white, so printing costs almost nothing. You do not need to use all seven. Pick the one that fits where your child is right now.
Which Worksheet Should You Start With?
If your child is brand new to this, begin with Circle the Beginning Sound. The picture is right there and there are only three letters to pick from, so the only job is listening.
Match the Picture to the Letter comes next. It is the same skill, but now the child has to track a line across the page, which is a little harder than it looks for a four-year-old.
Which Picture Starts With…? flips things around. This time the letter is given and the child hunts for the picture. Some kids find this much harder, and that is normal. Going from sound to letter and from letter to sound are separate skills.
Write the First Letter is for children who can already form most letters. If writing is still shaky, skip it for now and come back in a few weeks.
Color the Pictures That Start With P is the quiet one. It is good for the end of a long day when nobody wants to think too hard, but it still makes them say every picture name out loud.
Cut and Paste Beginning Sounds takes the most time and needs scissors and glue. It is worth it for the sorting part, because the child has to decide for each picture which of the three letters it belongs under.
Halloween Beginning Sounds Review works well as a check at the end. Circle the letter, then write it in the box.
First Sound, Not Letter Name
The most common mix-up is letter name versus letter sound. Ask a child what a bat starts with and you may hear “bee.” That is the name of the letter, not the sound. We want /b/, a short sound with no extra vowel on the end. So not “buh,” just a quick /b/, like a tiny pop.
A simple way to practice is to say the word slowly and stretch the first part: “mmmmoon.” Then ask what sound you started with. Kids pick this up faster when the adult does it first and does it a few times.
Words used in this set: bat, candy, ghost, moon, pumpkin, spider, hat, cat, web, house and wand. All of them start with a clear sound. For candy and cat, the letter C makes the hard /k/ sound, so there is no soft C like in “city.”
Watch Out for Picture Names
This one catches almost everyone. A child looks at the picture and calls it something other than the word you had in mind, and then the answer looks wrong when it is not.
- The hat is a witch hat. A child may say “witch,” which starts with W.
- The candy might be called a “sweet” or a “treat.”
- The cat could easily be a “kitty.”
- The web may be “cobweb” or “spider web.”
- The moon is sometimes called a “crescent.”
Before a child starts a page, point to a few pictures and say the names together. It takes thirty seconds and it saves a lot of confusion later. If your child uses a different word, just tell them the word the page wants and move on.
Using These at Home
Ten minutes is plenty. Print one page, sit at the table, and do the first two rows together. Let your child do the rest on their own and check at the end.
If the page feels easy, you can ask for more. “Can you think of another word that starts with /m/?” works well in the car or at dinner. Moon, mom, milk, mouse. Anything goes.
If the page feels hard, stop after a few rows. Coming back tomorrow works better than pushing through, and nobody learns phonics while feeling frustrated.
Using These in the Classroom
These pages fit nicely into literacy centers, morning work and small-group phonics time. They also make easy sub plans, since the instructions are written on the page.
For centers, you could put out two or three different pages and let children pick. The cut and paste page works best as a teacher-supported activity, mostly because of the scissors.
If you teach mixed levels, the circle and match pages are good for children who are still building letter-sound knowledge. The write and review pages are better for those who are further along.
Printing Tips
Both sizes are included, so use US Letter for 8.5 × 11 inch paper and A4 for 210 × 297 mm paper. Choose “Fit to page” only if your printer clips the border. Otherwise print at 100%.
Black ink is all you need. If you want to use a page more than once, slide it into a plastic sleeve and use a dry-erase marker. That works for every page except cut and paste.
Quick Questions
What age are these for?
Mostly ages 3 to 6. Preschoolers can start with the circle and match pages, and kindergartners can handle the rest.
Is there an answer key?
Not at the moment. The pages are simple enough that most adults can check them at a glance.
Can I use them in my classroom?
Yes. The footer on every page says they are free for personal and classroom use. Please do not resell them or upload them somewhere else.
More Halloween Worksheets
If your child enjoyed this set, there are others in the Halloween collection. Halloween Counting Worksheets and Halloween Pattern Worksheets use the same pictures, so they feel familiar. You can find the whole group on the Halloween worksheets page.
Short practice, a few picture names said aloud and a pumpkin or two. That is really all it takes.
