Once a child can hear the first sound in a word, the next step is the last one: hat ends with /t/, sun ends with /n/. Ending sounds are harder to hear because we say them quickly, so these picture worksheets slow it down — say the word, stretch the end, and listen. Pick a letter and a worksheet type, then download a fresh PDF, free.
Each sheet above is free, one at a time. The bundle puts 126 worksheets for every sound skill before reading into one file, ready to print.
Two print-ready PDFs: the worksheet book (254 pages) and the sound games (38 pages), black and white. Instant download.
Step 1
Beginning soundsHear the first sound
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Ending soundsHear the last sound
Step 3
RhymingHear the word parts
Step 4
SyllablesClap the beats
Step 5
Short A wordsBlend cat, hat, map
Step 6
First books to read79 Level 1 mini-books, $14 for all. Each one is free to print.
See the whole order on the reading path.
Every picture was chosen by sound, not spelling: each one ends with the exact sound its letter makes. A silent e doesn’t count (cake ends with the K sound), and words ending in an r sound or a vowel sound are left out, because there’s no single letter a child could write for them. Pictures a child might call something else — a kitten that gets called “cat” — are left out too, since that changes the last sound. Each download mixes the pictures, so you can print as many different sheets as you need.
The ending sound (or final sound) is the last sound you hear when you say a word — /t/ in hat, /g/ in dog, /n/ in sun. Hearing it is part of phonemic awareness, and it's harder than hearing the first sound, because the end of a word goes by quickly.
Usually in kindergarten, after they can reliably hear beginning sounds. Being able to hear both the first and last sound in a word like cat is what makes sounding out CVC words possible.
We go by sound, not spelling. Kite does count — the e is silent, so it ends with the T sound. Car and star end in an r sound that isn't a single clean consonant for a young child, and words that end in a vowel sound (bee, tree) have no one letter to write, so they're left out.
Say the word slowly and stretch or tap the end: "ca-t", "su-nnn". Have the child say it too, then ask what sound they hear at the very end. Pictures that end in sounds you can hold (/m/, /n/, /s/, /l/) are easiest to start with.
Ending sounds are one sound at the end of a spoken word (/t/). Word families are a chunk of letters a child reads (-at in cat, hat, bat). Hearing ending sounds comes first; reading word families comes later, once a child knows letter sounds.
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