Grade 1 Beginning Sounds word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Grade 1 Beginning Sounds word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this beginning sounds puzzle set for my 1st graders during our phonics unit. The kids knew some letter sounds but kept mixing up sounds like b and p or m and n, especially when they had to identify the first sound of a word. They needed extra practice connecting the sound to the letter. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using simple words where each word starts with a different consonant: B (cat), C (cat—oops, that's a C, so I made sure to use words that start with each of the most common consonants, like B: bear, bat; M: man, mat; P: pen, pig; T: top, ten; S: sun, six; D: dog, dig; F: fish, fan; G: girl, gum; H: hat, hop; J: jump, jet; K: kit, kiss; L: lip, leg; N: net, nut; R: rat, run; V: van, vest; W: wet, win; Y: yak, yes; Z: zip, zoo) . I also threw in a few like "quack" and "fox" to cover Q and X . Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the beginning sounds finally stick.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess or independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether "bear" and "bat" start with the same sound (they do — B). The crossword I use for partners or as a review, and I always have a set of picture cards nearby for the kids who need the visual support to see the picture and hear the sound . I added a couple simple bear, cat, and dog drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for K through 2nd grade, especially for kids who need that extra visual cue . Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one letter and draw a picture of something that starts with that sound on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.