Free worksheets · Kindergarten
Letter Sounds A, M and S: Hold and Blend Worksheet
Hold /a/, /m/ and /s/ along each arrow, blend them in pairs and threes, then read am and Sam.
Free printable
Letter Sounds A, M and S: Hold and Blend
9 questions, one page, US Letter. Print it and do it on paper.
On the sheet: Put your finger at the start of the arrow. Say the sound all the way to the tip. Check the box when the line is done 3 times.
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About this worksheet
Three sounds to start. /a/ as in apple, with the mouth open wide. /m/ with the lips together, a hum. /s/ with the teeth close, a long hiss like a snake. It's a sound you can hold for as long as your breath lasts, which makes it a good one for learning to blend: held sounds run into each other with no gap.
An arrow under a letter is a sound to hold for as long as the arrow runs. The page holds each sound on its own, then two at a time, then three, and ends on real words: am and Sam. It's day 1 of the 100-day kindergarten phonics sequence BrightPage prints. It starts with three sounds because a, m and s are the fewest that make a word a child can read on the same day.
A worked example
Read Sam on the last line.
- Find Sam on the last line and put a finger at the first mark under it.
- Slide along the arrow, holding /sss/ without a break.
- Slide along the arrow, holding /a/ (as in apple) without a break.
- Keep sliding and hold /mmm/ to the end of the arrow.
- Say it again at talking speed: Sam.
Answer: Sam
The common mistake
What it looks like: Saying the letter names ("ay, em, ess") instead of the sounds.
Why it happens: The names are what children hear most, in the alphabet song and on toys.
How to fix it: Point to the picture on each card and say its first sound: /a/ for apple, /m/ for mom, /sss/ for snake. Names can wait; sounds are what make words.
Ten minutes a day, on paper. We plan what comes next.
A printed page and a pencil. No screen, no login for your child. Snap a photo when they’re done: AI scores it, and what they missed comes back on the sheets that follow.
- Mon Letter Sounds A, M and S: Hold and Blend
- Tue What they missed, back again
- Wed The next step, when they’re ready
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