When you were a baby you couldn't talk. But you could make sounds!

WWWAAA!

Lala!

You heard everyone talking all the time. Then one day...

I am Pele, the most famous soccer player of all time!

Before we knew it you were giving speeches!

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R, S, T, U, V, W,X,Y and Z, now I know my ABC's...

You can sing all 26 letters of the alphabet song? Don't forget to take a breath between L,M,N,O, and P.

The letters of the alphabet are used in combinations to make words. They make up the words in this book. Letters are symbols that represent sound. They are the smallest part of written words.

The smallest unit of sound in a spoken word is called a phoneme. They are the ninja's of language. Phonemes can be a letter or a combination of letters.

Say the word

What sounds did you hear? The letter C makes a sound and the letters a and t together (at) make a sound. These two combined make the sound of the word CAT.

Say

again, this time slowly, stopping as you hear a sound. Can you hear two word parts?

There are 44 phonemes in the English language that make up all the words that we say. Becoming aware of phonemes is fun for your ears!

Say these words that rhyme...

Rhyming is fun! Dr. Seuss was a great rhymer. Have you read the Cat in the Hat, or Oh, The Places You Will Go? I bet you can rhyme, too!

Which sounds rhyme with

the word Fun?

Can you say the words below? They rhyme with dug and jug?