Educating Edgar
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First Sounds
Which letter does the word start with? A free letter game for children aged 3 to 7.
What your child does
A simple picture appears, and the voice says the word, for example "Apple." Then it asks, "What letter does it start with?" Your child taps one of three or four letter bubbles. When they get it, the voice says "Apple starts with the letter A."
What it practises
- Hearing the first sound in a word and linking it to a letter.
- Letter name recognition.
- Words chosen so the first letter clearly matches how the word starts (no tricky words like knife or phone).
How to play
- Open Educating Edgar and tap First Sounds.
- Listen to the word (tap the picture to hear it again), then tap the letter it starts with.
- A different letter just wiggles, and the voice says the word again. There's no penalty.
- After 5 pictures, a star and praise finish the round. Next round there are 4 letters to choose from.
Age guide
Made for children of about 3 to 7: preschool or kindy, and the first year of school (Foundation: Kindergarten in NSW and the ACT, Prep in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, Reception in SA, Pre-primary in WA, Transition in the NT). Younger children may like to play with a grown-up nearby.
Good to know
- No reading needed: a friendly Australian voice says every instruction and letter name.
- No timers, lives or scores to lose. Wrong answers get a gentle wiggle or bounce and a chance to try again.
- Letter names only (for example "B"), not letter sounds (phonics).
- Letters are shown in Edu NSW ACT Foundation, a free font in the NSW and ACT Foundation handwriting style.
- The voice says the whole word and the letter's name; it never sounds letters out on their own.
- The pictures are drawn into the app, so it works offline. There are 28 pictures, from apple to yo-yo.
- Works on iPad, iPhone, Android and computers, and offline once it has loaded. Free for personal use.