First Sound, Last Sound, Middle Sound

🎯 What You'll Learn

You will learn to identify the first sound, last sound, and middle sound in short words.

🌟 Let's Start

You already know how to hear the beginning and ending sounds. Now let us also listen for the middle sound — the sound hiding in the middle of a word. In the word cat, the middle sound is /a/!

📚 New Concept

In a three-sound word, there is a first sound, a middle sound, and a last sound:

• mat: first = /m/, middle = /a/, last = /t/
• pig: first = /p/, middle = /i/, last = /g/
• cup: first = /k/, middle = /u/, last = /p/
• hen: first = /h/, middle = /e/, last = /n/
• dog: first = /d/, middle = /o/, last = /g/

The middle sound is usually a vowel sound: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, or /u/.

Listen carefully to middle sounds:

• Do cat and bat have the same middle sound? YES — both have /a/ in the middle.
• Do pin and pen have the same middle sound? NO — pin has /i/ and pen has /e/.

🎮 Let's Practice

1. What is the middle sound in bus?
2. What is the first, middle, and last sound in top?
3. Do run and fun have the same middle sound?

Click to see answers

1. The middle sound in bus is /u/.
2. top: first = /t/, middle = /o/, last = /p/.
3. YES — both run and fun have /u/ in the middle.

💡 Remember

Every short word has a first, middle, and last sound. The middle sound is usually a vowel — a, e, i, o, or u. Listen carefully to hear all three positions!