# SOUND BEGINNINGS for Schools — Phonemic Awareness Games

> Interactive phonics games for developing early reading and alphabetic principle skills. (iPhone/iPad app by PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sound-beginnings-for-schools/id1155165852 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY](https://appshunter.io/developer/404048727)
- Category: Education, Games, Family
- Price: $1.99
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 39 App Store ratings
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 10.0 · 226 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-12-09
- Data updated: 2026-07-05
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sound-beginnings-for-schools/id1155165852/reviews.md

## What is SOUND BEGINNINGS for Schools?

SOUND BEGINNINGS helps build strong alphabetic principle skills. 
SOUND BEGINNINGS helps develop foundational reading skills through entertaining, interactive games.
* Twelve learning games provide practice in phonics and reading
* Identify the beginning, middle, or ending sound of a word
* Four Unique Games
*Learn the sounds of the letters and how to use them
Six learning games offer practice using the sounds, not the letters' names, and lowercase instead of uppercase letters at the beginning, middle, and end of words.
Feature Highlights:
SOUND BEGINNINGS includes six interactive games, where players match the correct letter/sound to the first, middle, or last sound of the word identifying a pictured object. The first three games, in order of increasing challenge, ask the child to select the correct letter/sound for the beginning, end, and middle of a word. For example, finding the first sound of a word, the following lowercase letters appear at the top of the screen, which is in landscape orientation: r, q, y, s, and j. By touching any letter, the user can hear aloud the sound that the letter makes. Beneath the letters is a photo of a rug and an empty box next to it. Touching the picture allows the player to hear the name of the object out loud. Players can touch the picture and each of the letters as many times as they like before dragging a letter down to the empty box. If they have chosen incorrectly, the game lets them try again without any break in the flow of gameplay.
This matching Letters to Pictures mode continues through the app's first three games. Using the example above, in the first game, players must select "r" as the beginning sound. In the second game, players would select the "g" as the ending sound. And in the third game, players would choose the "u" as the middle sound. Users, parents, and educators can vary the difficulty of each game by specifying three, four, or five-letter words. Additionally, rounds can be set for 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 matches each.
The last three games are identical to the first; except now, players match Pictures to Letters. For example, four photos are in a row across the top of the screen, including a: kangaroo, fish, ball, and plate. A large, lowercase letter "k" is below with an empty picture box next to it. In this example, players would select the kangaroo as the photo matching the first sound of the word. In the last two games, players must drag photos to match the end sound and the middle sound.
Created by a team of educators and experts in early childhood development and education, and tested with preschool children to ensure maximum fun and learning potential, SOUND BEGINNINGS features the outstanding user interface found in all Preschool University apps. The educational games offer entertainment and incentive and employ the most effective teaching methods.

## Key features

- Twelve learning games for phonics and reading practice
- Identify beginning, middle, and ending word sounds
- Match letters to pictures and pictures to letters
- Adjustable difficulty with word length and round settings
- Focus on lowercase letters and sound recognition
- Developed by early childhood education experts


## Frequently asked questions about SOUND BEGINNINGS for Schools

### What is the main learning focus of Sound Beginnings?

Sound Beginnings focuses on building strong alphabetic principle skills and developing foundational reading skills through phonemic awareness games. It helps children learn letter sounds and how to use them in words.

### How does Sound Beginnings teach phonics?

The app uses twelve interactive games where players identify and match letter sounds to the beginning, middle, or ending sounds of words pictured. It emphasizes learning sounds over letter names and uses lowercase letters.

### Can the difficulty of Sound Beginnings be adjusted?

Yes, users can vary the difficulty by specifying three, four, or five-letter words. Rounds can also be set for 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 matches each, allowing for tailored learning experiences.

### What devices is Sound Beginnings available on?

Sound Beginnings is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It is designed for iOS devices.

### What is the age rating for Sound Beginnings?

Sound Beginnings has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for preschoolers and young children beginning their reading journey.

### How often is Sound Beginnings updated?

The latest version, 2.5, was released on August 19, 2021. Updates typically occur to improve functionality and content based on user feedback and educational best practices.

### Does Sound Beginnings have ads?

No, Sound Beginnings does not contain advertisements. It is a paid app designed to provide an uninterrupted learning experience for children.

### What do users like about Sound Beginnings?

Users appreciate that Sound Beginnings was created by a team of educators and experts in early childhood development. Its engaging games and effective teaching methods are designed for maximum fun and learning potential.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.5 — 2021-08-19

Lessons and lesson tracking were added. Two games were replaced for clearer concept conveyance. More words were added.

If you like this app, please leave a review.
Reviews REALLY help.
Reviews are much APPRECIATED.

### 2.0 — 2021-08-18

Lessons and lesson tracking were added. Two games were replaced for better concept conveyance. More words were added.

If you like this app, please leave a review.
Reviews REALLY help.
Reviews are much APPRECIATED.

### 1.4 — 2020-06-28

Launch screen update. Fixing sidebar issues for greater compatibility with iPhone 10 iPhone 11.
If you like this app, please leave a review.
Reviews REALLY help.
Reviews are much APPRECIATED.

### 1.1 — 2017-05-23

Sound related crash fix

Review API addition

### 1.0 — 2016-12-09

No release notes.

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## More apps by PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY

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- [ABC SPELLING MAGIC](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc-spelling-magic/id429301553)

All apps by PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY: https://appshunter.io/developer/404048727

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-05.*