Teaching Phonics with a Fun SATPIN Letter Sound Activity for Preschoolers

Are you looking for a fun, educational fall activity for preschool? This SATPIN activity helps pre-k students work on beginning letter sound with fun autumn practice. Simply print the phonics activities for preschool and you are ready to play and learn as you work on learning letter sounds.

SATPIN activity

Teaching phonics doesn’t always have to involve flashcards and worksheets. In fact, one of the most effective ways to help kids learn their letter sounds is by using crafts. That’s why I’m sharing a fall-themed phonics craft that works wonders for teaching the SATPIN letter sounds. The idea is simple: five fall trees, each representing a different SATPIN sound, with leaves that the kids will sort based on the phonics images.

I’ve used this in my own class, and it’s such a hit! Kids get to cut, color, and paste while practicing their phonics. Plus, the fall theme makes it seasonally appropriate and visually engaging.

Fall activity for preschool

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How to Teach Phonics Sounds with Crafts

Using crafts to teach phonics is one of my favorite strategies. Kids naturally love working with their hands, and they don’t even realize they’re learning in the process. Crafts make abstract concepts—like phonics sounds—more concrete. Instead of simply hearing the sound, kids can now associate it with a visual (like a picture of a sun for /s/ or a tree for /t/). This method also works great for kids who learn best through movement and creativity.

When I first started using crafts to teach letter sounds, I noticed a big difference in how quickly my students grasped each sound. Suddenly, phonics wasn’t just something they heard—it became something they could see and touch. That hands-on approach really makes a difference.

Phonics activities for preschoolers

This fall-themed SATPIN activity is super easy to set up, and you don’t need a ton of supplies. Here’s a step-by-step guide to using this craft in your classroom or at home:

1. Download the Fall Tree Template First, download the free printable fall tree templates. There are five trees—one for each of the SATPIN letters. You can find the download below. Print out enough copies for each child.
2. Prepare the Phonics Images Cut out images that correspond with each of the SATPIN sounds. For example, for /s/ you could have a picture of a snake, for /t/ a tree, and so on. You can either print these images or use stickers if you want to save time. I always have a few extra sets ready, just in case someone loses a piece!
3. Color the Trees Let the kids color in their trees. This part is purely for fun, but I’ve found that it also helps them connect with the activity more. When kids can personalize their craft, they’re usually more engaged in the learning process.
4. Sorting the Phonics Images Now it’s time to work on sorting the images. The kids will glue each phonics image onto the correct tree, matching the sound of the image to the letter sound (e.g., a picture of the sun goes on the /s/ tree). This sorting step is where the magic happens—kids are actively thinking about the sounds and connecting them to the images.
5. Display Their Work Once everything is glued down, hang up the finished crafts! It not only looks great as a classroom decoration but also serves as a visual reminder of the letter sounds they’ve learned. Plus, kids love seeing their work displayed.

Letter Sounds Extension Activities

Looking to extend this activity and keep the learning going? Here are a few extra ideas:

1. Letter Sound Scavenger Hunt Hide phonics images around the classroom and have the kids find them. Once they find an image, they need to say which tree it belongs to (based on the sound) before gluing it on. This adds a little bit of movement to the activity, which I’ve found is great for those high-energy kiddos.
2. Sound Stretch After completing the craft, challenge the kids to think of more words that start with each SATPIN sound. For example, for /p/, they might come up with “pig” or “pen.” Write these down on the board, and see how long they can keep the list going!
3. Partner Match-Up Pair students up and have them work together. One student says a word aloud, and the other points to the correct tree that the word’s sound belongs to. It’s a fun way to reinforce the letter-sound connection and get some peer learning going.

Letter sound activities for preschoolers

Phonics can be tricky to teach, but crafts like this make it fun and accessible. The act of sorting and gluing down images that represent each sound helps solidify the connection between the sound and its corresponding letter. Plus, the fall theme keeps things engaging, and who doesn’t love a good seasonal craft?

In my experience, the more hands-on the learning, the better kids remember the concepts. By turning phonics into a game and a craft, you’re ensuring that they stay interested and invested in the lesson.

Fall Activities for Preschool

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• Printable Fall Number Game for Preschoolers or Number Tracing Fall Worksheets
• Fall Counting Cube Activity or Pumpkin Numbers 1-20 Worksheets

SATPIN Beginning Letter Sound Sort Printable

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>> Fall Leaf Letter Sound Sort <<