Talk About It: The Letter E

The big idea: E says /e/, like egg.

E is our fifth letter! It makes a short /e/ sound at the start of words like egg, elephant and elf. Sometimes E says its own name, too, like in "eat." For now, we're listening for /e/.

Questions to ask

• "What sound does egg start with?"

• "Does elephant start with /e/? Does dog?"

• "Can you think of something else that starts with /e/?"

• "How many arms does a capital E have?" (Three!)

Show it in one minute

Draw a big E together: "One line down, then three lines across: top, middle and bottom." Say /e/ each time you add a line.

Keep it going

Play "E or not E?" all day. Say a word, and your child gives a thumbs up if it starts with /e/: egg, sock, elbow, banana, elephant.

Want to learn more?

• Letters and Sounds: Practical Ideas for Parents, from Reading Rockets

• The Alphabetic Principle, from Reading Rockets

• Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Pre-K Child, from Reading Rockets

Shop these items

Find the books and supplies from this week in one place. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

• Today's book: Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland

• From our set: Magnetic alphabet flash cards

• Shop everything for Week 5: Dinosaurs

• Starter supplies: the basics we use most weeks

• See every week in our Amazon storefront

More for this week: see all our Dinosaur activities, Letter E activities and Number 5 activities.