Twelve illustrated invitations, sixteen picture-only cards and four sorting mats for exploring the parts we hear in spoken words. Use them in Preschool provision with an adult, and revisit them in Reception as helpful. Children can clap names, tap picture words, move, compare and sort. No reading is required.

What children are listening for

A syllable is a part or beat we hear within a spoken word: cat has one, rabbit has two and banana has three. Here, “beat” means a syllable in a spoken word, rather than the steady beat of music. Count the spoken parts, not letters, individual speech sounds or the size of the pictured object.

Share one invitation at a time

Read the card aloud and name the pictures together. Say the whole word naturally first, then repeat it with a gentle clap or tap for each syllable. Say the whole word again. For banana, model ba–na–na with three taps. Keep the word recognisable; avoid adding extra vowel sounds or stretching it into individual phonemes. Wonder questions are optional invitations to talk.

Use the pictures and mats

Begin with two mats and a small selection of pictures, for example cat, dog, rabbit and apple with the 1 and 2 mats. Say each name, tap its parts and choose a mat together. Add the 3 and 4 mats when useful. Touch one printed dot for each syllable, then place the whole picture card in the open space below. Each mat can hold four cards; the dots count syllables in one word, not pictures on the mat.

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