What sound does the letter A make?

The letter A most often makes the short "a" sound, as in "apple" and "ant." Children usually learn this sound before the long A sound in words like "cake."

What age should a child learn the letter A?

Most children begin recognizing letters like A between ages 3 and 4, and start connecting the letter to its sound around age 4 to 5.

Letter A a

Sound: Short A /æ/

Letter Aa is one of the first letters children learn to recognize, trace, and sound out, using its short a sound. It appears at the start of everyday words like Apple and Ant.

Example Words

🍎
Apple
🐜
Ant
🐊
Alligator
✈️
Airplane

Activities

Letter Recognition

Find every A and a on the screen.

Tracing

Trace the uppercase and lowercase A.

Beginning Sound

Listen and pick the pictures that start with Short A.

Coloring Worksheet

Color a page featuring the letter A.

Printable Worksheet

A tracing and coloring worksheet for the letter A.

Get the Worksheet

Worksheets for Letter A

Letter Tracing
Uppercase Letter Practice
Lowercase Letter Practice
Letter Recognition
Beginning Sounds
Letter Coloring
Letter & Picture Matching
Missing Letter
Alphabet Writing Practice
Letter Review
Cursive Writing

FAQ

What sound does the letter A make?: The letter A most often makes the short "a" sound, as in "apple" and "ant." Children usually learn this sound before the long A sound in words like "cake."
What age should a child learn the letter A?: Most children begin recognizing letters like A between ages 3 and 4, and start connecting the letter to its sound around age 4 to 5.