hand2mind Phonics Activity Set

How to use it

When a child is starting to connect spoken sounds with letters, sorting pictures can make practice more hands-on than working through flash cards alone. The hand2mind Sort That Sound! Activity Set is designed for that kind of activity: children match picture tiles to sound tiles using the sorting trays. It covers 44 sounds of English, and the tiles can also be used as flash cards. That gives a teacher, caregiver or speech-language professional a couple of ways to work with the same materials, rather than a single fixed exercise.

A practical session might involve laying out the trays, choosing a sound tile and asking the child to sort pictures that contain that sound. The picture tiles show five uses for each of the 44 sounds, so there are multiple examples to work through. What if a child needs a change of pace? The double-sided sound tiles can be turned into a flash-card activity instead. The format is intended for early phonemic-awareness and phonics practice, with the listing also identifying ESL teaching and speech therapy as possible settings.

Pros

The main advantage is the variety of sorting materials in one set. There are 220 double-sided picture tiles, alongside 44 double-sided sound tiles and six sorting trays. That makes the activity more interactive than a basic pack of cards, while still allowing the sound tiles to be used for quick recall practice. Three “NO” tiles are also included, though the product description does not explain a separate activity for them.

It suits you if you want a tactile way to practise letter sounds with young learners, or materials that can be used across phonics, ESL and speech practice. The set focuses on recognising and sorting sounds, it isn’t described as a complete reading programme, so it may work best alongside other instruction. Better to avoid it if you need a resource for a different language: the stated scope is 44 sounds of English.

Spec sheet

• Type: Phonemic-awareness and phonics activity set
• Sound tiles: 44, double-sided
• Picture tiles: 220, double-sided, with five examples for each of the 44 sounds
• Dividers: 44
• “NO” tiles: 3
• Sorting trays: 6
• Stated uses: Letter-sound practice, phonics, ESL teaching and speech therapy

The counts and intended uses above come with what the listing says, it doesn’t provide details about the tiles’ material, dimensions or storage. If those practical details matter for a classroom setup or repeated handling, they’re worth confirming before choosing this set.

What I’d decide

This is a considered choice for someone who wants children to handle, compare and sort picture examples, rather than relying only on spoken prompts or a simple flash-card routine. The multiple examples for each sound offer room to repeat the same skill without using just one picture, and the trays give the activity a clear physical structure. For a quick, compact drill, a smaller card-only resource could be easier to manage. Choose this set when sorting is part of the teaching approach and its English-sound focus matches the learner, look elsewhere if you need a broader curriculum or product details the listing doesn’t provide.