There are so many fun, rare words that start with the letter Z! These Z words for Kindergarten will help your little learners expand their vocabulary and learn some fun new words at the same time!
Z is the last letter of the English alphabet, but it's one of the most exciting letters to teach because it makes such a fun sound, and Z-words tend to be so interesting and engaging.
The /z/ is a fricative sound, meaning we have to narrow our airways to make a louder, more distinct sound. Other examples of this type of sound include f, s, and v.
Try making the Z-sound right now. You can probably feel your tongue buzzing against the back of your teeth!
It's important to teach your kids this pronunciation and recognise how Z feels in their mouths so they can identify it in different words.
List of Z Words for Kindergarten
Need some letter Z words for a lesson? Save this list of words for your letter Z activities!
Decodable words:
- Zip
- Zap
- Zig
- Zag
- Zen
- Zest
- Zigzag
- Zilch
- Zoo
- Zoom
Other z words (which we wouldn't expect kids to be able to spell at this stage):
- Zucchini
- Zipper
- Zany
- Zero
- Zephyr
- Zeppelin
- Zombie
- Zeal
- Zipline
- Zenith
- Zebra
- Zone
- Zillion
- Zodiac
- Zulu (African Tribe)
- Zonkey (a cross between a donkey and a zebra!)
- Ziploc (the plastic bags)
- Zamboni (the polishing machine for ice hockey)
How to Teach Z-Letter Words
This is where you get to be creative! There are so many ways to teach this sound that will really engage each little learner.
Start with oral language
In Kindergarten, our job is to help our students learn to identify the sounds of words as much as possible! Start with some mystery and intrigue about this sound, and see how many letter Z words you can come up with!
Get interactive
Some of these words are great action words your students can act out. Try having them run in a zigzag pattern or try zipping something up. They can also walk like little zebras or zoom around the room! Make a song with Z sounds or some fun letter Z crafts!
Listen for z letter sounds
Invite your students to pay extra close attention to the words in a story or throughout the day. See if they can find more words that have that /z/ sound. They might stumble upon some of the alternative spelling patterns below!
Read some books with z words
There are loads of quality picture books which include z-words. Here are a few ideas!
- Zachary Zebra's Zippity Zooming by Barbara deRubertis
- Zero the Hero by Joan Holub
- Zoomer by Ned Young
- Zero is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco
- A Zany Zoo Day by Barbara Bakowski
- The Zebra Said Shhh by M.R.Nelson
- Animal Strike at the Zoo, It's True by Karma Wilson
- If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo by Mary Jean Hendrick
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
- Zero by Kathryn Otoshi
- Less Than Zero by Stuart Murphy
- Zoo-Looking by Mem Fox
- Xavier Ox's Xylophone Experiment by Barbara DeRubertis (great for teaching about alternative spellings for the /z/ phoneme)
- The View at the Zoo by Kathleen Long Bostrom
Use sound boxes
This is best to do once your students already have an understanding of letter sounds and letter names. Choose simple words that start with Z and model:
- Counting the sounds (phoneme) in each word
- Coming up with a letter to match each sound
- Blending the sounds to say the word
For example, say "zip." Show with your fingers the sounds you hear: /z/ /i/ /p./ You heard three sounds. Then, find a letter to match each of the sounds: z-i-p. Review the sounds, state the word again, and check your spelling.
This concept is pictured here with The Hive's Word Builder with picture prompts.
This process will help your student connect the oral language they already know with the spelling patterns, helping them add this spelling pattern to their long-term memory.
Learn more about phoneme segmentation activities here.
Substitute phonemes
Once your students know the sound /z/, stretch their language skills to have them substitute the beginning sounds in other words with /z/. For example, you could invite your class to change the first sound in sip to /z/. Your class should then say zip.
Try this same activity with sail (zail), peep (zeep), song (zong), pain (zain), and more.
This will strengthen their essential phonemic awareness skills to help your students really internalise the structures of the English language.
Need some more ideas?
- Practise writing Z with lower case and capital letters in different ways
- Choose Z vocabulary words to practise in decoding activities
- Letter z worksheets
- Make a crossword puzzle
- Use different verb tenses (zip, zipping, zipped)
- Come up with silly sentences that include as many Z sounds as possible (Zero zany zucchinis like zipping zebras.)
- Label words that start with Z in your classroom (there might not be very many!)
- Research different animals with "zebra" in the name (zebra finch, zebra fish, zebra shark, zebra mussels, etc.)
What about words with a Z sound which don't have a Z?
Since we're all about synthetic phonics here, we spend a lot of time teaching our little ones to listen for and recognise the sounds in words. There are some other letters which can also sound like Z! It's important to help your students recognise this, and they can then learn the proper spelling patterns for the Z sound in later grades.
Different Spelling Patterns for /Z/ Words
A Z word is just a Z word, right? It's not exactly that simple. Although there are lots of words that start with Z, there are other words that have the sound /z/ without that spelling pattern.
Did you know that the most common way to spell the /z/ phoneme is actually 's'? The 's' grapheme is used in 68% of words making the /z/ sound. This can confuse young readers, so it's important to understand how this sound shows up in different ways and to teach the corresponding spelling patterns.
- S - This is the most common way to spell the /z/ sound e.g. was, busy, music.
- Z - These are simple Z words that start with the /z/ sound at the beginning. Examples: zebra, zoo, zephyr
- X - When an X is at the beginning of the word, it often makes a /z/ sound. Example: xylophone, xenophobe
- ZZ - This double consonant or consonant digraph still makes a regular /z/ sound. Examples: puzzle, muzzle
- SE - Some words make the /z/ sound at the end if they end with -se. Examples: cruise, muse, lose
- ZH - These words have a softer variation of the /z/ sound, typically shown as /zh/. It's similar to /sh/, but not quite. It's usually in the middle of the word, but can be at the end. Examples: treasure, pleasure, vision, sabotage
To know which spelling patterns are the most frequent, download this free document for Consonant Spelling Frequencies.
To learn more about phonemic awareness, check out these posts and resources:
- Get a Free Printable Phonics Sounds List to Build Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Skills
- Kindergarten Phonics PowerPoints
- Long O Vowel Sound: Word Lists and Teaching Tips
- Consonant Phoneme Sound Wall - Alternative Spellings (Perfect for teaching the unusual patterns above!)
Get your free phonics handbook
Ready to make sure your students learns how to read this year? Get your free copy of my comprehensive ebook Phonics and Beeyond, which will guide you through everything you need to know about teaching your students how to read based on the Science of Reading.
It's my free gift to you so you can focus on the skills that matter and watch your students become amazing readers with tried-and-true, evidence-based practices that really work.
Looking for more?
Level up your phonics instruction with The Hive! We have an ever-growing library of digital learning tools for teaching phonics which your kids will love! Here's just SOME of what you'll find within The Hive:
