Blends

Two (or more) consonants may blend together with each sound heard in the blend.

Blends are often introduced after learning about short vowels, so it’s a good idea to begin practicing with blends that have short vowels. Blends with other vowel patterns can be included after they have been learned. Blending the sounds of letters from left to right is an important skill for beginning readers. As other vowel patterns are introduced, scan for phonics patterns in words to decode them.

WATCH videos and PLAY online games at the Consonant Blends tutorial at Wakelet.

Some online games require flash, which is no longer supported after 12/31/2020. Learn more at The End of Flash.

LISTEN & LEARN Blends at Quizlet

Blends picture sorts from flyingintolearning.com. (More Blends picture sorts from fairypoppins for playdoughtoplato.com and color picture cards from testyyettrying)

Sort onto a B&W blends chart from thisreadingmama (or color blends chart from maketaketeach), S blends ice cream activity at kizclub.com

Blends flip books with pictures and words from phonics-teaching.com

READ Blend sentences at stickyball.net

PLAY Printable Letter Blends puzzle from Learning 4 Kids (11 pages, some color), Go Fish blends game from Adrian Bruce

Great Green Grapes Blend Board Game at TeachersPayTeachers

PLAY more online games:

Blending: word-machines short vowels at starfall. Short vowels at kizphonics. ladybugs at literactive.

Blends: Literactive: Warehouse game, Bowling game, Sorting Office, and Final Blends Honey Maze.

Some final blends are easier to learn as a chunk and may be called glued or welded sounds. Learn more at The Skunk Drank a Pink Drink. The consonant digraph -ng may also be called glued or welded.