Blending Three Sounds into Real Words

Grab these first

• Three to six small pieces of paper or sticky notes
• A marker or pencil

1. 1

   Explain the idea

   We are going to learn how to blend sounds into real words. Every word is made of sounds that we put together. Today we will use three sounds: a beginning sound, a middle vowel sound, and an ending sound.

   Let's start with the short a sound, like the a in apple. It says aaaa. The letter m says mmm. The letter t says ttt. When we blend them we stretch the sounds together: mmm-aaa-ttt. That makes the word mat.

   Here is another one. The letter s says sss. The short i sound says iii, like in igloo. The letter t says ttt. Stretch them: sss-iii-ttt. That makes the word sit.

2. 2

   Gather three small pieces of paper or sticky notes. On the first write the letter m, on the second write a, and on the third write t. Say each sound slowly: mmm, aaa, ttt. Then slide the papers together while you stretch the sounds into the word mat. Have Nora repeat after you.

3. 3

   Make two more sets of letters using paper: one set for s, i, t (to make sit) and another for p, i, g (to make pig). Practice blending each set the same way, sliding the papers together and stretching the sounds. Let Nora move the papers herself and say the word when the letters touch.

4. 4

   Now try some without the paper letters. Say the sounds slowly for these words and have Nora blend them aloud: d-o-g, c-a-t, h-e-n, b-u-g. Praise her each time she says the whole word.

5. 5

   Talk together about how changing just one sound makes a new word. For example, say cat, then change the c to h to make hat. Ask Nora to change one sound in dog to make a new word like log or fog.

6. 6

   Read this short sentence together, pointing to each word: The big cat sat on the mat. Help Nora blend any word she finds tricky. Ask her what she thinks the cat is doing on the mat.

7. 7

   Do this together

   Build a tiny word fort! Use blocks, pillows, or couch cushions to make a small fort. Inside the fort, place the paper letters you made earlier. Nora can pull out three letters at a time, blend the sounds to read the word, and if it makes a real word she gets to say it in a silly sentence about what might live in the fort. Take turns making up one silly sentence each. Stop after five or six words while it is still fun.