Short Vowels Skill Explainer

Touch and Say

Name: Touch and Say
Uploaded: 2026-03-10T12:18:26-04:00
Duration: 41 s
Description: Touch and Say

Instructional coach Dr. Carla Miller uses the teaching strategy Touch and Say to help her students practice blending sounds into words. She shows them three flash cards that spell out the word sat. As she touches each letter, Dr. Miller and her students say each letter sound. As Dr. Miller moves the cards closer and closer, she uses Touch and Say to help them blend the sounds faster and faster, so that they eventually read the word sat.

For more on reading development, see “10 Maxims: What We’ve Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read."

Video thumbnail for Touch and Say — Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book

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Carla Miller: We're going to start by just reading a word. Okay. We're going to stick each sound in the word, and then I'm going to move them a little bit closer together, and then we're going to say the sounds, and then I'm going to move 'em a little closer together, but we're not going to read it until they are touching and I say, catch it. Are you ready?

Students: Yes.

Carla Miller: Okay. So I want to hear everybody's voice. Let's do it.

Students: /s/... /ă/... /t/. /s/ .. /ă/ .. /t/.

Carla Miller: Listen for the word. Are you guys ready? We're going to catch it this time. Good. Okay.

Students: Sat!

Together: /s/, /ă/, /t/. Sat.

Carla Miller: Good. Okay.