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Skill Explainer
3.2 Explicitly Teaching Blends
Blends Skill Explainer
3.2 Explicitly Teaching Blends
Teacher Tip
When sounding out a word with a blend, each consonant gets its own "tap."
Look at this word. Do you see how the consonants 's' and 't' are standing next to each other? When we read this word we say, /s/, /t/, /o/, /p/. The 's' and 't each make their own sound and get their own tap. In this word, 's' and 't' are called a blend. A blend is when consonants stand together and each letter makes its own sound!
In this word, we see the consonants 's' and 't' stand together at the end of the word. We would read this /l/, /a/, /s/, /t/, last. This is called an ending blend since it is at the end of a word. We will talk more about ending blends another day. Today we will focus on beginning blends.
Look at this word. Remember, we said that consonants that stand together are called blends. Does anyone see a blend in this word? [Students should say 'p' and 'l.'] Yes! 'P' and 'l' are a blend in this word. Each consonant makes its own sound. Let's tap the sounds in this word together and read the word: /p/, /l/, /u/, /g/, plug.
