Beginning Blends

Welcome to Read Not Guess. Today we’re going to work on combining two sounds at the beginning of words. (Some people call these “initial blends.”)

Remember that we’re going to focus on the sounds the letters make. Both parent and child will need to be able to see the screen.

Ok, let’s get started.

Word Practice

We’re going to work on “blending” two sounds at the beginning of words. Your child can start slowly by saying each sound individually, but each time, they should try to say it just a bit faster.

Let’s start with this one:

l o t

l ot

lot

And:

pl ot

plot

Did they get it right? If they're reading it as "puh-la-tuh" at the end, ask them to do it faster until they are reading the word "plot" clearly and correctly. Let’s do a few more:

sl ap

slap

And:

gl ad

glad

And:

cl ap

clap

And:

pl ant

plant

And:

cl ash

clash

Now let’s do a few where we blend the “r” sound:

gr ip

grip

And:

tr ip

trip

And:

tr ap

trap

And:

cr a ck

cr ack

crack

And:

tr a sh

tr ash

trash

Overnight Challenge

Ask your child to name as many words as they can think of that start with the “tr” sound. After that, see how many words they can come up with that start with the “gr” sound.

Give them a high five or fist pound for every word they come up with.

That’s it for today. We’ll see you next time.

P.S. Looking for more practice? I’d recommend having your kid read the free decodable book "A Craft for Mom" from the University of Florida Literacy Institute.