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Play the "Split the Word" Game

Welcome back to Read Not Guess. Today is a review day. We’ll practice blending the letters we learned this week and then play a game to help build your child’s understanding of how words are created by a combination of sounds.

Let’s get started.

Word Practice

First we’re going to work on “blending” letter sounds into words. Your child can start slowly by saying each sound individually, but each time, they should try to say it just a bit faster.

Ask your child to say the correct sounds as they point to the letters:

i t it And:

s i t s i t sit And:

s i t s s it s sits Let’s do a few more:

d i d d i d did And:


d i p d i p dip And:

d i p s d ip s dips Split the Word Game

This is a speaking game. You’re going to say a word, and then ask your child to divide it into individual sounds. (It’s the reverse of the “Sound Blending” game we played earlier.)

To start, say the word “cup.” Ask your son or daughter to repeat the word “cup” and then have them say it again slowly, making sure to say each of the individual sounds (like “cuh-uh-p”).

Here are some more words to try:

Up = uh-p Cut = cuh-uh-t Can = cuh-aaa-nnn Cans = cuh-aaa-nnn-sss Scan = sss-cuh-aaa-nnn Pin = puh-ih-nnn Spin = sss-p-ih-nnn Spins = sss-p-ih-nnn-sss Dip = duh-ih-p Mud = mmm-uh-d

And a couple fun ones:

Alligator = aaa-lll-ih-g-A-t-or Fantastic = fff-aaa-nnn-t-aaa-sss-t-ih-c

If your child struggled with any of the words, go back and do them again. Repeated practice is good for kids.

You can also try swapping roles. Have your child give you a word to sound out. Made-up words are fine! What's important here is for your child to hear the individual sounds and hear how they combine together.

You can play this “Split the Word” game anywhere. Try it at the dinner table, in the car, or anytime you’re waiting around.

Finger Tracking Challenge

Find something to read to your child this weekend. It could be a book, a newspaper, or a grocery list. Trace your finger under the words as you read them aloud. Now read it again, but this time ask your child to use their finger to track the words.

This will help them practice using their fingers to track their reading and to understand the way English is read left to right and top to bottom.

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

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