Phonic Blends

My son has been bringing home schoolwork with single and multiple letters circled in sentences. I have to admit, I was rather confused about what was going on.  I had looked at these pages for a few weeks and never questioned them.  So when I finally did question him about this, he told me what was happening (in his own little way).  Then I figured it out and realized they were teaching him phonics blending.  Here is a little bit about phonics blending from what I have learned:

Phonics blends are groups of consonants whose sounds blend together.  As children become more confident with the alphabet consonants, they start to blend these letters together.  Consonant blends are what is known as letters that do not have any vowels between them.

Each letter within the blend is pronounced individually, but quickly, so they ‘blend’ together.

Blends are usually composed of two or three consonants and can begin or end a syllable or word.

Here are some common examples of this:

bl, br, str, sl, and so on….

Upon doing my own research, via the internet, about the success of phonics blending as a way of teaching a child to learn how to read, I have found that the success rates are high with this.  And, interestingly, I also found stated in multiple places that this can prevent a form of dyslexia from happening, known as “artificially-induced whole word dyslexia.”

There is also a neat way to make your own phonics blend wheel.  Follow these instructions:

• two paper plates
• scissors
• marker
• brass fastener

1. Place the paper plates on top of one another, and poke a small hole straight through the center. Separate the plates.
2. Use scissors to cut a 2” square in the top plate. The square should be about an inch to the right of the center hole.
3. Use the marker to write a blend on the right side of the window, such as “at.” (See the list below for some common first grade blends.) Be sure to write the blend about the same height as the cut-out window, and use lower-case letters.
4. Attach the two plates with a brass fastener at the center.  The plate with the blend and window should be on top.
5. Use the marker to write a letter (or a cluster of onsets) on the portion of the bottom plate that appears in the cut-out window, such as “c”. Turn the bottom plate clockwise until the “c” disappears, then write a different letter in the window. Continue in this manner, writing a letter, then turning the plate, until you come back to the letter “c.”
6. Now it’s time to play! Hand your child the plates, and have him turn the wheel until a letter appears in the window. Assist him in blending the onset with the rime to form a word.

Some common first grade ending blends include: 

-ab, -ag, -ack, -at, -ap, -an, -am, -ad, -ake, ate; -ed, -en, -ell,      -eck, -eel, -est; -id, -ill, -ig, -ick, -ip, -ide, -ike; -op, -ot, -ock, -og, -oat; -ug, -uck, -ut.

Also on my journey with my search through the internet, if you allow your children to play games on your computer, here is a great link that has tons of games regarding phonics blending, vowels,  and this isn’t just a reading site either.  It has all categories that you would need.  I will be using this site on a regular basis.  Click here to go to that site.

So on my journey of just asking a simple question about my child’s homework, I have been opened to a whole new world of modern teaching…and I am thankful that my son is being taught this way. It just makes sense to me.

Week 3 High Frequency Word List
1. is
2. like
3. see

 

~ Amy E. Snyder