20814_Unit_5_Blending

Phonological awareness skills 

Unit 5 – Blending 

Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2018 

Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2018 

RIC– 20814 

Titles in this series: 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 1 – Auditory discrimination 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 2 – Rhyming 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 3 – Alliteration 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 4 – Segmentation and syllabification 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 5 – Blending 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 6 – Phoneme matching 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 7 – Phoneme isolation 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 8 – Phoneme completion 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 9 – Phoneme addition and deletion 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 10 – Phoneme segmentation 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 11 – Phoneme substitution 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 12 – Phoneme reversal 

Phonological awareness skills Unit 13 – Phonological testing 

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Unit 5 

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS 

The general term ‘phonological awareness’ includes phonemic awareness of sounds, words, 

syllables and rhyme. All phonological and phonemic awareness skills are learnt orally. 

Children need the ability to identify and work with the sounds of spoken language in order to 

make sense of sound–symbol relationships. 

SKILL 5: BLENDING 

TEACHER NOTES 

What is phoneme blending? 

Blending is the process of combining individual spoken sounds/ 

phonemes, in correct order, to make a word. Phonemes may be 

individual letters such as h/a/t or groups of letters such as th/i/ck. 

Young children are exposed to blending early through rhyming. 

In essence, rhyming is the process of blending a new onset 

(everything before the vowel sound in a word) to an old rime 

(the vowel sound and everything after it in a word). 

Teachers should demonstrate the process often before 

expecting children to attempt blending. 

Levels of phonological awareness 

word 

Phoneme blending and phoneme segmentation are best 

taught together. 

Why is phoneme blending important? 

Saying and blending individual phonemes makes children 

aware that a series of sounds make up a word. 

Blending is an important skill for reading. As children encounter unfamiliar words, they 

can see letters in words, say and blend the individual sounds the letters make and this will 

help them to work out and read the word. As time progresses and children become more 

competent using this skill, blending becomes smoother and faster and children read more 

fluently. 

Children with good blending skills develop better literacy skills than those without. 

What does phoneme blending involve? 

Phoneme blending may include the ability to: 

• blend syllables in a word. For example, snow/ball, rain/bow, un/der, pen/cil, out/side. 

(Begin with two then three syllables.) 

• blend onset/rime in a word. For example, br/ush, t/alk etc. 

syllable 

onset and rime 

phoneme 

• blend individual phonemes. (Begin with two phonemes to make words, then progress to 

three and four phonemes.) 

• blend individual phonemes such as ‘s’ and ‘m’ to generate consonant blends for more 

difficult words. For example, s/m—smile, dr/ess, l/a/mp. (Consonant blends include both 

those at the beginning and those at the end of words.) 

R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS — BLENDING 1

TEACHER NOTES (continued) 

The use of phonemes to make nonsense words will indicate whether children fully grasp the 

process of blending. 

What is the best way to support children as they learn about blending? 

As always, the most effective instruction method for any reading skill is modelling. Model 

blending in a number of different ways, always being slow, clear and correct. Increase the 

speed of the sounds delivery until the children become proficient. 

Teachers need to say phonemes clearly and correctly, even exaggerated, without adding 

unnecessary additional sounds, so that it is easier for children to hear and blend sounds; and 

understand the process. 

Visit to read about body–coda blending 

which some experts believe is easier than onset–rime blending, especially for older children 

writing and spelling words. 

What things do I need to remember when modelling blending? 

• Some letter sounds can be lengthened and held for a length of time. Others, however, 

when lengthened, may change the sound. 

Sounds that can be elongated 

and held continuously 

Sounds that CANNOT be 

elongated and held continuously 

a, e, f, i, l, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, y, z b, c, d, g, h, j, k, p, q, t, x 

These sounds are easier to blend so 

instruction should commence with these. 

Use words such as fan, sum, fuzz etc. 

Hold for 1 or 2 seconds and blend 

smoothly with the next sound. 

These sounds are more difficult to 

blend without changing the sound, 

so introduce these gradually. 

Say the sound once only, pause for 1 

or 2 seconds, then say the next sound, 

elongating this sound for 1 or 2 seconds 

• Always use plenty of visual support, pointing to pictures when learning blending. Visual 

representations aid memory of sounds. 

• Introduce letters for sounds only when you feel the children are ready to grasp the 

concept. 

• When slowly sounding out a word such as ‘rrrruuunnnn’, point to each letter as each sound 

is pronounced. 

• Ensure that all senses are engaged, as children will benefit from hands-on activities. 

Counters and markers should be used, or the children can ‘run’ a small plastic car over the 

letters on a card as they say the sounds slowly. 

2 

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS — BLENDING R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au


BLENDING games and activities 

ACTIVITY 1: Immersion in playing with sounds 

Read books with the children like the ones below that manipulate sounds and 

blend them in interesting, and often funny ways. 

• Demonstrate the process of blending • Immerse children in sound play 

ACTIVITY 2: Sound train 

Equipment required: Wooden train set and coloured blocks, or beads and 

string 

Instructions: Decide on simple two-sound words such as on, at, is or a CVC word 

such as box, hat or cap to demonstrate the process. 

Say the individual sounds that make up the word, and as each sound is stated, 

place one coloured block on the train (or thread one bead on the string). Use 

different coloured blocks or beads for each different sound. 

Repeat the sounds and ask, ‘What word do those sounds make?’ 

With each successive blending, the train rolls around the track and a selected 

child can make train noises. 




ACTIVITY 3: Feed the monster 

Materials required: Large cardboard cutout of a monster, firmly attached to 

the end of a shoebox; blank squares of different coloured 

cardboard (one for each different sound used) 

Instructions: Decide on a simple two-sound word such as on, at, is or a CVC 

word such as box or hat or cat to demonstrate the process. 

Say the individual sounds that make 

up the word, and as each sound is 

stated, ‘feed’ one coloured square 

of cardboard into the monster’s 

mouth. 

Refer to page 20 for an example of 

a monster outline to use. 

* For those children who are 

developing letter–sound 

correspondence, individual 

sounds written on cards may be 

used. 

ACTIVITY 4: What word is that? 

Materials required: Pictures of simple, familiar objects 

Instructions: Place three different picture cards face up on the floor and ask 

children to name each one. Explain that you are going to say the 

sounds that name one picture. Say each sound in the chosen 

words, stretching out the sounds then blending them to make the 

word. 

The children have to point to the picture that 

matches the word. 

Encourage children to repeat the sounds 

and ‘run them together’ to make the word. 

Repeat a number of times using different 

pictures. 

This activity is best carried out in small 

groups. 

Refer to page 20 for pictures to use. 

• Demonstrate the process of blending • Demonstrate the process of blending 

4 




• Demonstrate the process of blending 

ACTIVITY 5: Blending sounds and animals book 

Visit to watch a 

demonstration of how to use a split board book to 

create crazy animals and blend three phonemes. 

The teacher flips over the sections of the book to 

create an unusual animal. 

A counter, marker or plastic animal is placed on the 

initial, middle and final sections of the picture while the 

teacher says each sound. Then the sounds are blended 

together to generate a word which the children repeat. 

To be more explicit, each new sound should have a different object to represent 

it. If the sound is repeated, as in pop, the same object should be repeated in the 

initial and final positions to create a better visual representation of the sounds in 

the word. 

The site above provides a free sample to download and the book can be 

purchased quite cheaply. 

Blending books are similar in concept to Elkonin boxes (but more motivating). 

Some examples of animal pages are provided on pages 21–28. 

ACTIVITY 6: Compound words 

Say pairs of small words, then blend them together to make compound words. 

For example, in/side, snow/ball, cross/walk, out/side, grass/hopper, basket/ball, 

butter/flies, rattle/snake, sun/flower, moon/light, tooth/brush, back/bone etc. 

Use picture card clues where possible to assist children. 

Some picture card examples are provided on pages 29–30. 

• Blend small words to make compound words 

toothbrush 




ACTIVITY 7: Blending syllables 

Select a two-syllable word and say each syllable separately. 

For example, un/der, pen/cil, ap/ple, un/til, mar/ket etc. 

Then ‘run’ the syllables closer together. 

Ask children, ‘What word is that?’ 

Commence with two-syllable words and progress to three- and four-syllable 

words. 

Possible words to use: 

Two-syllable words 

let/ter, box/er, lad/der, tur/nip, pur/ple, Thurs/day, sil/ver, piz/za, a/gain, 

wa/ter, hap/py, o/ver, a/ble, na/ture, cit/y 

Three-syllable words 

ba/nan/a, pi/a/no, cel/e/brate, an/i/mal, Sat/ur/day, po/ta/to, el/e/phant, 

a/maz/ing, ad/ven/ture, im/por/tant, dan/ger/ous, hol/i/day, to/geth/er 

Four-syllable words 

Jan/u/ar/y, in/for/ma/tion, in/ter/est/ing, al/li/ga/tor, wa/ter/me/lon, 

tel/e/vi/sion, in/vis/i/ble, a/quar/i/um, cat/er/pil/lar, hel/i/cop/ter, 

a/dor/a/ble 

wa/ter/mel/on 

• Blend syllables to make words 

ACTIVITY 8: Blending onset and rime 

Onset: The first sound before the vowel in a word 

Rime: The last part of the word which includes the vowel. 

For example, b (onset), ug (rime) 

Use picture cards of common objects of one syllable like those on pages 31 

and 32. For example, mug, cup, dog, mat, lamp, hat, peg, door, bed, milk, 

bread, sock, tree etc. 

Place a set of three or four picture cards on the floor and say a word segmented 

into onset and rime. 

Ask children to blend the parts of the words and to point to the picture that 

indicates the word. 

Increase the number of picture cards to choose from to increase the difficulty 

level. 

pl/ate 

plate 

• Blend onset and rime to make words 

6 





ACTIVITY 9: I spy (An onset and rime blend) 

Play a version of ‘I spy’ with objects around the room, using onset and rime. 

Say, for example, ‘I spy with my little eye something that has “cl” and “ock”. What 

did I spy?’ 

The children have to blend the onset and rime to make the word and work out 

the object. 

Examples may include: b/ook, p/en, br/ush, ch/air, t/ap, m/at, ch/alk, b/oard, 

fl/oor, w/all, b/ag, l/unch, dr/ink etc. 

This activity may also be used 

in conjunction with books such 

as the one shown. Children 

search for blends for other 

objects such as animals. 


ACTIVITY 10: Letter/sound onset–rime blending 

Use onset–rime word chunks with more capable children who can match the 

letter to the sound to make word families. Plastic letters or letters on cards 

should be manipulated while completing this activity. 

Place a written rime such as ‘–at’ on the table or floor in front 

of the child or small group of children using plastic letters. 

Sound and blend ‘a’ and ‘t’ with the children to make ‘–at’. 

Say ‘Let’s add another letter at the front (the onset) to make a new word.’ 

Demonstrate how to add ‘c’, ‘m’, ‘s’ etc. to the rime ‘at’. Say the onset and rime 

and blend to make each word. Have children repeat the blending process and 

word created. 

Select children to create other ‘–at’ words until a word family is created. 

Other word families to create include: –ack, –ame, –ell, –ight, –ink, –op, –ump, 

–all, –an, –ate, –est, –ill, –ip, –ore, –unk, –ain, –ank, –aw, –in, –it, –or, –ake, –ap, –ay, 

–ick, –ine, –ock, –uck, –ale, –ash, –eat, –ide, –ing, –oke and –ug. 

The cards on pages 33–35 can be used with children adding a plastic letter to 

the front of the rime. If words are created that make nonsense words, ask ‘Is this 

a real or nonsense word?’ (Scrabble® pieces may also be used.) 




ACTIVITY 11: Sound riddles 

Say these instructions to the children: 

‘I am going to say the separate sounds that make up a word. I want you to blend 

the sounds together and tell me what the word is.’ 

Select a word, such as t/r/u/ck and say the separate sounds. 

The children listen to the sounds, blend them to make the word, and give their 

answer. 

Use shorter words to begin, and progress to longer, more difficult words. (See 

examples below.) 

Children should be encouraged to think of their own words and share them as 

individual sounds for others to blend. 

One-syllable word examples 

dog 

cat 

truck 

house 

road 

bed 

d/o/g 

c/a/t 

t/r/u/ck 

h/ou/se 

r/oa/d 

b/e/d 

Two-syllable word examples 

window 

necklace 

jacket 

teacher 

monkey 

paper 

w/i/n/d/ow 

n/e/ck/l/a/ce 

j/a/ck/e/t 

t/ea/ch/er 

m/o/n/k/ey 

p/a/per 

• Blend individual phonemes 

ACTIVITY 12: Robot talk 

The teacher acts as the robot leader and repeats the rhyme in a robot-like 

voice. 

‘I am a robot. Can you help me? 

When I say the sounds, can you tell me what I 

see?’ 

Then the teacher says two or three sounds such 

as /m/ /a/ /n/. 

The children repeat the rhyme in their own 

robot voice and after repeating the sounds, 

blend the sounds to make a word. 

The children then say, ‘I can help you. I know 

what you see. You see .’ 

(blended word) 

When children are proficient playing the game 

this way, they may be chosen to be the robot 

leader. 


8 




ACTIVITY 13: The sound-blending song 

Sing this song to the tune ‘If you’re happy and you know it ...’ 

If you think you know this word, shout it out! 


If you think you know this word, 

Then tell me what you’ve heard, 


After singing, the teacher says a segmented 

word such as /h/ /u/ /t/ and the children 

provide the blended word hut. 

ACTIVITY 14: Blending names 

Use the children’s names to practise blending. This activity may be used at 

various times during the day—to allow children to go to lunch or recess, or to an 

activity. 

Say, for example, ‘The person to go is J/a/ck.’ 

The children blend the sounds and say the name of the child. Children should 

be encouraged to provide the answers and think about how their own name 

can be segmented into individual sounds and blended. 






ACTIVITY 15: Elkonin boxes 

Provide each child with an Elkonin box card which has been photocopied, 

laminated and cut out. Use the examples on page 42. They will also need three 

counters of different colours. 

Select a picture of a familiar object. (The cards on pages 38–40 may be used.) 

The names of the objects should be made up of three sounds or less. For 

example, c/oa/t, b/a/t. Place the card so the child cannot see what it is. 

Say to the child, ‘I am going to say the sounds that make up the name of the 

object.’ Ask them to repeat the sounds that make up the name of the object. 

Then for each sound, the child places one counter in each box. 

Say ‘Can you blend/run the sounds together and tell me what object I chose?’ 

Children blend the sounds and give an answer. 

Check to see if they are correct by displaying the 

picture. 

Letters for sounds are not used at this stage but 

may be included for more capable children. 

ACTIVITY 16: The take away game 

Say the individual phonemes for a word, such as ‘log’—l/o/g, then blend them 

and, with the children, work out the word. 

Then say, ‘Let’s take away a sound. We’ll take away the “l” sound. What do we 

have left —“o/g”? Let’s blend them and see what the sounds make—“og”. Is that a 

real or nonsense word?’ 

Repeat with other CVC words, commencing with the initial sound then the final 

sound. Initial consonant sounds such as ‘bl’, ‘cr’ etc. may also be used. 

log – l = og 

dress – dr = ess 

This activity may also be used for phoneme addition. 

Elkonin boxes 

• Blend individual phonemes • Blend individual phonemes 

10 





ACTIVITY 17: Four blends in a row 

Play this game with up to six children. 

This game requires the set of segmented word cards on page 37 and the game 

boards on pages 38–40, which should be cut out and laminated prior to playing. 

Each child needs a game board and counters or markers. 

Select one segmented word 

card and say the sounds. 

The children must blend 

the sounds to work out 

the words. If they have the 

picture relating to that word 

on their card, they place 

a counter/marker on their 

board. The first child to get 

four counters/markers in a 

row wins the game. 

m/o/p c/a/t m/a/p p/i/g 

t/o/p b/u/g s/u/n j/e/t 

r/a/n h/a/t p/a/n w/i/g 

f/i/n d/o/t n/e/s/t l/o/g 

p/i/n t/e/n t/u/b f/a/n 

l/i/p s/a/d v/a/n c/a/n 

h/a/n/d t/a/p n/e/t p/o/t 


ACTIVITY 18: Online blending games 

The following list of online games vary 

from simple introductions to more 

complicated games. 

• 

practise blending sounds for reading 

CVC words 

• 

blending sounds word builder game 

for kids (Educational learning video) 

• The 

Reading Machine 2 

• 

Phonics | phase 2 | set 2 words | learn 

to blend | letters and sounds | cvc 

words s a t p i n m d 




ACTIVITY 19: Blending board 

Create a blending board to use when blending letters to make simple CVC 

words. 

Visit to find 

the instructions. 

Arrows on each letter indicate the direction of blending. 

Commercially-made blending boards are also available. 


ACTIVITY 20: Blending flip book 

For more capable children who have a good grasp of letter–sound 

correspondence, consider creating a ‘flip book’ in a large binder. The individual 

phonemes can be ‘flipped’ over to create a wide variety of words and 

consolidate sounds already taught. 

A binder with side clips or spirals may be used. Teachers can make their own flip 

book as easy or difficult as they like. 


12 




ACTIVITY 21: Craft stick blending 

Use pictures and letters for vowels glued onto craft sticks to practise blending. 

The children manipulate and blend consonants and vowels to make their own 

words. 

Completed words can be ‘stuck’ in a lump of flattened playdough or some 

florist foam for display. 


ACTIVITY 22: Blending flip game 

Write consonants on blank playing cards. Write the number ‘1’ at the bottom. 

Write consonants on another set but label these ‘3’. Write vowels on another set 

of 5 cards. Label and number these ‘2’. 

The cards are numbered so children know where to place them. 

Place all the cards in piles as shown on the diagram. Children ‘flip’ the cards 

over to create real or nonsense words. 

The game is for two children but an adult helper assists. 





ACTIVITY 23: Race car blending 

This activity uses plastic racing cars to play a blending game. 

Write CVC words on pieces of black card using a white crayon. Write ‘Start’ and 

‘Finish’ at the beginning and end of each track. 

The children blend sounds to make a word as they move a car along the track. 

ACTIVITY 24: CVC word board games 

Use the game board on page 41 to practise short vowel sounds in CVC words. 

A dice is required to play the game. 

Each player sounds out and blends 

to read each word they land on. 

The first to the end wins. 

• Blend individual phonemes • Blend individual phonemes 

14 




ACTIVITY 25: Introducing consonant blending 

Children are not ready to blend consonants until they have a thorough 

knowledge of all individual letter sounds. 

Introduce consonant blends in the following manner. 

Say ‘I am thinking of a blend that uses two sounds. Can you tell me what it is?’ 

Say the sounds ‘b’ and ‘l’. ‘What blend does it make?’ 

Have children say the sounds and blend them to make ‘bl’. 

Repeat with c + l = cl, f + l = fl, p + l = pl, g + l = gl and s + l = sl. 

Ask children to say any words they know that have those blends at the front of 

the word. 

Begin with two-letter consonant blends at the beginning of words before 

progressing to three-letter blends and those at the end like ‘mp’. 

A table listing all major consonant blends can be found on page 43. 

(If children are capable, write b + l = bl on the board and get them to write it on 

individual whiteboards.) 

ACTIVITY 26: Clip the blend 

Glue images of everyday objects beginning with consonant blends onto file 

cards. 

At the bottom write consonant blends and beginning sounds. 

Images may include: 

street, tree, grass, block, flag, crab, plant, 

clap, fly, glasses, play, sleep, brick, creek, 

crook, dress, frog, pram, drum, smile, 

snack, stick, swim, twins, cream, clip, 

snake, spoon etc. 

Children use a peg to clip the beginning 

sound of the word from choices given 

below each picture. The choices include 

single consonants and two-consonant 

blends. 

• Blend consonants 





ACTIVITY 27: Which consonant blend? 

Write constonant blends onto cardboard 

grids to make bingo boards as shown in 

the picture. Images like those suggested 

in ‘Clip the blend’ are glued onto small 

cards. 

Counters or whiteboard markers are 

needed to play the game. 

Players choose a game board each on 

which blends are written. The picture 

cards are placed face down and players 

take turns taking a picture, naming the 

object and stating the beginning blend. 

All players then place a counter or use the 

marker to cross that blend on their game 

card. Players continue in this way until one 

player has three blends in a row or has 

completed the whole board. 


ACTIVITY 28: Learning about blends 

Use the game board on page 44* for this activity. Players need a counter, 

marker and a dice. 

Players throw a dice and move that number of spaces from the mouse at the 

start. 

Players say each consonant blend and name the picture to hear the blend 

relating to the image they land on. 

The first player to the cheese 

wins. 

Any images ‘missed’ while 

playing should be identified by 

the players when the game is 

finished. 

* This resource is titled ‘Help 

the mouse find the cheese’ 

blending game—1 


16 





ACTIVITY 29: Word slider for blends 

Use a large paper plate and a strip of cardboard to make a word slider to 

practise blending beginning consonants for word families. 

Write the word ending/word family in large print slightly to the right of the 

plate’s centre. 

Cut a strip of cardboard, and, with even spaces between 

them, write consonant beginnings. Some consonant 

blends or digraphs may be included if children are 

familiar with them. Otherwise single sounds should be 

used. The strip of paper should be a little narrower than 

the width of the slits cut in the paper plate. 

On the plate, to the left of the word family ending, 

cut 2 slits slightly wider than the width of the strip of 

cardboard on which the word beginnings have been 

written. 

Insert the cardboard strip through the slits and slide 

it through until the word beginning lines up with the 

endings. Blend to say a word. 


ACTIVITY 30: Help the mouse find the cheese 

This game should be played with more capable students. Play with two or more 

players to practise consonant blends. You will need a dice. 

Enlarge and print the game 

board on page 45. Laminate 

before using. 

Players take turns to throw 

a dice and move that many 

spaces around the board. 

When players land on a space, 

they say the blend and name a 

word beginning with the blend. 

If a player lands on a smiley 

face, they take another turn. 

The first player to reach the 

cheese wins. 




ACTIVITY 31: Blends toss 

Use this game with very capable children. 

You will need: 5 or 6 paper cups; coins, buttons or small, foam balls; tape; 

markers; pencils and paper for recording words; large muffin 

tray in which to stand cups for stability (optional); large sheet 

butcher’s paper 

Using a permanent marker, write a blend on each 

paper cup at the top on the inside. Select those the 

children are familiar with. 

Place each paper cup in the muffin tin to keep it 

secure. 

Draw a table on the butcher’s paper and write the 

consonant blends at the top of the columns. 

The children take turns tossing a coin/button/ball 

into a cup. When it lands, the child must think of a 

word that begins with that blend. The word is then 

written in the correct column of the table. 

Tally the words at the end of a specified time frame. 


ACTIVITY 32: Blends and digraphs bingo 

Make bingo boards with images 

of objects beginning with blends 

or digraphs. 

Images may include any objects 

mentioned in Activity 26, plus 

others like sheep, church, wheel 

and thread. 

Write the blends and digraphs 

onto blank playing cards. 

Players will need counters or 

markers to place on the bingo 

cards. 

The blend and digraph letter cards are placed face down in a pile. A card is 

chosen and the player sounds out and blends the consonants. If players have a 

picture that starts with that blend, they place a marker on it. 

The winner is the player who covers their bingo card first. 

Bingo cards with more images for more blends may also be used. 


18 




‘Feed the monster’ outline 




‘What word is that?’ picture cards 

bell book fan 

duck boat mug 

cat key shoe 

bee bike road 

20 




Blending sounds and animals book—1 





22 









24 









26 









28 




Blending to make compound words picture cards—1 

butter 

fly 

jelly 

fish 

basket 

ball 

fire 

man 





tooth 

brush 

sun 

flower 

sand 

castle 

moon 

light 

30 




Onset–rime blending picture cards—1 

mug cup dog 

lamp mat hat 

pet door bed 

milk cat sock 





sun chair wall 

hen fork jam 

cap shoe mop 

pen egg pin 

32 




Onset–rime blending word family cards—1 

at an in 

it ap ip 

op ug ill 

ell all ack 





ump ock uck 

ick ink est 

ame ate ank 

unk oke ake 

34 





ide ing ine 

ice ight aw 

ay ale ash 

eat or ain 





b c d e f g 

h j k l m n 

p r s t v w 

y 

z 

36 




Segmented word cards 

m/o/p c/a/t m/a/p p/i/g 

t/o/p b/u/g s/u/n j/e/t 

r/a/n h/a/t p/a/n w/i/g 

f/i/n d/o/t n/e/s/t l/o/g 

p/i/n t/e/n t/u/b f/a/n 

l/i/p s/a/d v/a/n c/a/n 

h/a/n/d t/a/p n/e/t p/o/t 




‘Four blends in a row’ game board—1 

38 









40 




CVC word game board 




Elkonin boxes 

42 




Consonant blends lists 

Two-letter consonant blends—beginning of words 

bl 

as in 

black 

cl 

as in 

clap 

fl 

as in 

fly 

gl 

as in 

glad 

pl 

as in 

play 

sl 

as in 

slip 

br 

as in 

brick 

cr 

as in 

creek 

dr 

as in 

dress 

fr 

as in 

frog 

gr 

as in 

grab 

pr 

as in 

pram 

tr 

as in 

trip 

sc 

as in 

scale 

sk 

as in 

skunk 

sm 

as in 

smile 

sn 

as in 

snack 

sp 

as in 

span 

st 

as in 

stick 

sw 

as in 

swim 

tw 

as in 

twin 

Three-letter consonant blends—beginning of words 

str 

as in 

strike 

scr 

as in 

scream 

spr 

as in 

spring 

shr 

as in 

shrug 

thr 

as in 

three 

spl 

as in 

split 

Two-letter consonant blends—end of words and others 

nk 

as in 

sink 

lk 

as in 

milk 

nt 

as in 

went 

nd 

as in 

and 

mp 

as in 

lamp 

ft 

as in 

left 

sk 

as in 

mask 

ch 

as in 

chicken 

ck 

as in 

clock 

gh 

as in 

laugh 

ng 

as in 

sing 

sh 

as in 

fish 

th 

as in 

with 

wh 

as in 

when 

The bottom row, although consonants, are digraphs and 

must be taught individually. 

R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au 

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS — BLENDING 

43



‘Help the mouse find the cheese’ blending game—1 

44 





pr st cl fl 

sc fr 

cr 

sl str dr sk br 

fl 

gl sw fr sm pr gl 

sn 

pl fl 

dr bl sp sl gr cr tr 

sc squ br cl bl 



‘Feed the monster’ outline 


Black and white 

46 PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS — BLENDING R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au



‘What word is that?’ picture cards 


bell book fan 

duck boat mug 

cat key shoe 

bee bike road 



47












49












51












53












55





butter 

fly 

jelly 

fish 

basket 

ball 

fire 

man 






tooth 

brush 

sun 

flower 

sand 

castle 

moon 

light 



57





mug cup dog 

lamp mat hat 

pet door bed 

milk cat sock 






sun chair wall 

hen fork jam 

cap shoe mop 

pen egg pin 



59












61







CVC word game board 





63










pr st cl fl 

sc fr 

cr 

sl str dr sk br 

fl 

gl sw fr sm pr gl 

sn 

pl fl 

dr bl sp sl gr cr tr 

sc squ br cl bl 



65


BLENDING ASSESSMENT—INDIVIDUAL 

1. Say these instructions to the child: 

‘I am going to say two little words. I want you to tell me the big word they make 

when they run together/are blended.’ 

Say the following pairs of words. Then the child says the big word made when they 

are blended. 

sun/flower skate/board out/side table/spoon cow/boy 

wheel/barrow head/ache week/end court/yard tool/box 

sea/shore air/port bed/room birth/day match/stick 

tea/cup gold/fish eye/ball finger/print light/house 


‘I am going to say some words, but I am going to break them up into syllables. I 

want you to put the syllables together and tell me what the word is.’ 

Say the syllables of some of the following words. Ask the child to blend the syllables 

and state the word. Repeat the syllables if necessary. 

Two-syllable words 

ba/sket mon/key kit/ten nap/kin gar/den wag/on 

ca/mel piz/za let/ter ci/ty lad/der yel/low 

Three-syllable words 

pho/to/graph lem/on/ade py/ja/mas el/e/phant 

rad/i/o ban/a/na neigh/bour/hood furn/i/ture 

Four-syllable words 

cat/er/pil/lar al/li/ga/tor hel/i/cop/ter wa/ter/mel/on 

un/der/wa/ter al/to/geth/er Feb/ru/a/ry av/o/ca/do 


‘I am going to say the beginning and end of a word. I want you to run them 

together/blend them and tell me what word it makes.’ 

Say the following onsets and rimes. The child repeats them and says the word each 

makes. 

m/ug p/it h/am r/at p/en t/in 

m/ad s/ad c/ab b/ed r/od h/ut 

d/og f/ix g/oat j/ar l/id n/od 

66 



BLENDING ASSESSMENT—INDIVIDUAL 


‘I am going to show you three pictures. Then I am going to say some sounds. I want 

you to blend the sounds together and point to the picture that matches the word.’ 

Use the pictures on page 20. 

Say the following sounds while the child listens. Repeat if necessary. Then ask the 

child to blend the sounds to make a word and point to the picture that matches the 

word. 

b/e/ll—bell b/oo/k—book f/a/n—fan d/u/ck—duck 

b/oa/t—boat m/u/g c/a/t—cat k/ey—key 

sh/oe—shoe b/ee—bee b/i/ke—bike r/oa/d—road 


‘I am going to say two sounds and I want you to tell me what word they make when 

they run together.’ 

Choose from the following groups of sounds. The child blends the sounds and 

states the word. Begin with two phonemes and progress to three or four for more 

capable children. Once it is obvious that the child can blend successfully, there is no 

need to proceed. 

Two-phoneme words 

o/n—on a/t—at i/s—is i/t—it u/p—up a/m—am 

b/ee—bee e/gg—egg d/ay—day h/e—he z/oo—zoo a/te—ate 

Three-phoneme words 

a/n/d—and a/n/t—ant f/i/n—fin d/o/g—dog f/oo/t—foot 

r/ea/d—read r/i/p—rip l/a/ke—lake r/oa/d—road s/ai/l—sail 

b/u/g—bug j/o/b—job k/i/ss—kiss t/ee/th—teeth s/u/n—sun 

Four-phoneme words 

l/a/m/p—lamp m/i/s/t—mist s/n/a/ck—snack t/r/u/ck—truck 

s/t/i/ck—stick f/r/o/g—frog t/oa/s/t—toast s/l/i/m—slim 

RECORDING 

1. Blends small words to make compound words. 

YES 

NO 

2. Blends syllables to make a word. YES NO 

3. Blends onsets and rimes to make a word. 

YES 

NO 

4. Blends individual phonemes and identifies the picture of the word. YES NO 

5. Blends individual phonemes to make a word. YES NO 


c 

a 

b 

d 

Merit certificate 

for 

Well done! ou have learnt about sounds. 

c 

a 

b 

d 

Merit certificate 

for 

Well done! ou have learnt about sounds.

Door hangers: Print, stick onto card and cut out. Laminate if required. 

tree 

Listening 

Speaking 

/c/ /a/ /t/ 

tree 

Listening 

Speaking 

/c/ /a/ /t/

20814_Unit_5_Blending

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