Blends

What are Blends?

Blends are groups of two consonants that appear together in a word, where each letter keeps its own sound. When reading blends, you say the sounds quickly and smoothly together, without adding a vowel sound between them. Blends can appear at the beginning or the end of a word.

For example:

1. bl as in black → combines the sounds /b/ and /l/

2. st as in stop → combines the sounds /s/ and /t/

3. mp as in lamp → combines the sounds /m/ and /p/

This is different from digraphs. With blends, both sounds are still heard, just said efficiently together. No new sound is introduced.

What a Blends Lesson Might Look Like

In a lesson focused on blends, your child’s teacher will guide them through structured activities that help them practice smoothly connecting two consonant sounds. These lessons continue to use short vowel sounds, while introducing new words with two consonants together.

A blends lesson may include:

1. Reviewing the individual sounds of each consonant in a blend using books or a whiteboard.
2. Practicing saying the two sounds quickly together, without adding a sound in between.
3. Repeatedly decoding (sounding out) words with blends in a Hoot Wise Words book.
4. Reading a Hoot Decodable book, focused on words with blends.

Teachers pay close attention to how smoothly your child blends sounds. If there’s a long pause between sounds, the teacher will gently prompt your child to try the blend again more fluidly.

Why this Skill Matters

Blends help children learn how to handle multiple consonants in a word, which is an important step toward reading longer and more complex words.

Developing strong blending skills helps children read words more smoothly and accurately by avoiding adding extra sounds. Rather than memorizing every possible blend, children are learning a process they can use again and again as words become more complex.

Resources Used in Lesson to Teach Blends

Hoot Wise Words | dr-, pr- and tr-

Hoot Decodables | Tricks with Priya