Page 1 of 5
Look at flag
- flag
- black
- crab
F and l sit side by side.
Say it slowly. You hear /f/, then /l/.
That is a blend. Both sounds stay.
Get Ready
Two letters side by side, and you hear them both.
Words to know
- blendLetters side by side. You hear every one of them.
Learn It
Page 2 of 5
Try some pairs
bl
You hear: /b/ then /l/
A blend — both letters kept their sound
the soundblack
| Letters | b and l — two letters |
|---|---|
| Sounds you hear | 2: /b/, /l/ |
| Can you hear b’s own sound? | Yes — /b/ is in there |
| What is missing | Nothing — both survive |
| So it is | A blend — two letters, two sounds |
Say bl out loud. Both letters are still in there — /b/ and then /l/, very close together. Nothing new was made and nothing was lost. That is what a blend is, and it is why you can sound one out letter by letter if you go quickly enough.
Tap a pair and say it.
Listen. Can you hear both letters?
Page 3 of 5
Blends at the end
- jump
- hand
- milk
A blend can come at the end.
Say jump. You hear /m/, then /p/.
Page 4 of 5
Three letters, three sounds
- street
- splash
Some blends have three letters.
Say str slowly. You hear all three sounds.
Page 5 of 5
Write every sound
- stop
Say stop slowly: s, t, o, p.
Four sounds, so write four letters.
Do not lose the t!
Your Turn
Answer each question in the yellow box.
Question 1 of 8
How many sounds does fl make in flag?
Question 2 of 8
Sam wrote sop. He meant stop. What is missing?
Question 3 of 8
Say black. Can you hear the b and the l?
Question 4 of 8
Which word starts with a blend?
Question 5 of 8
Where is the blend in jump?
Question 6 of 8
How many sounds does str make in street?
Question 7 of 8
Which word has a blend?
Question 8 of 8
In spin, how many sounds does sp make?
What You Learned
- In a blend, you hear every letter.
- The sounds come very fast.
- Blends can be at the start or the end.
- Say a word slowly to write every sound.
For the grown-up
A blend is two or three consonants where each keeps its own sound (bl, st, str). Nothing new about the letters is learned; the work is holding more sounds at once.
The commonest slip when writing is dropping the second sound: "sop" for stop. If a blend is hard, stretch the gap between the sounds, then close it up again.