Once the child has mastered simple short vowels (3 letters, with the vowel in the middle, such as "cat" and "hot"), it's time to expand into consonant blends. Because the child must now hold not three sounds ("c-a-t") but four sounds ("s-c-a-t") before blending, this is tricker. Child having repeated trouble? Practice, practice the consonant blend first. Then, when reading a word, have her say the blend as if it were one sound, not two ("sc-a-t" and "dr-o-p").
Examples of consonant blends:
Initial blends: st-, sp-, scr-, sw-, br-, bl-, dr-, gr-, gl-, cr-, cl-, fr-, fl-, pr-, pl-, tr-, tw-
Final blends: -nt, -nd, -st, -sk, -sp, -ft, -lf, -lk
Okay, to the activity:
Give the child a rhymed pair (See below). She draws a picture of the rhymed pair but only writes one of the words on the picture. Can the other child figure out the missing rhymed word? (For parents at home: Adult draws the picture and writes the one word. The child unlocks the missing word). Add acting? All the more fun.
Go!
clock block
slurp and burp
sled bled
jump and bump
duck cluck
clam slam
black crack
twin grin
grab crab
press dress
duck truck
cross boss
slit mitt
slick brick
twin grin
last gasp
step on desk
lick stick
dressed nest
stop and drop
flat hat
PHOTO CREDIT:
