Blending sounds into words

Have you ever heard a word broken into little pieces of sound? Blending is when we take those pieces and push them together to make a real word. It is like putting puzzle pieces together — each sound is one piece, and when you join them all up, you hear the whole word!

Here is a fun example. Say these sounds slowly: /c/ … /a/ … /t/. Now push them together a little faster: /c/-/a/-/t/ … cat! You just blended sounds into a word! The word was hiding in those three little sounds all along.

Here is another one. Try these sounds: /d/ … /o/ … /g/. Push them together: /d/-/o/-/g/ … dog! You can picture a fluffy dog wagging its tail. Every time you blend sounds, you are unlocking a new word — and that is the first step to reading all by yourself.

Reflection question: Can you think of a word that starts with the sound /s/? Say the sounds in it slowly, then push them together — what word did you make?