Preschool · Reading · week 30

I say c-a-t slowly... you say CAT!

Blend three separately spoken sounds together into one whole word.

Here is a brand new game. A grown-up says a word in slow, separate sounds: c... a... t. Your job is to blend them together and shout the whole word: CAT!

This blending game is a giant step toward real reading, because reading is blending sounds together, just like this.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Say each sound clearly with a tiny pause between them, but not so slow the word falls apart.
  • Start with short, very familiar words (cat, sun, hat) so success comes quickly.
  • If blending does not click right away, say the sounds a little faster and closer together as a hint.
  • This is a big new skill. Expect it to take real practice over several weeks, not just one sitting.
Talk about it:
  • What word did you just blend?
  • Was that word easy or hard to blend?
  • Can you make up your own three sounds for me to blend?

Mastery looks like: They can blend three separately spoken sounds into the correct whole word most of the time.

Common stumbles: Repeating the separate sounds instead of blending them together; blending too slowly to hear the whole word.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Blending & SegmentingSlide sounds together to read a word — /s/ /u/ /n/ → “sun”.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Reading for this learner.
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