Tips for Beginning Simple Blending
Once the short A sound feels familiar, it’s time to introduce blending — the step where reading really starts to come together. 💡
A helpful place to begin is with vowel–consonant blends. These are often easier because the vowel sound can be stretched and clearly heard before adding the next letter.
Try modeling it like this:
• aaaaa–b
Stretch the first sound, then smoothly connect it to the second. Repeat as needed, and encourage your student to follow along and mimic what you’re doing. Blending tends to “click” fastest when they’re actively involved.
Practice with a few combinations, gradually building speed as their confidence grows.
 Once that light bulb moment happens, you can move into consonant–vowel blends. Start with consonants that are easy to stretch, like F, H, L, M, N, R, S, V, Y, and Z.
Keep it simple, keep it light — and let the progress build naturally.
🎥 See Blending in Action
This short video walks through how to teach blending step-by-step, helping students connect sounds and begin reading more independently.
📘 Featured Resource: Level 1 Workbooks
If you’re ready to build on blending, our six Level 1 Workbooks focus on simple three-letter, short-vowel words, gradually guiding students from individual sounds to reading full sentences with confidence.
💛 We’d Love Your Feedback
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The First Step Phonics Team
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