Help! My Child Can't Blend Sounds to Read Words

Recently, a parent reached out to us, concerned that her first grader is struggling to blend sounds to read words. This parent had just received a call from her child's teacher, where the teacher shared recent assessment data and concerns. She learned that intervention supports are being put in place at school, but wanted to learn ways she can help her daughter at home. Understandably, the mom of this child was extremely worried, and was looking for reassurance that her child WOULD eventually be able to read.

I'm sure this situation sounds familiar to many of you, and could possibly be how you ended up on this blog post!

Now... it's time for a little pep talk.

First, take a deep breath. Consider this -🤚🏻- a virtual pat on the back for looking for ways to support your child. Second, know that you are not alone, and that there are MANY parents in the same boat. And third, read the quote below and know that your child will be okay.

"Measures of achievement tell you where a student is, but they don't tell you where a student could end up."     

-Carol Dweck, Psychologist

If your child is struggling to read, it's going to take some work on the part of all stakeholders involved (classroom teacher, intervention teacher, parents, etc.) but your child CAN become a successful reader 💗

Okay, now that we've gotten the pep talk out of the way, let's talk about how to help your child learn to blend sounds together to read words!

*Sidenote- This blog post is PACKED with information so it's one of our lengthier posts. Be sure to read to the end for a free resource we know you're going to LOVE!*

There are several developmental stages of blending. Some children move very quickly from the conceptual stage to automaticity, while others need a lot of support and modeling to move them from one stage to the next. The ultimate goal is that children become automatic when reading words, without the need to blend sounds together either in their heads or aloud. 

So the question becomes... how do we help children who are struggling to blend, and how can we help them progress through the stages?

The answer lies in modeling and scaffolding.

Before we get into each stage, let's first discuss what is meant by modeling and scaffolding.

Modeling

Modeling is when an adult demonstrates how to do a specific skill. While demonstrating, the adult is also giving a verbal explanation of each step.

Students who are struggling to blend need explicit instruction. For each stage of blending, the adult models first and then has the child practice. Continued practice is required until the child has mastered the stage of blending they are in. Then, the adult models the next stage of blending, slowly helping the child progress through the stages.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is a technique in which a teacher or adult gradually provides less and less support as the child masters new concepts or skills. The term "scaffolding" comes from construction, where it refers to the temporary platforms that support workers as they build. In education, scaffolding is a way to provide support that is gradually removed as students master new material.

You'll notice how, in the early stages of blending, there is a LOT of support being given. Students are sounding out words aloud, and using manipulatives or other items for support. As the stages progress, less support is provided. This is especially helpful for children who are "stuck" in the voiced rehearsal stage- the stage where they have to orally sound out each word before blending the sounds back together.

The use of scaffolding helps us move children from sound-by-sound blending to becoming automatic decoders.

Okay, now that we've discussed modeling and scaffolding, let's talk about the different stages of blending!

Stage 1- Conceptual: Blending Awareness with Sounds 

In this stage, children are developing an awareness that words are made up of sounds, and that you can blend sounds together to make words. The child listens to sounds and practices blending them together, without the use of letters. The ability to identify, hear, and manipulate the individual sounds (or phonemes) in words is called phonemic awareness. A strong foundation of phonemic awareness helps set children up for becoming successful readers down the road.

Script to use for this stage:

(Begin by blending words with only 2 sounds)

• Adult: "Listen to these sounds: /a/ /t/. Watch how I'm going to stretch out these sounds and make them touch." "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-t"
• Adult: "Can you stretch out the sounds with me?"
• Adult & Child together: "aaaaaaaaaa-t"
• Adult: "Now listen as I put the sounds together fast to make a word."
• Adult: "at"
• Adult: "Can you put the sounds together fast with me?"
• Adult & Child together: "at"
   

Continue working on blending words with 2 sounds (ax, in, it, if, on, off, to, he, me, be, we, etc.) until your child is successful. Then, introduce the same skill with words that have 3 sounds in them. Use the script above to model how to blend 3 sounds together.

NOTE: If your child is struggling to blend words with 3 sounds, use only words that begin with a continuous sound. A continuous sound is a sound that we can "hold" in our mouth, like /s/ or /m/. Other continuous sounds include /f/, /l/, /n/, /r/, /v/, and /z/. Words that begin with these sounds are easier to blend since we can stretch the sounds out easier and "make them touch."

Stage 2- Conceptual: Blending Awareness with Letters

 
In this stage, children are building an awareness that letters represent sounds, and that words are read by sounding out each letter and blending them together. Before working in this stage, make sure your child has mastered a good chunk of their letter names and sounds. Only have them practice with the letters/sounds that they know.

Start with words that have the VC pattern: a vowel followed by a consonant. Some VC words include: at, ax, in, if, it, on, up, and us. You can write these words on a piece of paper, dry erase board, index cards, or any other way you can think of! I like to use index cards and put one letter on each card, like this: 

Point to each letter and say it's sound. Then, slide your finger under the letter cards and model how to blend them together quickly to make a word.

Script to use for this stage:

(Begin by blending words with only 2 sounds)

• Adult: "Watch how I'm going to blend these 2 sounds to make a word.
• Adult: (points to first sound) /iiiiiiii/ (points to next sound) "/n/"
• Adult: Now, watch how I'm going to stretch out these sounds and make them touch." (slides finger under the letter cards while stretching out each sound) "iiiiiiiiiiiii-n"
• Adult: "Can you try it with me?"
• Adult & Child together: (child slowly slides their finger under the letter cards while stretching the sounds) "iiiiiiiii-n"
• Adult: "Now listen as I put the sounds together fast to make a word."
• Adult: (quickly slides finger under the letter cards while saying the word "in")
• Adult: "Now, can you slide your finger quickly under the letters and blend them to make a word?
• Adult & Child together: (child slides finger quickly while saying "in")
  

Continue working on blending VC words with 2 sounds until your child is successful. Then, introduce the same skill with words that have 3 sounds in them. Use the script above to model how to blend 3 sounds together.

NOTE: Again, if your child is struggling to blend words with 3 sounds, use only words that begin with a continuous sound, such as /f/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /s/, /v/, and /z/ until they get the hang of it.

Stage 3- Rehearsal: Voiced Rehearsal

 
Now that your child has been introduced to the concept of blending sounds to make words, they are going to need LOTS of practice! In this stage, called voiced rehearsal, children practice blending by saying each sound in the word aloud, and then blending the sounds together. This is essentially the same skill as the last stage (conceptual blending awareness with letters). The only difference is that in the last stage, students were just being introduced to the concept, while in this stage they already have that understanding and need practice doing it on their own.

Have your child practice blending and reading words with 2 and 3 sounds. Get creative here and make it fun! Here are some ways to spice up your blending practice in this stage:

• Use magnetic letters on a cookie sheet
• Use Scrabble tiles
• Write letters on post-it notes
• Smear shaving cream on a cookie sheet and write a word with your finger. Have your child blend and read the word and then "erase" it by spreading the shaving cream around.

Once your child is successful with blending and reading words up to 3 letters, move onto the next stage.

Stage 4- Rehearsal: Silent Rehearsal (Lips Only)

 
In this stage, the child sounds out a word by moving their lips but not using their voice. Then, they blend the sounds together in their head and say the word aloud. An adult will definitely need to model how to do this before having the child try it on their own.

Script to use for this stage:

• Adult: "Today we're going to try something different. I'm going to blend the sounds in a word, but this time I'm going to do it in my head without using my voice. I'm going to move my lips, but not make a sound. Watch me."
• Adult: (Models pointing to each letter in the word and "mouthing" the sound without using any voice.)
• Adult: (says entire word aloud) "mat"
• Adult: "Now you try!"
• Child: (Points to each letter, mouthing the sound, and then saying the entire word aloud)
  
  

By having your child not use your voice, it's like removing a scaffold. Now, they don't have the sounds to rely on. They need to hold the sounds in their head and then blend them back together. Continue having your child practice this silent rehearsal, using their lips only, until they are successful. Then, move on to the next stage.

Stage 5- Rehearsal: Silent Rehearsal (Eyes Only)

 
In this stage, the child "sounds out" a word by moving their eyes slowly across the word while blending the sounds together in their head. They don't use their voice or move their lips, and only scan the word with their eyes!

Script to use for this stage:

• Adult: "You are doing such a great job with blending, so today we're going to try a challenge! I'm going to blend the sounds in a word, but this time I'm going to do it in my head without using my voice AND without moving my lips. I'm only going to use my eyes to slowly look through the word while blending in my head. Watch me."
• Adult: (Models looking at each letter in the word-- you can exaggerate this by slightly moving your head from left to right)
• Adult: (says entire word aloud) "mat"
• Adult: "Now you try!"
• Child: (Scans the word with their eyes only and then says the entire word aloud)

In this stage, another scaffold is removed by not having your child move their lips. This moves them closer and closer to blending automatically! Continue having your child practice this silent rehearsal, using their eyes only, until they are successful. Then, move on to the next stage.

Stage 6- Fluency: No Rehearsal

 
In this stage, the child practices reading whole words without having to blend the individual sounds (aloud or in their head). Instead, they are able to see a word and read it, although it may be slow and not automatic yet.

One of the best ways to have your child build fluency is by making a game out of rapid word reading! A really simple way to do this is to write different CVC words in a 4x4 grid, like the one below. 

Have your child practice reading the words on the chart as quickly as they can, while timing them. Then, write their time on the first time. Now, have them read the words a 2nd time and see if they can beat their previous score. Write their 2nd try on the line. Repeat for a third time. Praise your child for any small improvements (or for just trying their best!)

The goal of this stage is for the child to work on increasing their fluency with reading whole words. There really is no measure of "mastery" in this stage- you'll just start to notice your child become quicker and more automatic... YES! 🙌🏻

Stage 7- Fluency: Building Fluency

 
In this stage, you'll notice your child becoming more automatic with reading whole words. They will be able to see a word and read it right away! The process is becoming more automatic with less and less effort.

There isn't much you need to do or model in this stage. As your child continues practicing and reading, you'll start to see the automaticity that your child has been working so hard for!

Stage 8- Automaticity: THE GOAL!

 
It's time to celebrate!!! Once a child has reached automaticity, they are able to see a word and read it instantly, without any effort. This is the ultimate goal!

As your child begins to read longer words, with 4 or more sounds, you may notice them sounding the words out again. No need to panic! Let them sound the words out (if needed) for a while and then encourage them to blend in their head with the following prompts:

• "Can you try to figure that word out without using your voice?"
• "Use your eyes to blend through the word and then read it aloud."
• "Blend in your head, then say the word aloud."
  
  

When helping struggling readers through the stages of blending, I like to use a simplified visual to help them see how we're working towards the goal of automaticity! If you'd like to download a free copy of the poster, just click on the link below, enter your email address, and I'll send it over to you right away!

 And, if you're looking for online reading lessons that can further support your struggling reader, be sure to check out our LIFT OFF! to Literacy program. For less than $15 a week, it's too good to pass up! Learn more HERE.