Blending and Segmentation

The next step in our reading program is to learn three letter words. The foundation of  successful reading lies in the concepts of phonic blending and segmentation.

What is Blending?

Blending is the ability to join individual sounds into a word. With practice, your child will be able to blend individual sounds into larger words by taking syllables and then blending those syllables into words.

A Blending exercise:

Word : Bag

Place your finger on letter 'b', say it's sound /b/, then slide it slowly on letter 'a', say it's sound /a/, and then place it on letter 'g' and say it's sound /g/. Then, say the word 'bag'. Repeat this exercise a few times till your child is able to do it with ease.

What is segmentation?

Segmentation is the opposite of blending, using which,  a child is able to separate the individual sounds in a word. This increases the phonemic awareness of a child and giving him a better understanding of the entire process. Elkonin boxes may be used to help children segment a word better.

A Segmentation exercise:

Word : Bag

Say the word 'Bag' several times very slowly, till your child is able to tell the distinct sounds of /b/ /a/ /g/. Ask your child to say aloud each sound as you slide your finger from one box to another. The better the child's ability to segment the sounds in a word, the easier it gets for him to spell words correctly.

Next week, we shall read words of the 'a' family.

Have a nice weekend.