Unit 8

Blends and R-Controlled Vowels

Focus

These are the following skills and concepts students will be focusing on:

- - Consonant blends and digraph blends
  - Blending and reading words with up to four sounds
  - Segmenting and spelling words with up to four sounds
  - Suffix -s added to words with four sounds
  - R-Controlled vowel sounds /ar/, /or/, /er/, /ir/, /ur/

Blends and Digraphs

In the unit we focus on the learning blends. A blend contains two or more consonants but they each make their own sounds. Blends usually come before or after a vowel. Like in the examples flip (before) or past (after).

In this unit we also learn about digraph blends. A digraph blend is blended with another consonant such as n and ch like in the word lunch. They have four sounds.

Tips and Tricks:

Remember these are different from digraphs because a digraph makes one sound even though it is spelled with two letters such as sh, ch, wh, th and ck.
The /m/ and /n/ sound can be difficult to detect in words with four sounds such as: sent and ramp

Letter-Keyword-Sounds Cards

In this unit students will learn about r controlled vowel sounds. We do not practice r-controlled vowel sounds but introduce them.

To help your child begin to identify these vowels point them out when reading.

Helpful Videos

Consonant blends and digraph blends

Practice Words & How to Mark Them

Practice Words:

must
best
lend
sniff
press
pond
bent
grab
jump
trash
stub

crab
slush
wept
hunt
step
swish
black
stick
click
camp
lump
damp
snap

pluck
blush
cliff
chimp
shelf
shrub
punch
pinch
munch
squish
drill
clams
clocks

Trick Words

Remember many of these words do NOT follow spelling rules and so cannot follow our spelling words procedure. The trick words are:

would
could
should
her
over
number

Sentences

Remember to continue to practice the spelling word procedure when spelling these words. Students should first complete the procedure and then add symbols.

In this unit we are going to continue practicing using punctuation and marking words. We circle sight words, box glued sounds, put a star above bonus letters and underline a base word, circle the suffix and box each of the glued sounds. Below is an example of a sentence using all of our new sentence markers:

Practice Sentences:

Did Beth step on that frog?
I wish that Kim did not brag.
Mom will mend the rip in the dress.
Jan got the drill for her dad.
Jill will munch on the plum.
Did Tom brag about his six fish?
Fred trims the tall grass.
Did Jill get the frogs?

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