A consonant blend is two or three consonants side by side where you still hear every sound, like the s and t in stop or the n and d in pond. This consonant blends list covers l, r and s blends at the start of words, common ending blends, and easy blending games for kindergarten and first grade.
You'll also see how blends differ from digraphs, the two blends that trip up a lot of kids, and a short example practice you can do at the kitchen table.
Reading Universe, a teacher resource from WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute and First Book, describes blends as consonants that stand next to each other in a word or syllable, where each consonant makes its own sound. In step, you hear /s/ and then /t/.
Blends can be two letters, like st, or three, like str. Beginning blends come before the vowel, as in grab. Ending blends come after it, as in milk. Reading Universe says there are more than 75 consonant blends in English, but children don't need to memorize them. The good news is that the sounds aren't new. Your child already knows /s/ and /t/. The new skill is gluing known sounds together when reading and pulling them apart when spelling.
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) foundational reading guide agrees. Rather than having children memorize blends as units, it recommends teaching each sound in the blend and then blending them together.
This is the question parents ask most. In a blend, each letter keeps its own sound. In a digraph, two letters make one new sound.
flat has four sounds: /f/ /l/ /a/ /t/. The fl is a blend.
shed has three sounds: /sh/ /e/ /d/. The sh is a digraph.
A simple test: say the word slowly and tap a finger for each sound. A blend gets two taps. A digraph gets one.
The groups below are just a handy way for you to find words. Reading Universe notes children don't need to learn blend categories. They only need to know that each letter in a blend says its own sound. All practice words below were chosen for this page and use short vowels, which is where Reading Universe suggests starting.
bl: blob, bled, blip
cl: clam, clip, clot
fl: flag, flop, fled
gl: glad, glum, glob
pl: plum, plan, plop
sl: slip, sled, slug
br: brim, brag, bran
cr: crab, crib, crop
fr: frog, fret, frill
gr: grin, grub, grit
pr: prop, prim, prod
dr and tr: drum, drip, trip, trot (save these for later, see below)
sc and sk: scab, scan, skip, skin
sm and sn: smog, smug, snap, snug
sp and st: spin, spot, stem, stub
sw: swim, swam, swat
st: mist, rust, nest, cost
nd: pond, sand, bend, wind
mp: lamp, bump, limp, damp
nt, ft and lk: tent, hunt, raft, gift, milk, silk
Three-letter blends such as str, spl and scr (strap, split, scrub) come once two-letter blends feel easy.
Reading Universe says children are ready for blends once they know consonant and short vowel sounds, can tell consonants from vowels, can read three-letter short vowel words, and can blend and segment four- and five-sound words out loud, like milk and scrap, without letters. It begins teaching blends in first grade. The Common Core first grade standards also ask children to blend sounds out loud into single-syllable words, including words with consonant blends.
Kindergartners who aren't reading blends yet can still play the listening games below. Hearing sounds comes before reading them, and our phonemic awareness activities guide has more ideas. If three-letter words are still a struggle, practice CVC words first.
Reading Universe moves from simple to harder:
Start with common beginning blends, because they are easiest to hear.
Save the tricky r blends, tr and dr, until your child is comfortable reading words with blends.
Move on to ending blends once beginning blends are easy to read and spell.
Later, once long vowels are taught, practice words like snack and globe.
Reading Universe points out that dr often sounds like /jr/ when we say it, and tr often sounds like /chr/. Say tree and drum slowly and you'll hear it. A child who writes "chree" for tree is hearing correctly. The tip Reading Universe gives: no English word starts with jr, so if you hear /jr/ at the start, spell it dr. If you hear /chr/, spell it tr.
Robot talk. Say a word in sounds, like /s/ /n/ /a/ /p/. Your child says the whole word. Start with words where the blend is at the start, then try ending blends. This one needs no letters, so it works for kindergartners.
Sound boxes. Draw four boxes. Say clip. Your child slides a coin or button into a box for each sound, then writes a letter in each box. Reading Universe shows teachers using these Elkonin boxes to help children hear both sounds in a blend.
Add a sound. With letter tiles, make lip, then add s for slip. Try cab to crab, top to stop, nap to snap, and lap to clap to clamp. Each new letter adds a sound you can hear.
Take a sound away. Out loud, say "Say stop. Now say it without the /s/." (top). Try frog without /f/ (rog, a silly word is fine) and skip without /k/ (sip).
Blend or digraph sort. Write flat, shed, clap, chip, stop and thin on cards. Tap the sounds in each and sort them into two piles.
Blend I spy. "I spy something that starts with /f/ /l/." (a flower, a flag, the floor). Let your child take a turn.
This is an example only. Use one blend group a week, or follow your child's school.
One minute of robot talk with three words.
Two minutes of add a sound with letter tiles.
One minute of blend I spy.
One minute of spelling two words with sound boxes.
Common beginning blends include bl, cr, st and sw, as in blot, crab, step and swim. Common ending blends include st, nd and mp, as in nest, hand and lamp.
No. In a blend you hear every letter's sound. In a digraph, two letters make one new sound, like sh or ch.
Reading Universe and the WWC guide both say no. Teach each sound in the blend, then have your child blend the sounds together.
Usually first grade, after short vowel words are solid. Kindergartners can practice hearing them in listening games.
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English Language Arts Standards, Reading: Foundational Skills, Grade 1 (Common Core State Standards)