🎵 Detailed Explanation of How to Blend Each Sound in a Word Together

When children in Year 2 learn to blend each sound in a word together, they are putting little sounds, called phonemes, into one word to read it properly. This is an important skill in English to help read new words and understand what they say.

🔤 What Does It Mean to Blend Sounds?

Blending sounds means saying each sound in a word slowly and then saying them faster to hear the word. For example, in the word “cat,” you say the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ one at a time and then say them quickly as “cat.”

📝 How to Blend Sounds Step-by-Step

  1. Listen to Each Sound: First, hear each sound (phoneme) in the word. For example, in “dog,” the sounds are /d/ /o/ /g/.
  2. Say Sounds Slowly: Say the sounds slowly, one after the other: /d/ /o/ /g/.
  3. Put Sounds Together: Start to say the sounds faster and join them so they become the word “dog.”
  4. Say the Word: Now say the whole word correctly and clearly.

📚 Examples of Blending Sounds in Words

  • Word: “pig”
    Sounds: /p/ /i/ /g/
    Blend slowly: p-i-g
    Say fast: pig
  • Word: “shop”
    Sounds: /sh/ /o/ /p/
    Blend slowly: sh-o-p
    Say fast: shop
  • Word: “fish”
    Sounds: /f/ /i/ /sh/
    Blend slowly: f-i-sh
    Say fast: fish

💡 Tips for Practising Blending at Home and at School

  • Use Letter Cards: Put letter cards down in order and say the sounds slowly, then blend as a word.
  • Play Sound Games: Play games like “I Spy” with sounds, such as “I spy a word that starts with /b/.”
  • Read Together: Look at simple words in books and practice blending sounds aloud.
  • Break it Into Chunks: For tricky words, break the word into smaller parts and blend each part before the whole word.
  • Daily Practice: Spend a few minutes every day practising blending sounds with your child or in class.

By practising these steps, children in Year 2 become confident readers who can blend sounds to read many new words independently! 📖✅

❓ 20 Examination-Style Questions with Answers on Blending Sounds for Year 2 English

These questions help you practise how to blend each sound in a word together. Blending sounds means saying each sound and putting them all together to say the whole word.

📝 Questions

  1. What word do these sounds make? /c/ /a/ /t/
    Answer: cat
    Explanation: Blend the sounds c-a-t to say “cat.”
  2. Say the word for these sounds: /d/ /o/ /g/
    Answer: dog
    Explanation: Blend d-o-g to say “dog.”
  3. What word is /s/ /u/ /n/?
    Answer: sun
    Explanation: Blend s-u-n to say “sun.”
  4. Blend these sounds: /b/ /a/ /t/
    Answer: bat
    Explanation: The sounds b-a-t make the word “bat.”
  5. What word do you hear in /f/ /i/ /sh/?
    Answer: fish
    Explanation: Blend f-i-sh to say “fish.”
  6. Say the word for /r/ /a/ /t/.
    Answer: rat
    Explanation: Blend r-a-t to say “rat.”
  7. What word do these sounds make? /p/ /e/ /n/
    Answer: pen
    Explanation: Blend p-e-n to say “pen.”
  8. Blend these sounds together: /m/ /a/ /p/
    Answer: map
    Explanation: The sounds m-a-p make “map.”
  9. Say the word made by /h/ /a/ /t/.
    Answer: hat
    Explanation: Blend h-a-t to say “hat.”
  10. What word is /c/ /u/ /p/?
    Answer: cup
    Explanation: Blend c-u-p to say “cup.”
  11. Say the word for these sounds: /j/ /a/ /m/.
    Answer: jam
    Explanation: Blend j-a-m to say “jam.”
  12. What do these sounds say? /s/ /i/ /t/
    Answer: sit
    Explanation: The sounds s-i-t put together say “sit.”
  13. Blend these sounds: /l/ /i/ /p/.
    Answer: lip
    Explanation: The sounds l-i-p say “lip.”
  14. What word do you get from /f/ /a/ /n/?
    Answer: fan
    Explanation: Blend f-a-n to say “fan.”
  15. Say the word for /v/ /a/ /n/.
    Answer: van
    Explanation: The sounds v-a-n make the word “van.”
  16. What word do these sounds build? /b/ /i/ /g/?
    Answer: big
    Explanation: Blend b-i-g to say “big.”
  17. Say the word from these sounds: /p/ /i/ /n/.
    Answer: pin
    Explanation: The sounds p-i-n make “pin.”
  18. What word is made by /r/ /u/ /n/?
    Answer: run
    Explanation: Blend r-u-n to say “run.”
  19. Blend these sounds: /t/ /o/ /p/.
    Answer: top
    Explanation: The sounds t-o-p say “top.”
  20. What word do you hear in /d/ /u/ /g/?
    Answer: dug
    Explanation: Blend d-u-g to say “dug.”

📖 Study Tips for Blending Sounds

  • Say each sound slowly first.
  • Stretch the sounds and then push them together.
  • Use your finger to tap under each sound.
  • Practise blending with easy CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant).
  • Read books out loud to hear words and sounds clearly.

Keep practising blending sounds, and it will get easier to read new words! 🚀📚