Consonants
Consonant blends
A blend is two or three consonants read together where each keeps its own sound, as in “stop”, “flag”, “drum” and “split”. Blends are a fluency skill more than a decoding one: the sounds are already known, and what is new is holding them together fast enough to hear the word.
Beginning blends and ending blends are usually taught apart, and ending blends are the harder of the two because the reader has to hold the vowel while resolving two consonants.
Patterns and example words
Every word below is from the word list Cody generates from, not a hand-picked sample. The count is how many words in that list carry the pattern.
l blends
5,249 wordspeople place placed places placing play played playing plays include included includes including plan planned planning plans example examples close closed closer closes closest
r blends
14,061 wordsfrom children problem problems great greater greatest greats tried tries try trying countries country group grouped grouping groups bring bringing brings brought provide provided
s blends
5,187 wordsstill start started starting starts school schooled schooling schools small smaller smallest studied studies study studying state stated states stating student students spend spending
3-letter beg. blends
996 wordsthrough describe described describes strong stronger strongest street streets structure structured structures structuring strike strikes striking struck strategies strategy threw throw throwing thrown throws
3 letter beg. blends without digraphs
1,171 wordsstrong stronger strongest street streets structure structured structures structuring strike strikes striking struck strategies strategy screen screened screening screenings screens stress stressed stresses straight
blends with w
2,752 wordsbetween question questioned questioning questions always quite answer answering answers require required requires requiring qualities quality quickly network networked networking networks quarter quarters request
Curricula that teach this
Cody generates material against the scope and sequence you already teach. This skill appears in Custom Pattern Selection, Reading Simplified: 1st Grade Pathway, Reading Simplified: 2nd Grade & Up Pathway, Reading Simplified: Kindergarten Pathway, Slant System, UFLI Inspired.
Make a decodable story for this skill
Cody generates stories, word lists and worksheets constrained to the patterns a student has already been taught, so practice on consonant blends does not smuggle in something they have not met yet.