Teaching kids to blend, or combine, sounds in order to pronounce new words is an important element to first grade reading. Segmenting the sounds that make up a word, and then blending those sounds to pronounce them correctly, can be a tricky skill to master. This lesson helps take first graders through this process, with guided practice and helpful examples.

Teaching kids to blend, or combine, sounds in order to pronounce new words is an important element to first grade reading. Segmenting the sounds that make up a word, and then blending those sounds to pronounce them correctly, can be a tricky skill to master. This lesson helps take first graders through this process, with guided practice and helpful examples.

This guided lesson focuses on short U, as in jump, sun, and duck. Kids learn how to recognize and read this sound, then practice with short U words. Breaking up lessons based on vowel sounds helps kids chunk concepts together, easing retention and boosting phonics skills. Once you are through with the lesson, consider downloading some of the accompanying short U printables for extended learning.

Consonant-vowel-consonant or CVC words include examples such as paw, cow and pop. Identifying these words and understanding the sound that they make is crucial to building reading fluency. This guided lesson provides practice with CVC words by focusing on their intial, medial and ending sounds. You can boost learning with our supplemental worksheets that offer more practice with CVC words.