What is the difference between clusters and blends

They are most often categorized into r-blends, such as "br" and "cr", s-blends, such as "sc" and "sk" and l-blends, such as "bl" and "cl.

Reading blends uses a decoding strategy called blending that students are already using. The first ones taught are usually those in which the initial vowel makes its long sound and the second is silent. The vowel digraph rule is frequently taught in schools with the saying "when two vowels go a walking, the first one does the talking. For example, the "oo" in "book" is not pronounced [oh].

Despite this, vowel digraphs are usually less challenging for beginning readers than consonant digraphs. Rather than following the simple digraph rule, certain pairs of vowels such as "oy" in toy act like a blend and both sounds are pronounced.

As with consonant clusters, diphthongs can pose a significant challenge to rule-oriented beginning readers. Each consonant retains its sound when blended. The term cluster refers to the written form , and the term blend refers to the spoken form. So you can combine phonics and phonemic awareness seamlessly! You can find fun puzzles that practice clusters and blends together by clicking the picture.

First you read the word with the cluster then you must find the clip art blend that matches. It really works the brain; it's so much harder than looking for a matching picture.

What are digraphs? They include:. A digraph is two consonants that come together to make ONE sound. For example, think about the sh in the word sheep. Another couple of debated sounds are final ng and nk.

Instead of teaching -ng or -nk on their own, I like to teach them as welded sounds or glued sound chunks with a vowel before them. Join thousands of other subscribers to get hands-on activities and printables delivered right to your inbox! Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.