Consonant Digraph Activity: Blends

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You have a budding, brilliant reader. She is eager to learn. She wants more. You don’t have more. That is where I come in…This Consonant Digraph Activity: Blends work is one of my three original Language works I created for my Montessori training.

To create the cards, I used blue cardstock (blue level work), my printer, image files, blend files, a paper cutter and a laminator. I also have a small plastic bag to hold the small digraph cards. My files are included at the end of this post. I ask you to please use them only for personal purposes.

What is a Digraph?

Before we dive into this activity, let’s define digraph.

According to dictionary.com, a digraph is a pair of letters representing a single speech sound, as ea in meat or th in path. I love this explanation from This Reading Mama. She even includes an adorable, easy to follow printable for your home or classroom.

A blend is two letters that come together to make two sounds. Whereas a digraph is two letters that come together to make a single sound. So, a blend would be “bl” and a digraph would be “th”, for example, with a single consonant sound.

Examples

I think the easiest thing for you to do in order to understand even better is to download this FREE printable.

{Download Now}

Below is a fun educational video to explain to children (and adults!) the meaning of a digraph.

Consonant Digraph Activity: Blends

Material

A card with nine images representing three different blend sounds. Small digraphs cards. A basket or tray.

Work Surface

Rug

PURPOSE

To increase awareness and skill in reading and writing Blue Level words.

PREREQUISITES

Knowledge of previous digraph materials and short vowel word building

PRESENTATION

Invite the child to do the work: “I am going to show you something new with blend sounds!”
Bring the basket or tray with the materials to the work rug.
Remove one card, and you or the child name the images on the card: “bread. crayon. creek….”
Remove the cards from the small bag and review the blended sounds with the child: /br/
Slowly scan the card of images until you find a match. Repeat the name of the image with emphasis on the blended sound and place the card onto the image of “bread,” for example, repeating the digraph /br/.
Remove each card from the bag and repeat the same procedure. Allow the child to take over at any point.
If the child has incorrectly collected an object not matching the sound on the card, review the image name and digraph.
If the child wants to continue with another card, show him the next card.
Ask the child to place the cards back onto the tray or into the basket. Return to the shelf.

EXTENSIONS/VARIATIONS

With a partner
Trace the letters
Build words with the moveable alphabet
Write words of images
Create a design with a metal inset and write the digraph in the center
With a partner, play Bingo. Roll a DIY die with blends and place the small digraph cards on each side.

POINTS OF INTEREST

New vocabulary and sounds
Images

CONTROL OF ERROR

The number of small digraphs cards match the number of images on the card

LANGUAGE

Names of images, 3-period lesson for any image/sound the child incorrectly identifies, digraphs

Age

4.5-6 years old

AIMS/GOALS

Order, concentration, independence, confidence, matching, analysis of sounds, building vocabulary, reading, writing, and spelling.

Resources that Helped Me Do This Activity

Happy learning!
Marnie