The concept of blending letters together into words is a difficult one for young children to grasp, but using the analogy of a train moving faster and faster seems to help get the idea across. Blending becomes more of a game. Use letter cards to get the game going. Use any train you have- a picture on a bulletin board, train cars in a pocket chart, a toy train, or one of the trains we have in our store. Talk about how trains start out at the station standing still while everyone gets on board, then picks up speed and moves faster and faster. Sing train songs like “Down by the Station”, or “Little Red Caboose, Chug, Chug, Chug.” Read books about trains such as The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper, or Chugga-Chugga choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk. Talk about how sounds start sliding together as a train picks up speed. Have them listen as you say words in slow train and fast train mode. /s/………/u/………./n/. /s/-/u/-/n/. Can they figure out the words and say them at top speed? “sun” Do a number of words for practice. In the beginning it is easier for children to slide together words with continuing sounds like /m/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /f/, /l/. Try slow and fast trains for words like: zoo, my, knee, see, she, man, moon, mom, mice, fan, name, some. Add consonants at the end that have a stop sound like /t/, /p/, /k/, /d/, /g/, /b/. Have children figure out slow and fast trains for words like: map, hat, dog, cat, pig. You can also have children try to slow down the train by giving them a fast word like “mom” and having them slow it down to a near stop, /m/……………/o/……………../m/.
After children have had a chance to practice blending letters into sounds just by listening with no visual cues, begin using letter cards as the passengers on the train. Put one letter card on the train (perhaps in a pocket on a pocket chart or in a slot on our wooden train) and say the sound. Put the next letter on the train and say the sound. Start with two letters such as the words: on, in, it, at. Point to the first letter and then to the second. Do it slowly at first, then faster. Talk to the children about how the sounds start blurring together so you can’t tell where one sound ends and the next begins. Challenge students to figure out what word the passengers on the train are saying. If children have had good auditory practice they should be able to quickly transfer their skills to the visual cues. Move from two letter words to three letter words. A tracking sequence adds, subtracts, or changes a single letter at a time so as to minimize hunting for multiple letters and slowing down the practice. For example: at, sat, hat, hot, pot, pit, it, fit, fin, in, an, fan, fun, sun, run, ran, man, men, hen.
Add more letters to challenge students as their skills on the “blending train” improve. Four letter words with ending blends (nest, hand, pink) would be the next level, followed by four letter words with beginning blends (frog, crab, flag, spin). Chugga-chugga choo-choo! Your students are on their way to great blending.
The following trains are available in our store:
Wooden blending train holiday gift package with wooden blending train, music CD, and half-size letter cards
http://www.alphabetworkout.com/products/holiday-special-blending-train-package-20
Wooden blending train with mini letter cards
http://www.alphabetworkout.com/products/wooden-blending-train-mini-letter-cards
Wooden blending train with half-size letter cards
http://www.alphabetworkout.com/products/wooden-blending-train-half-size-letter-cards
Classroom size large cardstock blending train
http://www.alphabetworkout.com/products/classroom-size-large-blending-train-word-building
