Consonant Blends Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: RF.1.2.B

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

When two or more consonants find themselves together, each sound of the mix may be heard we call this a consonant blend. The blend can find itself at the front (beginning blend) of a word or the end (ending blend) of a word. The three most commonly used beginning blends include: bl-, pl-, and st-. As in the words: block, play, and stay. The most common ending blends include: -nt, -st, and -ld. There common usage can be found in the words: sent, best, and cold. The most common three letter blends are: spl, spr, and str. They can be found in the words, respectively: splash, sprint, and scratch.


Consonant blends (sometimes called clusters) are groups of consonants that are sequential and are not separated by a vowel. They are usually found in two and three letter groups and located towards the front or end of words. What is unique about blends is that each letter of the blend is pronounced singularly, but it is said so fast that it just seems to fit together nicely. The worksheets found here will have students complete and create their own consonant blends.

Consonant Blend Worksheets To Print:

Working on the /s/ Sound - Let's use these blends: sl, sp, sh, st, sk, sm. The pictures go right with the words that we are forming.

Blends Positions - Where in the fold of things do these sounds start or end? You will chase through a dozen of them.

Rounded Rectangle Words - Which one makes the most sense for the /s/, /p/, and complete word?

Pictures to Words - Some what of a letter or letter chunk bank.

Make the Picture - You are given letters that form sounds. Your next step is to put them into words.

Letter Chunk Boxes - Use the blends in the boxes to complete the words in the sentences.

/s/ and /b/ Terms - Find and circle the /s/ blends in the paragraph.

Which to Use? - These words are a bit more challenging for you.

Replacement Parts - Replace the blend in the words with the given portion to form a new word.

Starting Off Right - Choose the correct beginning and ending blend to form a word.

Both Words - Circle the sound that will complete both words and make total sense.

Phoneme Adds - Perform phoneme addition with the following blends to form words.

Blend Identify - Choose the correct beginning constant to form a new word and identify the blend.

Front End Work - Work off of all the sounds that are given to you and make a whole new batch of words.

Two Pictures - Use all the sounds to form the two words represented in the pictures.

More Blends:

3-Letter Blends- When you are pairing tri-letters arrangements together.

Blend, Segments, and Onsets of Single-Syllable Words- These are the simpler words shifted to each other over the course of these words.

Blending Sounds To Make Words- Those little pieces come together to make a much larger part of it all.

Initial and Final Consonant Blends- These sounds are found at the start or end of the word in question.

Spelling New Words Based on Phonics- Understanding the principles of phonics will help you become a great speller.

How Are Consonant Blends Used In Phonics?

Once students have learned the sounds that each consonant makes, it is time to move on to three-letter blends and fixed two-letter blends. Blends serve a fundamental role towards approaching spelling and deciphering new words. I have spent roughly forty-three years teaching phonics to children. The approach that I take starts with using the l-blends (such as in: bl-ock, cl-ock, fl-ock, gl-ow, and pl-ow). I find this to be the easiest for students to grasp. From there, I move on to s-blends (such as in: s-core, s-kate, s-leigh, s-mall, and s-tart. The s-blends take a bit of patience to do with students. I have played with moving it to be the last of the blends, but the quicker they see the better.


My next step is to work with three-letter consonant blends. I found this pattern to work wonders. I start by using the spl- blends such as found in: splash, split, splinter, and splatter. Students tend to pick these types of blends up fast and have a high level of success with them. We want to focus on helping students getting early wins, it helps build their confidence. The second three-letter blend I jump to is str-blends. Examples of these words include: street, straw, stream, and street. The purpose being to get more early wins. I find that once I cover those two groups and students fill good about where they are at, it is all downhill from there.


Thoughts about Teaching Consonant Blends

Many reading programs avoid teaching consonant blends entirely because they like students to have a concrete foundation for students to start with. Blends are two or more separate sounds. This can sometimes confuse learners that have a problem hearing the distinct sounds, at first.


When you begin presenting blends to students I would highly recommend that you present them in groups. For example, start with l-blends (bl-, cl, fl, gl, etc.) This helps keep students in the same frame of mind and also helps them make a successful transition between blend types. When you have exhausted a blend type, move on to the next blend type. Once you get through about three blend groups it gets super easy. I often like to post the list on the wall of the classroom only after we have covered it in class and most students have mastered it on some type of an assessment. When I started as a student-teacher my mentor teacher would put it on the wall right away and I just felt students got overwhelmed the day the day that the blend list number two was pasted to the wall. Again this is only anecdotal evidence, so take it for what it worth. You will need to see what your own comfort level is with that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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