Sandpaper Blending

Age
4 and up.

Materials

 * Sandpaper letters or Movable alphabet.
 * Sound Table.

Preparation
As soon as a child has learned the sound of one or two vowels and 5 consonants start him blending.

Presentation

 * 1) Have letters prepared for 3 letter phonetic words (ie. mat).
 * 2) Random the letters and review each letter's sound.
 * 3) Directress lays down a 9 inch black circle.
 * 4) Lay out each letter some distance apart, saying it's sound clearly. Use short sound.
 * 5) Directress sounds out each sound of the word slowly, pointing to the sound as she says it.
 * 6) Have child repeat after the directress.
 * 7) Say sounds faster and move cards closer together.
 * 8) Blend first two sounds together.
 * 9) Add last sound to the first two.
 * 10) Have child keep sounding out the letters until he recognizes the word. If he seems to be frustrated, help him along.
 * 11) Say complete word.
 * 12) May write word down for child to take home.
 * 13) Depending on the attention level of the child continue until the child indicates he's tired.

Control Of Error

 * 1) The directress
 * 2) Hearing two vowel sounds.
 * 3) Hearing an unblended sound.
 * 4) To get the child to recognize the part individual letters play as they come together to make a word.

Points Of Interest
The letters coming together to form words.

Realizing that he can read.

Purpose

 * To show how the consonant and the vowel come together to form a sound, either a consonant-vowel sound, or a vowel-consonant sound.
 * To show that consonants are dependent on vowels for release.
 * Preparation for resding and writing.

Variation

 * 1) Child selects his own letters to form his own words.
 * 2) Directress lays out an object that has 3 letters in its name and has the child find its letters.
 * 3) Directress has a basket of objects (3 letter phonetic). Directress lays out the 3 letter phonetic word an the child has to find the object that goes with it.