Parents often ask what they can do to help their child become more proficient at decoding or blending letter sounds into words.  Here is an opportunity for you to become your child’s coach!  Attached are short vowel words.  The individual blocks are an attempt to segment the individual sounds.  Sometimes it is helpful to have clue words with the beginning short vowel sound.  Here are samples:  “at” (short a) – “Ed” (short e) – “it” (short i) – “ox” (short o) – “up” (short u).

Here is the recommended procedure.  Your child should touch the first block and say the sound for that letter.  Secondly, your child should move to the second block and say that sound.  Then help your child blend together the two sounds for the first boxes.  Once your child has those sounds blended together, he/she should say the sound in the third box and add it on to the blended sound of the first two boxes.  Many of the children will be able to quickly read most of the words.  The purpose of the task is to practice blending the sounds.  There is often a tendency to isolate the first sound and then blend the second and third sounds together.  Proficiency in this blending procedure promotes confidence and success in future decoding and spelling of unknown words.

I remind you that the children are not expected to blend the sounds of every unknown word!  The high frequency or sight words (found in the Sticker Word Books) are to be memorized at sight.  Some words may be too difficult for your child to decode.  At those times simply tell them the word.  We do not want to frustrate your child or you!