Blending and Segmenting

 

Blending and segmenting

Blending (combining sounds) and segmenting (separating sounds) are essential skills for learners to progress in pronouncing words. Learners gain the understanding required to read and write in an alphabetic language when they comprehend spoken words. Words can be broken down into separate sounds (phonemes) and letters can be used to represent those sounds. This lesson contains how to introduce blending and segmenting for kids and some fun activities to check their progress.

Competency: Understand the knowledge of phonemes including segmenting and blending to pronounce words accurately.

Topic: Blending and Segmenting

Strand: Reading and Literature

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, each learner should be able to;

• pronounce words by blending and segmenting.
• pronounce at least 6 words (dog, cat, fan, hut, mug and pig).

Prior knowledge: Can sound out the letters of the alphabet.

 

Introduction

The teacher writes "a - m" on a chart/board and instructs the learners to sound out the letters. The teacher then sounds each letter slowly and explains to the learners that they are attempting to combine the sounds in order to pronounce the word.

/a/+ /m/ = am 

/i/+ /s/ = is

/i/ + /t/ = it 

Now that the learners have some ideas about combining two lettered words, the teacher should introduce them to three lettered words.

After the learners have comprehended how to blend letter sounds, a teacher provides clues on how to segment letter sound from a blended sound.

Teacher pronounces the word slowly, “H-a-t” and the learners are expected to break down each letter sound.

Activity

Show the phonic cards for children. Let children break down each letter sound for the following words.

c-a-t                                                                                                  h-u-t 

                      

                                                                             d-o-g

                                                                                 m-u-g       

 

     Let children draw and write the words in their book.

For the extended learning activity, show the link below to explore more in blending and segmenting.

Share the link through telegram so that children could do revision at home as a blended learning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HepY63hl5b

Closure: Give childern a segmenting cheer

Segmentation Cheer 

Listen to my cheer. 

Then shout the sounds you hear.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Let’s take apart the word fun.

Give me the beginning sound. (Children respond with /f/) 

Give me the middle sound. (Children respond with /u/) 

Give me the ending sound. (Children respond with /n/)

That’s right! /f/ /u/ /n/—fun! fun! fun!

With the introduction of phonetics in classes PP to three,blending and segmenting words really  help both the teachers and children to develop literacy foundations,such as improving in reading,spelling skills,vocabulary development,phonemic awareness,decoding abilities,reading comprehension and phonoics knowledge.Children are also prepared for the language developmet, reading readiness and confidence from the early age.