Blending: the moment words click

From sounds to words

Blending is joining sounds together to read a word: c-a-t becomes cat. It sounds trivial to adults and feels like magic to five-year-olds, because it is the exact moment print turns into language.

How to model it

Say the sounds slowly and stretch them into each other: “caaat”. Use a finger to slide under the letters as you go. Keep the sounds pure — “cuh-ah-tuh” makes blending harder, not easier.

When it doesn't click

Go back one step: can your child hear that c-a-t is cat when you say the sounds? Oral blending comes before print blending. Practise it in the car, no book needed.