The Blending Board has been designed to provide rapid practice drilling different combinations of sounds.
The Blending Board is to be used after a sound has been taught or to address problem sounds that reoccur.
Below are some scenarios of how it can be used:
You have just taught your child the sound 't'. They already know 's', 'p' and 'a'. You cut out the four paper squares that fit in the grid cells and write one letter on each square. Alternatively, you can use alphabet tiles or blocks, or even a marker if your Blending Board is a whiteboard version. Place 'a' in the centre cell. Then allow your child to explore the different sounds by moving the other letter squares before and after the 'a' (making 'sat', 'tap', 'pat' etc..)
You were reading with your child, and you find they are struggling to differentiate between the short vowels 'a', 'e' and 'i'. After the book, you place 'a', 'e' and 'i' down the centre column. Then using two consonants, perhaps 'd' and 'g', start at the top with 'a', read the word then move the consonant down to the next vowel and repeat (so you should read 'dag', 'deg' and 'dig'). This comparison allows the subtle differences between the vowels to be heard. If all three sound the same, you know you have work to do.
