Phonemic awareness is a critical skill for early readersβand it's a big part of the Kindergarten curriculum. If you're not quite sure what phonemic awareness is or why it's important, you can read more about it here. In Kindergarten, we focus on five main types of phonemic awareness activities: rhyming and alliteration, phoneme categorization, oral blending, oral segmentation, and phoneme substitution. Each one helps build the foundational skills young learners need to become confident readers. In this post, we're diving into oral blending, with fun and practical oral blending games for Kindergarten that you can use in your classroom right away.
What is Oral Blending?
Oral blending is hearing sounds (or syllables), and being able to blend them to make the word. For example, the teacher says β/b/…/a/…/t/β, the student listens, repeats the sounds, then says the word βbatβ.
You can do oral blending with words that have 2, 3, 4, 5 or more sounds! Typically in Kindergarten, you should stick with words that have 2-4 sounds, but by the end of the year, students will be able to possibly blend words with 4 or 5 words.
OOne of my favorite tools for oral blending games is a Listening Phone. Have your students say the sounds and then blend the words together using the phone. It helps amplify the sounds so they can hear themselves clearly. You can find these phones here.
Oral Blending Game #1: Listen and Draw
This oral blending activity is super simple but engaging. Give your students a whiteboard or piece of paper. Slowly say the sounds in a word, like β/j/β¦ /e/β¦ /t/,β and have them whisper the word to themselves. Then, they draw a picture of what they heard. Itβs a great way to check comprehension and blending skills at the same time.
Oral Blending Game #2: “Driving” the Sounds Together
This is one of my favorite oral blending games for Kindergarten because it adds a movement element to help auditory processing. Grab a small toy car or truck. As you say each sound, have your student βdriveβ the car along their armβshoulder for the beginning sound, elbow for the middle, wrist for the ending. Then, they drive faster, blending the sounds together until they say the word. You can also do this on a table or floor with three small objects as markers.
Oral Blending Game #3: “I Spy” Pocket Chart Game
This one is a class favorite! Place pictures of CVC words (or words that fit your current skill focus) in a pocket chart. Say βI Spyβ¦,β and then say the sounds of a word, like β/m/β¦ /a/β¦ /p/.β Students must listen carefully, blend the sounds, and find the correct word in the chart. This is one of those oral blending games for Kindergarten that works well in both whole group and small group settings.
Looking for a small group lesson idea to practice oral blending? Check out this YouTube video here for a simple oral blending with CVC words lesson.
Try this Digital Game: Oral Blending Boom Cards
Want to have your students practice phonemic awareness during independent centers? These Boom Cardsβ’ were created so that your students can still practice phonemic awareness skills without having you there guiding them through it!
To play this oral blending game, students will listen to each word, then click the letters that make the CVC word. If they get it correct, they hear a “ding!” and it will progress to the next card. You can also see how they do with each activity- how much time it takes them, how many they got right, how many times they played, etc. Learn more about Boom Cardsβ’ here!
Check out the Phoneme Blending Boom Cards bundle here to find six differentiated activities that practice oral blending with your distance learners! You can play a sample of this deck here.
Ready to Take Your Phonemic Awareness Lessons to the Next Level?
If you're looking for more ways to bring hands-on phonemic awareness games into your daily routine, donβt miss my free 3-day video training! In this short but powerful series, Iβll show you how to:
- Make phonemic awareness engaging and effective
- Set up a simple routine you can stick to
- Use easy, hands-on activities that your students will love
π Plus, when you sign up, you'll also get access to my free Hands-On Phonemic Awareness Guideβpacked with low-prep games and ideas you can start using right away!
I hope you found some easy oral blending games for your Kindergarten phonemic awareness lessons! If you find your students are struggling with blending CVC words, learn why they might be struggling and some activities you can do to help support them in this post.
