Blending is putting separate sounds together to say a word: /s/ /a/ /t/ makes sat. Zupzi Read practices blending by ear from the first lesson, in the Warm up, and Level 0 has “Blend two sounds” and “Blend three sounds”; then come written words, two-sound words like am and three-sound words like sat, with a slider that says each sound as a finger passes under it.
- 8 lessons
- Level 0: Sound Steps and Level 1: First Letters
- 4 spellings
The steps, in the order the path takes them
- Start by ear. Say the sounds of a short word and ask for the word. Every lesson opens with a Warm up that does this (“Listen to the sounds. Which word do they make?”), and Sound Steps also has “Blend two sounds” and “Blend three sounds”.
- Stretchy sounds first. Sounds you can hold, like /m/ and /s/, are easier to keep connected: “mmmaaa”. The path starts with a, m, s and t for that reason of order.
- Two sounds, then three. Two-sound words (am, at) come in the same lesson as three-sound words (sat, mat): Level 1, lesson 5.
- Slide a finger under the word. In the app's Blend step, the ball says each sound as it passes and then the whole word: “Slide your finger under the word. Then read it to me.”
- Change one sound. The Word chain swaps one letter at a time: sat → mat → map.
A common slip is adding a vowel to a stop sound (“tuh-a-puh” for tap): keep stop sounds short and stretchy sounds long. See letter sounds.
Try the slider
The home page has a copy of the app's slider, with words from Level 1: drag the ball under the word. In the app, the Blend step and Word chain start at age 5; ages 3 to 4 blend by ear in the Warm up.
Real screens from the app, in the iPhone simulator, with a test reader.
Practice words, lesson by lesson
The word lists of Level 1, in order: each lesson adds words made only of the sounds taught so far.
Level 1, lesson 5Read VC and CVC words
- am
- at
- sat
- mat
- tam
- sam
Level 1, lesson 6/p/ as in pig
- map
- tap
- sap
- pat
- pam
Level 1, lesson 7/f/ as in fish
- fat
- map
- pat
- sat
Level 1, lesson 8/i/ as in itch
- it
- sit
- tip
- pit
- fit
- sip
Level 1, lesson 9/n/ as in net
- an
- in
- tan
- pan
- fan
- man
- nap
- pin
- tin
- fin
- nip
The 4 spellings in this part of the path
- p as in pig
- f as in fish
- i as in itch
- n as in net
Where it sits in the path: 8 lessons
In the order the app teaches them, with the new spellings, a few of the lesson words and the heart words.
Level 0: Sound Steps3 lessons here, of 10
- 8Blend two soundsSkills: blending spoken sounds
- 9Blend three soundsSkills: blending spoken sounds · splitting spoken words into sounds (not practiced as a task in the app yet)
- 10Ready to readSkills: letter names, blending spoken sounds · how print works (not practiced as a task in the app yet)
Level 1: First Letters5 lessons here, of 9
- 5Read VC and CVC wordsWords: am, at, sat, mat, tam, sam · Book: Sam
- 6/p/ as in pigNew: p as in pig · Words: map, tap, sap, pat, pam · Book: Tap, Tap!
- 7/f/ as in fishNew: f as in fish · Words: fat, map, pat, sat · Heart words: of · Book: A Fat Map
- 8/i/ as in itchNew: i as in itch · Words: it, sit, tip, pit, fit, sip · Heart words: is · Book: Pip
- 9/n/ as in netNew: n as in net · Words: an, in, tan, pan, fan, man, nap, pin · Heart words: to · Book: Nap, Pip!
Word pronunciations come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, Copyright (C) 1993-2015 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.
Questions about blending
What is blending in reading?
Putting separate sounds together to say a word: /m/ /a/ /p/ makes map. It can start by ear, before letters, and then continues with written words.
Which words are easiest to blend first?
Short words with sounds you can stretch, like am and sat. Zupzi Read starts with a, m, s and t, then adds p, f, i and n.
At what age does the app's blending slider start?
At age 5. Ages 3 to 4 skip the slider; they blend by ear in the Warm up.
More of the path
Phonics, step by step:
By age and grade:
Or jump to a level of the scope and sequence:
