A consonant blend is two or three consonants side by side, each keeping its own sound: the fl in flat, the lk in milk. In Zupzi Read's program, blends are Level 3: 7 lessons that bring no new letters, only new word shapes, first with each short vowel and then in bigger blends.
- 7 lessons
- Level 3: Blends
This page describes Zupzi Read's program: the order the app teaches in, lesson by lesson. Zupzi Read is coming soon to the App Store, and it goes there only with the whole program, ages 3 to 8.
What makes blends tricky
The sounds are all known by then; the challenge is keeping them apart. The goal of the level is to read a blend without adding a vowel between the consonants: flat, not “fuh-lat”. The lessons go vowel by vowel (short a, i, o, u, e), then to bigger shapes like stamp (CCVCC) and three-letter blends like strap (CCCVC).
How the app practices blends
The sound slider splits flat into four sounds, f l a t, and says each as the ball passes. Word chains swap one letter at a time, and in Listen and build your child hears a word and builds it with letter tiles.
Blends and digraphs
In a blend, each letter keeps its sound: fl is /f/ + /l/. In a digraph, two letters make one new sound: sh in ship. See digraphs.
Blend words by pattern
Every word from the word lists of Level 3, grouped by its shape (C = consonant sound, V = vowel sound), with the lesson after which it can be read.
“L1 · 5” means the word can be read after Level 1, lesson 5: by then every sound in it, and its word shape, has been taught (worked out from the app's word bank).
CCVCtwo consonants, then the vowel (flat, stop) · 19 words
- flatL3 · 1
- planL3 · 1
- clapL3 · 1
- snapL3 · 1
- slipL3 · 1
- flipL3 · 1
- twinL3 · 1
- dripL3 · 1
- stopL3 · 1
- frogL3 · 1
- dropL3 · 1
- plotL3 · 1
- spotL3 · 1
- plumL3 · 1
- drumL3 · 1
- clubL3 · 1
- plugL3 · 1
- stepL3 · 1
- sledL3 · 1
CVCCtwo consonants after the vowel (milk, fast) · 27 words
- handL3 · 1
- lastL3 · 1
- fastL3 · 1
- bandL3 · 1
- campL3 · 1
- milkL3 · 1
- liftL3 · 1
- mistL3 · 1
- listL3 · 1
- giftL3 · 1
- hintL3 · 1
- softL3 · 1
- lostL3 · 1
- costL3 · 1
- pondL3 · 1
- dustL3 · 1
- jumpL3 · 1
- bumpL3 · 1
- mustL3 · 1
- huntL3 · 1
- nestL3 · 1
- bestL3 · 1
- tentL3 · 1
- wentL3 · 1
- bendL3 · 1
- deskL3 · 1
- helpL3 · 1
VCCa vowel, then two consonants (ant) · 1 word
- antL3 · 1
CCVCCblends on both sides (stamp) · 8 words
- stampL3 · 6
- blendL3 · 6
- crustL3 · 6
- plantL3 · 6
- trustL3 · 6
- printL3 · 6
- driftL3 · 6
- blimpL3 · 6
CCCVCthree consonants first (strap) · 5 words
- strapL3 · 7
- splitL3 · 7
- stripL3 · 7
- scrubL3 · 7
- strumL3 · 7
CCCVCCthree consonants first and two after · 1 word
- sprintL3 · 7
Where it sits in the path: 7 lessons
In the order the app teaches them, with the new spellings, a few of the lesson words and the heart words.
Level 3: Blends7 lessons here, of 7
- 1Short a with blendsWords: flat, plan, clap, hand, last, ant, fast, band · Heart words: from
- 2Short i with blendsWords: slip, flip, milk, lift, mist, twin, list, drip
- 3Short o with blendsWords: stop, frog, drop, plot, soft, lost, spot, cost
- 4Short u with blendsWords: plum, drum, dust, jump, bump, must, hunt, club
- 5Short e with blendsWords: step, nest, best, sled, tent, went, bend, desk
- 6Bigger blendsWords: stamp, blend, crust, plant, trust, print, drift, blimp
- 7Three-letter blendsWords: strap, split, strip, scrub, strum, sprint
Word pronunciations come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, Copyright (C) 1993-2015 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.
Questions about consonant blends
What is the difference between a blend and a digraph?
In a blend, each letter keeps its sound: fl in flat is /f/ + /l/. In a digraph, two letters make one new sound: sh in ship. Blends are Level 3 of Zupzi Read's program; digraphs are Level 4.
Does Zupzi Read teach new letters with blends?
No. Level 3 brings no new sound-spellings: it uses the letters from Levels 1 and 2 in longer word shapes.
What does CCVC mean?
Consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant, like flat or stop. CVCC is like milk or fast; CCVCC like stamp; CCCVC like strap.
More of the path
Phonics, step by step:
By age and grade:
Or jump to a level of the scope and sequence:
