Hello Again, Reader
Welcome back, Reader!
You already know all the Letter People and their sounds. Wow! Now we will practice the biggest reading trick of all: putting three sounds together to make a word.
Here is the trick. First you stretch: say each sound slowly, one at a time. Then you squish: push the sounds together fast until they become a word.
Stretch it slow: mmm...aaa...nnn. Now squish it fast: man!
That is it! Stretch, then squish. Let us try it together.
Watch, Then You Try
Watch me stretch and squish a word.
Stretch: sss...u...nnn. Squish it fast: sss-u-nnn... sun! I read the word sun.
Now it is your turn. Here come three Letter People sounds for you to blend.
Coda Crocodile says "c" (a hard k sound). Annie Ant says "a". Tyler Toucan says "t".
Stretch and Squish: Sun
You are blending like a real reader! Here come three more Letter People.
Samuel Sloth says "sss". Uma Umbrella says "u". Ned Newt says "nnn".
Stretch and Squish: Big
You are getting so good at this! Here come three more Letter People sounds.
Bruno Buffalo says "b". Izzy Iguana says "i". Greta Gorilla says "g".
Stretch and Squish: Hot
Look at you go! Here come three more Letter People sounds to blend.
Hugo Hippo says "h". Oscar Otter says "o". Tyler Toucan says "t".
Stretch and Squish: Red
Last word, super reader! Here come your final three Letter People sounds.
Rex Rhino says "rrr". Eliza Elephant says "e". Dexter Dolphin says "d".
Great Job!
You did it!
Today you practiced the biggest reading trick of all: stretch and squish. You blended five whole words all by yourself:
- cat
- sun
- big
- hot
- red
Now here is the amazing part. You can blend ANY three-sound word this same way. Stretch the sounds slow, then squish them fast.
Look around your house for little words to sound out. Try the words on a cereal box, a sign, or a book. Stretch, squish, and read!
You are a blending reader now. Come back soon to read even bigger words!