Why Blending is Hard for Kids and How to Fix It

Learning to read is one of the biggest milestones for young children, but one of the trickiest parts of early literacy is the skill of blending.

In Phonics, blending is the process of smoothly combining individual sounds (phonemes) together to form a whole word. It is the skill that connects phonemic awareness (hearing sounds) to reading (decoding sounds). Without blending, students may know letter sounds but still struggle to read fluently.

If you’ve ever worked with beginning readers, you know the struggle. A child can say the sounds /c/ – /a/ – /t/ perfectly…but when it is time to put them together into cat, they get stuck.

So why does this happen and what can we do to help them?

Why Blending Is So Hard for Kids

Blending requires children to do something very sophisticated:

1. Hold individual sounds in memory while they process the next one.

2. Link those sounds together smoothly instead of pausing too long between them.

3. Recognize the whole word after sliding the sounds.

For many students, especially in kindergarten and first grade, this is a very new skill that requires practice and lots of support. Even when they know their letter sounds, blending may not be automatic for them.

The Fix: Make Blending Visual and Concrete

Research from the Science of Reading (SoR) shows that children learn best when we combine explicit instruction with multisensory supports. Instead of telling them “blend faster,” give them visual and tactile tools to show what blending looks like. My Blending Cards can help do this for you.

How My Blending Cards Help

Each of my blending cards are designed with built-in support that makes blending easier for young learners:

1. Large dots under each letter – students tap or point as they segment each sound.

2. A dotted line – shows that sounds should be pulled together, not left separate.

3. A bold arrow – guides students to “read it fast” and say the whole word smoothly.

4. Picture support – provides meaning and confirmation once the word is blended.

5. Puzzle-theme design - turns word building into a hands-on game, helping them to see how sounds fit together to make whole words.

With these cards, your students will not just hear blending, they will see it and practice it step by step until it becomes automatic.

Who Are They For?

These cards are perfect for:

1. Kindergarten & First Grade – introducing and reinforcing blending.

2. Second Grade RtI – targeted support for students who still struggle.

3. Small Groups & Whole Class – flexible design works in any setting.

Activities You Can Try

Your students can use these puzzle themed blending cards in the following sessions:

1. Segment and Blend: They can tap the dots as you say each sound, then slide their finger across the arrow to read it fast.

2. Partner Blending: One student can segment; the other can blend. Switch roles.

3. Picture Match: They can blend the word, then check the picture to confirm. (You can print two sets of these cards and cut out the picture to up the challenge).

Final Thoughts

Blending does not have to be frustrating for you or your students. With the right support, they can move from sounding out slowly to reading words smoothly and confidently.

👉 Ready to make blending easier in your classroom?
Check out my Blending Cards, designed to align with Science of Reading best practices and give your students the visual, hands-on support they need to succeed.