What is Phoneme Blending, Segmenting, and Substitution?

What are Phonemes?
Phonemes are the smallest sounds in words. By learning to blend, segment, and substitute phonemes, we can become better readers and writers.

Phoneme Blending

  • What is Phoneme Blending?
    Phoneme blending is when we put sounds together to make a word.
  • How to Blend Phonemes:
    Listen to each sound and then blend them together to say the word.
  • Example:
    • Sounds: /c/ /a/ /t/
    • Blend: cat

Phoneme Segmenting

  • What is Phoneme Segmenting?
    Phoneme segmenting is when we break a word into its individual sounds.
  • How to Segment Phonemes:
    Say the word, then break it into the sounds you hear.
  • Example:
    • Word: dog
    • Segment: /d/ /o/ /g/

Phoneme Substitution

  • What is Phoneme Substitution?
    Phoneme substitution is when we change one sound in a word to make a new word.
  • How to Substitute Phonemes:
    Pick a sound in the word and change it to another sound to create a new word.
  • Example:
    • Word: hat
    • Change the /h/ sound to /b/.
    • New Word: bat

Mixed Phoneme Skills

  • Practicing Different Phoneme Skills:
    In this section, we will practice blending, segmenting, and substituting phonemes all together.
  • Example:
    • Blend the sounds /p/ /i/ /g/ to make pig.
    • Segment the word sun into /s/ /u/ /n/.
    • Change the /s/ sound in sun to /r/ to make run.

Phoneme Manipulation

  • What is Phoneme Manipulation?
    Phoneme manipulation is when we change, add, or remove sounds to make new words.
  • Example:
    • Start with the word cat.
    • Change the /c/ sound to /m/ to make mat.
    • Remove the /m/ sound from mat and you get at.