Videos are such a great way to practice skills that require a lot of repetition to learn. The catchy tunes and engaging video make the content “sticky” so new readers can recall it easily. I love these 6 videos to practice blending and segmenting words.
One of the biggest hurdles to fluent reading is mastering the way words come apart and go back together. It seems like such a simple thing to us as we are already familiar with these skills and use them all of the time.
How many times have you had to s-t-r-e-t-c-h out the word “Wednesday” or “library” as you spelled it? #guilty 🙋🏽♀️
Or have you ever come across a super long, scientific-looking word that was totally new to you? I find myself saying each individual sound as I try to pronounce it correctly.
Blending and Segmenting Videos that will Have Your Students Moving and Learning
I have sat across from many students at my guided reading table who could easily produce letter sounds, but when it came to blending them they were totally stumped. Other students would get totally confused about stretching those words out to hear each sound.
I tell those students that practicing these skills is like exercising a muscle. The more we do that, the stronger we get. The more we practice blending and segmenting words, the stronger readers we become.
Learning Videos for the Classroom
While I personally believe these videos are appropriate for first and second grade classrooms, remember that there can often be inappropriate ads before and after YouTube videos. Also, I always recommend previewing the full video before showing it to your class.
If you plan to show YouTube videos in your classroom, I highly recommend that you read this blog post by Catherine, the Brown Bag Teacher. She shares three ways to eliminate YouTube video ads so that you can safely play these learning videos in your classroom.
The Best Blending and Segmenting Words Videos
Stretchy the Word Snake
Jack Hartmann practices stretching the sounds in letters out in this super catchy video. The letters are shown, emphasized and stretched out as he makes the different sounds and then squished back together as he says the whole word.
Segmenting ✅
Blending ✅
This video is a winner, for sure!
Practice Blending Sound for Reading
You can watch this video with the sound on and listen to the words sounded out a letter at a time. Or, you can mute it to have your students practice making the sounds themselves.
After sounding out the word, matching clip art appears in the bottom corner. We use this to “check our answer.” Giving students the chance to practice in a safe environment like this can really improve both confidence and mastery.
Phonics Phase 2 (CVC Words) Blending for Reading
This video is the same as the video above, but without someone sounding the words out for the viewer. This is great additional practice for students to say the sounds, blend them together, and read the words. At the end, they can even check their answer with the clip art in the bottom corner.
Learn to Read | One Syllable Words
The first 90 seconds of this video is perfect for moving from reading individual sounds to blending them together. The letters each make their own sounds and join together to make a new word.
A few notes about this video:
- This video is long, I wouldn’t recommend watching the whole thing at once. There is good content in the whole video, though so it could be used over several days/weeks in pieces.
- The Alphablocks speak in a British accent, so the “a” sound is softer than what we might use in the U.S.
Let’s Make Words | Onsets and Rimes
If you want practice blending that does *not* include CVC words, this is a great video. This Jack Hartmann video is in callback form so he has the beginning of the word and asks students to say the end of the word.
Students get to practice putting the beginning and ending of a word together without doing any reading. Jack Hartman does it again! 🙌
Sesame Street: Two Headed Monster – Pop
This Sesame Street video is a perfect short introduction to blending the onset and rime of a word. The two headed monster says each part of the word several times until he’s saying the word “pop.” Then he pulls out a balloon to pop!
My kids get a kick out of this old school Sesame Street character and his antics so it is super engaging. It also does a great job reinforcing the concept of blending. 👏
I have had a lot of success using these videos to teach and practice blending and segmenting words in the classroom. It is always helpful for my students to hear what I am teaching from another source and in a different way.
I think these videos are especially helpful to English language leaners! Plus, we get to move, laugh and sing along, too!
How do you like to practice blending and segmenting words with your new readers? Do you have any favorite videos? I would love to talk below 👇
