LumiraWhat is a consonant blend?
In a consonant blend, two consonants sit side by side and both sounds are still heard. Blends trip up a lot of readers because the sounds run together quickly — the fix is slowing down and stretching each sound in turn, not memorising the pair as a unit.
bl blend words — word list
Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.
- black
- bled
- blip
- blob
- block
- blot
- blush
Free decodable book: Decodable Blend BL
This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.
Mia has a black hat. Leo has a black hat too. Mia and Leo like the black hat.
Mia has a blob. Leo has a blob too. Mia and Leo like the blob.
Mia bled a bit. Leo bled a bit too. Mia and Leo did not run.
Mia did not blot it. Leo did not blot it too. Mia and Leo did not blot the mat.
Mia had a blip. Leo had a blip too. Mia and Leo like the blip.
Mia sat on the block. Leo sat on the block too. Mia and Leo like the block.
Black blob bled blot blip block blush. Mia and Leo like them all.
How to teach it
- Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
- Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
- Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
- Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
- Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.
Lessons that practise this pattern
Build words: bl blends
Blend CCVC words with initial bl blend — one sound per box