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.
br 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.
- brag
- bran
- brat
- brats
- brick
- bricks
- brim
- bring
- brush
Free decodable book: Decodable Blend BR
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 brick. Leo has a brick too. Mia and Leo like the bricks.
Mia can brag a bit. Leo can brag a bit too. Mia and Leo did not brag too much.
Leo had bran in a dish. Mia had bran in a dish too. Mia and Leo like bran.
Mia is not a brat. Leo is not a brat too. Mia and Leo are not brats.
Mia had a hat with a big brim. Leo had a hat with a big brim too. Mia and Leo like the big brim.
Mia can brush up. Leo can brush up too. Mia and Leo like to brush up.
Mia can bring a brick. Leo can bring a brick too. Mia and Leo bring big bricks.
Brag bran brat brim brick brush bring. 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: br blends
Blend CCVC words with initial br blend — one sound per box