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.
pl 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.
- plan
- plank
- plod
- plot
- plum
- plus
Free decodable book: Decodable Blend PL
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 plan. Leo has a plan too. Mia and Leo like the plan.
Mia has a plot. Leo has a plot too. Mia and Leo like the plot.
Mia has a plum. Leo has a plum too. Mia and Leo like the plum.
Mia has a hat. Leo has a hat plus a mat.
Mia did not plod. Leo did not plod too. Mia and Leo did not plod on the mat.
Plan plot plum plus plod plank. 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: pl blends
Blend CCVC words with initial pl blend — one sound per box