Phonics – Blend Ladders

How to use the phonics blend ladders

Initially, children learn to recognise and say the names of the letters of the alphabet. (Ay, Bee, Cee) More importantly, they learn to associate the visual shape of the letters with the sounds those letters represent. (/a/ in apple – say it with its clue word because /a/ in ape is not the same!)

Once they have learned to recognize and say the letter sounds, they learn to put them together to make words. For example:

       c – a – t   cat

Once the children know the letters and can sound out words, it is time to teach them phonic blends.

What is a phonic blend?

• A phonic blend is when two or more letters are next to each other and you can hear the sound each letter makes.            e.g. ba-g;  mu-g, ze-bra, cl-ap.
• Some blends are consonant + vowel  ￫   ta – p;

Other blends are two or more consonants    ￫  dr op.  ￫     str eet

• Phonic blends may occur at the beginning or at the end of words:

          e.g. la+mp =  lamp    tr+ap = trap   bl+end = blend

Why are phonic blends useful in learning to read?

When children recognize and use phonic blends, it makes their reading quicker and easier. Instead of having to sound out each letter one by one, they will see and say the phonic blend as one sound:

ba+t = bat      mu+g = mug etc.

For further information about using blend ladders, and for relevant free downloadable pdfs for using blend ladders, click the links below:

Blend Ladders Worksheet for learners to write their own blends –

How to pronounce the letter sounds – here is a short video clip demonstrating letter sounds: