Whirling Word Blends

Mix it up with word blends! Turn learning grammar into a game with a twist of your wrist.

• 1.

  English words are a little like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The English language is constructed by combining units of sounds and letters to form words. Word blends are a special type of unit where two or more consonant sounds are combined without any vowel sounds to form new sounds. Some popular word blends are bl-, br-, gr-, -rd, -tch, sm-, and wr-. What other word blends do you know?

• 2.

  It’s great to know what a word blend is, but knowing the words that you can make with them is even more valuable. Make and play this game to challenge your knowledge of word blends and the words they make.

• 3.

  With Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils and a straight edge, mark a small, thick paper plate into eight even, pie-shaped sections.

• 4.

  With Crayola Scissors, square off the rounded edges of the plate to make an octagon.

• 5.

  Write a word blend in each sector with Crayola Washable Markers. Decorate your plate with colorful designs.

• 6.

  <STRONG>Ask an adult</STRONG> to poke a colored pencil through the center of the plate with the eraser down.

• 7.

  To play, twirl the spinner. When the plate stops on one of its octagonal sides, say a word that contains that word blend. Write down each word so players always think up new words.

Benefits

• Students learn the definition of a word blend.
• Students recognize common consonant sounds that are word blends.
• Students create a learning game to help them identify words that contain specific word blends.

Adaptations

• To give your game a competitive edge, award a point for each letter in the words you name.
• Create similar learning games for rhyming words, word endings, and other language arts skills.
• To assess children’s learning, use the listed words for vocabulary and spelling words.