Blending and segmenting beyond CVC words

Amelia Mehra

Mon, Jun 12, 23

1 minutes read

Blending and segmenting beyond CVC words

CVC words (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) are the first words that children learn to segment and blend. After CVC words, phonics instruction moves on to slightly more complicated patterns such as CVCC words and CCVC words. CVCC words such as jump, gulp, and lift follow the pattern of consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant. CCVC words such as trip, spin, and clap follow the pattern of consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant. As children gradually master phoneme-grapheme correspondences and the processes of blending and segmenting, they are able to decode increasingly complex words. They initially focus on words with one syllable and gradually turn to longer words.

Jump, gulp, lift, lamp, desk and park are CVCC words.
Trip, spin, clap, flip, grab and stop are CCVC words.

Deep Dive

Read our report on the Science of Reading. Research-based reading instruction must incorporate the 5 pillars of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This report provides an easy to understand overview of each of these pillars and explains the important connection between how the brain learns to read (the Neuroscience of Reading) and how we teach children to read (The Science of Reading Instruction). It also explains why helping children build connections between letters and sounds, through phonics and phonemic awareness, is so crucial for the developing reading mind. This report is perfect for sharing with colleagues and friends!