Consonant Blends Reading Lesson Plan: Short Stories With BL, BR, CL and CR

Grade: 1st Grade
Skill: Reading: consonant blends in text
Time: 35 minutes

Once children can read blend words in a list, they need to read them in sentences, where the meaning helps them check their decoding. This lesson uses a short story packed with words that start with bl, br, cl and cr. It works best after children have been taught the blends themselves (see the consonant blends lesson plan).

You can use the example story below or a printed blends passage.

Objectives

Read a short story containing initial blends with accuracy.
Find and sort the blend words in the text.
Answer questions about the story and respond with a drawing.

What you need

A short blends story for each child
Colored pencils
Optional: printed blends reading passages with questions

Word lists

Example story: Brad is a crab. He has a black shell and big claws. Brad can clap his claws. Clap, clap, clap! A blue fish swims by. The fish blinks at Brad. Brad is not cross. He claps for the fish.
Blend words in the story: Brad, crab, black, claws, clap, clap, blue, blinks, cross, claps

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm-up: blend flash (4 min)

Write bl, br, cl and cr on the board. Point to each blend and have children say it, then give a word that starts with it. Then read five words from the story quickly: crab, black, clap, blue, cross.

2. Set a purpose (3 min)

Tell children the story is about a crab named Brad. Ask: “What can a crab do?” Then give them a question to keep in mind while reading: “What does Brad do when the fish swims by?”

3. First read (7 min)

Children read the story quietly, pointing to each word. Listen in to individuals. If a child reads “cab” for “crab”, ask: “Does that make sense? A cab with claws?” Meaning is a useful check on blend errors, because dropping a sound usually changes the word into something else.

4. Blend hunt (7 min)

Children circle every blend word in the story, then sort them into a four-column table: bl, br, cl, cr. Compare answers as a group. Point out that “claws”, “clap” and “claps” all start with cl, and that “Brad” starts with a blend even though it’s a name.

5. Partner reading (6 min)

Pairs read the story aloud, taking turns sentence by sentence. On the second read, the listener says “Clap, clap, clap!” with the reader, with real claps.

6. Questions and drawing (8 min)

Ask the purpose question and two others: “What color is Brad’s shell?” “Is Brad angry with the fish? How do you know?” (“Brad is not cross” is the clue, and “cross” may be a new word, so check it.)

Children finish by drawing Brad and the fish and writing one sentence under the picture, using at least one blend word.

Support and challenge

For less confident readers, read the story to them first while they follow with a finger, then have them read it back.
For confident readers, have them write two more sentences to continue the story, using new blend words from the board.

Tips for ESL and EFL classes

Watch for added vowels in blends (“kurab” for “crab”) and model the blend on its own before rereading the word.
Words like “cross” (angry) and “blinks” may be unfamiliar. Act them out before reading.