Phonics, Spelling, & Grammar Resources

Looking for sl Consonant Blends Activities printables, games, worksheets and hands-on activities? Read on! Our hands-on phonics blending games are guaranteed to keep your learners engaged and motivated during letters and sounds lessons. These phonics activities are perfect for a range of teaching environments including whole class, independent learning and literacy centres too!

Related Posts: Everything you need to know about Teaching Digraphs

So what are Blends?

Consonant blends consist of two or more consonants that are blended together. They are different from digraphs because you can still hear each sound of the two letters in the word, for example; black and mist.

Just like digraphs there are beginning consonant blends and final consonant blends. The beginning consonant blends appear at the beginning of a word, such as brick and clay. The most common beginning consonant blends include: bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fr, tr, fl, gl, gr, pl, pr, sl, sm, sp and st. 

Blends can also be found at the end of words for example; task and bend and there are also blends which contain three consonants, for example; str, spl, and spr. 

When teaching blends, most teachers make it easier for students by introducing blends in families or groups.  For example, l-blends include: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl and sl and r-blends. For a list of the different blends check out our Phonics Blends List.