This activity helps your child work on his/her phonemic awareness (oral blending skill) and their listening comprehension all at once! You can use a sample of any story you like to play this game. The example shared below uses an excerpt from Frog and Toad.
- Have your story and questions ready.
- Put on your “dunce cap”.
- Tell your child that you are going to tell him/her a story and that you might need their help blending some words because you can’t figure them out.
- Read a line from the story and sound out the last word very slowly. Then ask the question to your child and wait for them to help you by figuring out the word before you continue reading.
Example:
The old brown Frog sat in the /s/ /u/ /n/. Where did the Frog sit? (in the sun)
His pal Toad hid under a /r/ /o/ /k/. Where did Toad hide? (under a rock)
Toad told Frog that the sun would turn him into /m/ /u/ /sh/. What would Frog turn into? (into mush)
Frog told Toad that he looked like the gopher;s next /m/ /ea/ /l/. What did Toad look like? (a gopher’s next meal)
Suddenly it began to /r/ /ai/ /n/. What did it begin to do? (rain)
Frog and Toad played together in the /m/ /u/ /d/. Where did they play? (in the mud)
Kids have a lot of fun figuring the words out to complete the story. You can do this with songs, poems, and other stories anytime you want!