As students continue building their decoding skills, they are now ready to read books that include ending blends —a key next step in our structured approach to reading. These books come after our work with CVC words, digraphs, and initial blends and are carefully designed to align with the Science of Teaching Reading framework. Why Are We Moving to Ending Blends? Ending blends are two or more consonants that come at the end of a word, like -nd , -st , -mp , and -lt . In these words, each sound in the blend can still be heard (for example, in the word jump , we hear both the /m/ and /p/). Learning to read and spell words with ending blends strengthens your child’s ability to blend and segment sounds, which is a critical part of fluent reading and accurate spelling. Why This Order? Our reading sequence is carefully designed to build confidence through small, manageable steps: ✔ CVC Words – Build a strong foundation with simple three-letter words. ✔ Digraphs – Learn letter pairs that make one sound (sh, ch, th, wh, ck). ✔ Initial Blends – Practice smoothly combining sounds at the beginning of words (bl, st, gr). ✔ Ending Blends – Add complexity by blending sounds at the ends of words (nd, sk, mp). ✔ CVCe Words – Learn how silent e changes a vowel’s sound. This structured path allows children to apply their growing knowledge in meaningful, confidence-building ways. How Can You Help at Home? Listen for and point out words with ending blends in conversation or reading (like fast , milk , or land ). - When your child reads, encourage them to say each sound and blend carefully through the end of the word. - If they get stuck, remind them that the last two sounds may come close together but both can be heard.