Free printable sp blend phonics worksheets. Five practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, rapid naming chart, and word search.
A free illustrated mini-book for SP Blend, plus the same story as a passage sheet for highlighting.
A full-color picture book your student reads on their own. Skill: SP Blend. Print, cut and staple.
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Pip had a spud. He had a plan for his spud. Pip got his spade and ran to a spot in the sun.
He dug his spade in the mud. Wham! His spade hit a big, stiff rock. A spark shot up.
“This spot is bad,” said Pip.
Dad ran to him. “You can get a top spot,” said Dad. “Do not give up.”
Pip ran on. Then he got a good spot with wet mud. He dug a big pit for his spud. Pip put the spud in and had a grin. It was a top spot.
In a blend you hear both sounds. These blends start with s.
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The words this story set practices, in the two groups used by the word sort.
span, spat, sped, spell, spend, spill, spin, spit, split, spot
spud, spun, space, spade, spare, spark, speak, speed, spike, spine
S Blend words to read, match and write, with pictures. Each PDF has its answer key on page 2.
The sheets above are free. The pack is every sheet for sh, ch, th, ck and the l, r and s blends in order, a review set and all the answer keys, ready to print.
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4 ready-to-print PDFs for this story's sp blend words. Each one opens as its own file.
Cut-apart word cards to sort: Short Vowel SP Words or Long Vowel SP Words. Answer key on page 2.
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A new decodable story with the same sp blend sounds — each comes with its own set of worksheets.
The SP blend, found in words like "span" and "spot," is a common consonant blend taught in Phase 2 phonics, typically after students have mastered individual consonant and short vowel sounds. This blend is formed when the /s/ and /p/ sounds are blended together without a vowel in between. A common challenge for young learners is over-articulating the individual sounds, sometimes adding a tiny schwa sound like /suh-puh/ instead of a smooth /sp/. They might mispronounce "sped" as "suh-ped" or struggle to blend "spin" into one fluid sound. Another hurdle is distinguishing it from other initial blends, like ST or SK, requiring careful listening and precise articulation to produce the correct /sp/ sound without confusing it with similar-sounding combinations. Our SP blend worksheets provide focused practice to overcome these challenges. Start with the "Pip's Spud Spot" decodable passage, encouraging students to highlight or underline every SP word they find, such as "spud" or "spot," practicing smooth blending in context. The word sort activity helps students differentiate SP words from non-SP words, solidifying their recognition. Use the phrasing cards to build fluency by practicing reading short phrases containing SP words, like "spin the top" or "spill the milk," focusing on natural rhythm and expression. Finally, the RAN chart (Rapid Automatic Naming) is excellent for building automaticity; students quickly name the SP words aloud, improving their speed and accuracy in recognizing this blend without hesitation.
For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.
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