In a small-group activity using colored blocks to represent sounds in the word 'slid,' after the blocks are arranged, which direction should the teacher give next?

• A. "If that says slid, show me slip."
• B. "Now touch each block and say its sound."
• C. "Say the word slid." [Students respond.]
• D. "Name a word that rhymes with slid." [Students respond.] "Now change slid to your new word."

Answer: (C)

Blending sounds to form a spoken word is the step right after arranging blocks that represent those sounds. When the blocks are laid out for slid, the next move is for the teacher to say the whole word aloud so students hear how the individual sounds come together as one word. This reinforces decoding—the idea that phonemes map to a spoken word and that the sequence of sounds is what creates the word’s pronunciation. It also confirms that the blocks correctly represent the target word.

If you ask students to touch and say each block, you’re focusing on isolating and articulating individual sounds, which is a segmenting activity rather than blending. Naming a rhyming word shifts attention to phonological awareness without tying the block sequence to the specific word, and changing slid to a new word interrupts practicing the blending step. So, saying the word slid and having students respond best solidifies the blending skill at this stage.