Segmenting Words

When we speak, we blend sounds together to make a word.

For example, when we say the word ham, we are blending the sounds /h/-/ã/-/m/ together quickly.

To learn to spell, we need to take those individual sounds apart. That process is called segmenting.

A quick way to know if your student can segment words is to ask, "What sounds do you hear in the word pan?"

If your student isn't able to easily identify the three individual sounds (/p/-/ã/-/n/), teach him how to segment words. This is an important skill that will make learning to spell so much easier for your student.