How to Teach Kinders to Segment and Blend Using Hand Motions

Recently I shared that I use hand motions often when teaching to not only help keep my kinders engaged both mentally and physically but that I use them to help five year olds recall which skill I am asking them to practice.

I shared my tips for teaching rhyming which actually involves concepts of beginning sounds, onset and rime.

When it comes to growing readers and writers, and growing up writers who will attempt to sound out words… without you right next to them, sometimes we face a challenge.

Here is how I’ve attempted to implement a set of hand motions and a simple tool to face that challenge head on.

Segmenting Words Aloud

When working whole group or even in small group reading sessions, we use hands that almost appear to be “praying hands,” to give you a visual.

Then for each phoneme, or sound, we move our hands out away from each other.

When we are ready to blend them back together, then the hands are using a clapping motion. Out and in.

Simple, yet very functional!

Feeling the Sounds in Words

In order to make students actually feel the separate phonemes, I introduced the world’s best tool!

Ta daah!

Video not showing? Click here.

Yes, it is just a rubber band. But they think it’s totally cool because this is a tool they can have and keep in their tool box. Why?

Because you just may need to sound out or put words together when I’m not with you. This tool will help you do it. {Insert kinder smiles}

There you go.

I have just empowered each of my kinders to try, practice, improve and grow on their own.

And for the one who wants to call me over everyday to help them sound words out… “Well, you really don’t need me anymore. You’ve got the rubber band to help you.”

I’ve always got a rubber band lying around and it travels with me while conferencing with students… Practicing CVC games during a small group session? Rubber bands are at hand!

How to grow this for higher readers

Using these same hand motions, I model the concept of segmenting a 7-10 letter word from the books my students are reading.

They enjoy watching me squirm as I frustratingly try to blend a word that is just to long to remember the phoneme sequence. I use this as a teaching point and discussion to model using segmenting and blending bits we know (blends, digraphs and vowel patterns).

Blending the word SHOUTED for example, is much easier when it’s segmented as SH-OU-T-ED or even SH-OUT-ED.

Three to four bits are definitely easier to manage than seven!

As with anything we do, we’ve practiced whole class and set expectations for using these.

Hopefully these motions or the use of a rubber band can be a tool to help you grow your kinders… as it also helps practice Common Core Standards:

• K.RF.2.e-1. Blend at least three phonemes together to state one-syllable words.
• K.RF.2.e-2. Segment one-syllable (3 phonemes) words into phonemes.

I hope you catch a kinder out of the corner of your eye repeating these motions on their own as you see them practicing what you teach!

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

More Reading Skills

• Build-a-House Onset and Rime Activity (CVC Word Building)
• Teaching Kids How to Sound Out Words Without You
• 16 Phonics Videos for Kindergarten
• 5 Easy Mini-Lessons to Teach Sight Words