In Jolly Phonics, blending and segmenting are taught as two core, interconnected skills (part of the “Five Basic Skills”) once children begin learning the 42 letter sounds. The programme uses a structured, multi-sensory approach to transition children from recognising individual sounds to reading (blending) and spelling (segmenting).
The resources used for blending and segmenting help move children from hearing sounds to reading words and then spelling them independently. The resources are designed to provide structured practice, repetition, and multi-sensory engagement.
Blending is the process of saying individual letter sounds in a word and running them together to form a spoken word (e.g., saying /s/ - /a/ - /t/ and blending it into “sat”).
Because blending is not always intuitive for young children, Jolly Phonics teaches it explicitly:
Unlike traditional methods that teach alphabet letter names first (A, B, C), Jolly Phonics teaches letter sounds from day one. Once children learn that ‘s’ makes the /s/ sound (rather than “ess”), they can immediately blend simple Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) words.
The teacher explicitly demonstrates the process aloud. For example, when reading the word pin, the teacher points to each letter and says the isolated sounds (/p/, /i/, /n/), then sweeps a finger smoothly under the whole word to blend them into “piiiin”.
Initially, sounds are said close together so the children can catch the word. As children grow more confident, they transition from teacher-led blending to doing it independently or with a partner using resources such as the flashcards, magnetic letters or Jolly Classroom activities.
The 42 sounds are taught in specific groups (starting with s, a, t, i, p, n) specifically because this small group allows children to start blending and reading dozens of words right away (e.g., pin, sit, pat, ant, tap).
Segmenting is the reverse of blending. It is the ability to hear a whole spoken word and break it down into its individual component sounds (e.g., hearing the word “dog” and identifying /d/ - /o/ - /g/). This skill is essential for spelling and writing.
Jolly Phonics approaches segmenting through targeted daily practice:
Children are trained to listen closely to spoken words. Teachers often start with fun oral games (e.g., “I Spy” using sounds: “Can you find a p-e-n?”).
Children are taught to map sounds to their fingers or use visual boxes. For instance, for the word “cat”, a child holds up three fingers (one for each sound: /c/, /a/, /t/) or places counters in three boxes representing the phonemes.
Once a child can orally segment a word into sounds, they are taught to match each sound to its corresponding letter shape. If they want to write the word “tap”, they segment it into /t/ - /a/ - /p/ and write the corresponding letters down sequentially.
In a typical Jolly Phonics lesson plan, blending and segmenting are practised together, using the programme resources and following the daily lesson plans.
The programme provides new decodable words in each lesson and the class practises sounding them out and blending them together to read.
The teacher says a word aloud; the class segments it into sounds (often using their fingers to count the sounds) and then writes the spelling down. Dictation words and sentences provide segmenting practice, letter formation and handwriting skills.
By coupling these methods with decodable reading books and actions for every sound, Jolly Phonics ensures that children build a strong cognitive bridge between decoding (reading) and encoding (writing).
In the Jolly Phonics programme, several resources are specifically designed to support the development of blending (reading) and segmenting (spelling) skills.
Jolly Phonics provides a wide range of resources to support the development of blending and segmenting skills, many of which can be adapted to meet the needs of young learners, children with SEND, and those with English as an Additional Language (EAL).
The programme encourages a multi-sensory approach to learning, enabling children to see, hear, say, and physically engage with sounds through activities such as actions, air writing, magnetic letters, and flashcards. These strategies help to reinforce letter-sound relationships and make phonics learning more accessible and memorable. In addition, children need regular opportunities to apply their blending and segmenting skills in meaningful contexts.
Jolly Phonics decodable readers provide carefully structured reading materials that allow children to practise these skills independently, helping to develop reading fluency, confidence, and comprehension.
These provide structured practice in blending sounds to read words and simple sentences. The books are linked to the Jolly Phonics sound groups and are designed to help children apply newly learned letter sounds in reading.
Children blend sounds to read a word and then check a picture on the following page to confirm they have decoded it correctly. The books include sound dots to support sounding out words.
The Jolly Phonics decodable readers are matched to the letter sounds, tricky words, and spellings that children have already learned. They provide meaningful reading practice while reinforcing blending skills and building fluency.
Letter-sound cards and picture flashcards are used to teach and review the sounds needed for blending activities.
The picture flashcards reinforce both the letter shape and its corresponding sound, providing a clear visual cue to support children's phonics development. When used, the ‘sound dots’ under each letter sound help children identify and segment the individual sounds within words.
The flashcards also contain groups of words that align with the Jolly Phonics letter-sound groups, allowing children to revisit previously learned sounds while introducing new ones. This structured progression supports the development of both blending for reading and segmenting for spelling.
The Pupil Books play an important role in developing children's segmenting skills by providing a range of structured activities that encourage them to listen carefully to the sounds within words and represent those sounds using the correct letters.
Children are guided to identify the individual phonemes in spoken words, break words down into their component sounds, and record each sound in sequence. As they progress, activities move from simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words to more complex words containing digraphs, consonant blends, and alternative spellings.
The Word Bank contains words, phrases, and sentences organised according to phonics patterns. It is recommended as a source of words for spelling, dictation, and segmenting practice.
This resource provides further practice with phonically regular words and spelling patterns, supporting both reading and writing development.
Within the Teacher's Book and Pupil Books, children are regularly encouraged to listen carefully to spoken words, identify the individual sounds they can hear, and record the corresponding letters or letter groups.
Through guided activities, modelling by the teacher, and independent practice, children learn to break words down into their separate phonemes before attempting to spell them. This process helps them understand that words are made up of individual sounds that can be represented in writing.
The activities progressively increase in complexity, beginning with simple words before moving on to words containing digraphs, consonant blends, and alternative spellings. Teachers use dictation, word-building tasks, sound identification exercises, and guided writing opportunities to support children in applying their phonics knowledge.
Regular practice allows children to develop their phonemic awareness, strengthen their understanding of sound-to-letter correspondences, and become more accurate and confident spellers.
By repeatedly hearing, segmenting, and writing the sounds, children develop the essential encoding skills needed for spelling, writing, and overall literacy development.