Consonant Blends (bl, cr, st, tr) — Drag Drop
Literacy · Grades 1–2 · 2 cards
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Require the word before the drag. That single rule is what keeps this a speech activity rather than a sorting one, and without it a child can complete the whole board silently. Ask for the blend on its own first — bl — then the word, so the target sound is produced twice per item. The second round with tr and st is the harder one and worth a separate session for a child who is still inserting vowels.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentShow the card and wait 3 seconds for the student to read it.Log as correct
- Point to itPoint to the letter pattern that matters, or tap under each sound.Log as cued
- Sound it outSay the first sound together, then let the student blend the rest.Log as cued
- ModelRead it, tapping each sound; the student reads it after you.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer cards and start with the patterns the student already reads, such as 'black' and 'blue'.
Read the words in a sentence, or spell them from dictation.
Matching IEP goal
Given decodable word cards, such as 'black' and 'blue', Student will read the target pattern accurately in 8 of 10 words across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
The same blend words — black, blue, blanket, crab, crown in one round; star, stick, tree, train, tractor in the next — as a drag-and-drop task rather than a flashcard drill. It is derived from the flashcard deck, and the different mechanic suits a different student: dragging gives a child something to do with their hands while they say the word, which for some is the difference between attending and not.
What to listen for
Watch what happens to the sound while the hands are busy. Divided attention is where an unstable blend shows itself, and a child who says black cleanly on a flashcard and buh-lack while dragging has a pattern that is not yet automatic. That is useful information rather than a reason to stop using the board.
Carrying it home
Sorting anything by its first sound works at home — laundry, toys, snacks. The dragging is a mechanic, not the ingredient; saying the word while moving it is the part that matters.
What's in this activity
- black
- blue
- blanket
- crab
- crown
- star
- stick
- tree
- train
- tractor
Questions
- How is this different from the flashcard deck?
- Same words, different mechanic. This one asks the student to move each word into place, which suits students who focus better with something to do; the flashcards give more repetitions per minute.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, it plays free with no account.
- Which should I use first?
- Usually the flashcards, for the repetition count, then this as a second pass where the hands are busy and the sound has to survive anyway.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.