Which statement best describes blending in reading instruction?

• A. Blending teaches decoding of cvc words and blending sounds to form words
• B. It focuses mainly on memorizing whole words
• C. It emphasizes silent reading of long passages
• D. It teaches handwriting and punctuation

Answer: (A)

Blending in reading instruction is the process of combining individual sounds to pronounce a word. It’s a decoding skill that helps students move from sounding out parts of a word to saying the whole word. In practice, students practice blending sounds to read simple CVC words like cat or map, which builds a bridge from phonemic awareness to word recognition. This approach focuses on constructing words from sounds rather than memorizing whole words by sight, and it isn’t about silent reading of long passages or about handwriting and punctuation.