Once students have mastered reading and spelling words with beginning consonant blends, they are ready to learn how to read words with consonant blends at the end. Ending blends (or final blends) are consonant blends that come at the end of a word. Examples of words that include ending blends are nest, tent, and stump.

As a special education teacher, I find that introducing a few similar ending blends a week works well. If you’re teaching general education, you may find that you’re able to progress more quickly. I follow the same general lesson plan for phonics each week, which is easier for both you and your students. In this post, I’ll use the ending blends nd, mp, and nt as examples and explain how I would teach words with these blends over the course of one week. You can follow the same structure when teaching other ending blends

Day 1

Review with students that when two consonants are next to each other, they usually keep their own sound, but we do blend the sounds together. Explain that they have already learned how to read words that start with blends, and now they’ll learn to read and spell words that end with blends. Show a picture of a hand and say /h/ /a/ /n/d/. Explain that you blend the sounds /n/ and /d/ together to say /nd/, as in “hand.” Repeat with lamp and tent. After modeling, lead students in guided practice of reading more words with the ending blends nd, nt, and mp. Then, practice reading fluency sentences together that contain these words and other mastered words. You can find the needed picture cards, word cards, and fluency sentences in my Phonics by Design Ending Blends Unit.

Day 2

Briefly review what you taught yesterday, and then tell students they’ll be practicing writing words with the ending blends nd, nt, and mp today. Show a picture card with a picture of wind. Model segmenting the word (/w/ /i/ /n/ /d/) and then writing each corresponding letter to write the word on the board or chart paper. Continue with other picture cards, having students segment the sounds as a group or taking turns. Finally, have students practice on their own by dictating words to them and having them write them down. You can also dictate a few short sentences that include words with ending blends and mastered word types.

Day 3

Today students will independently practice reading and writing words with the ending blends nd, mp, and nt. I use the activity sheets included in my Phonics by Design Ending Blends Unit and in my No Prep Pack.

Day 4

Review reading and spelling words with ending blends nd, nt, and mp before introducing a simple ending blends matching game they can play in pairs. Spread out the cards in a grid face down. When it’s their turn, the student will turn over two cards and identify the pictures and/or read the words. If it’s a match, they keep the pair. If not, they put the cards back, face down. Students alternate turns until all pairs have been matched. The student with the most pairs wins. You can find ending blend matching games in my Phonics by Design Ending Blends Unit.

Day 5

Assess students by dictating ten words with the ending blends nd, nt, and mp and having them write them down. If you have time and a small enough group, you may also wish to have individual students read a few words with these blends for you as well.

This lesson plan schedule for teaching ending blends is simple but effective!

After covering nd, nt, and mp, I usually teach ending s blends (sp, st, and sk), and then miscellaneous (but still common) ending blends like ft, lf, lk, lp, lt, and pt. I also usually teach ng and nk around this time as well. Ng and nk are sometimes referred to as “glued sounds” and are different than consonant blends, but since they also come at the end of a word (like ring and bank), this is a good time to teach them.

Save yourself time by snagging everything you need to teach final blends in one place with my Phonics by Design Ending Blends Unit Bundle. You’ll get all the materials mentioned in this post for each ending blend (picture cards, word cards, fluency sentences, activity sheets, matching game), plus posters, flapbooks, and more! Snag it here.

How to Teach Ending Blends