Introducing Glued Words to Children Through Decodable Books
Sept. 25 2025, Published 2:26 a.m. ET
Strengthening your children's reading and spelling skills from an early age is crucial. For this, their knowledge of phonics must be strong and comprehensive. Just teaching them letter sounds isn't enough. The real struggle begins when they come across letter combinations like am. They wouldn't know how to sound out 'am' in 'Sam' and 'am'. For example, think of a sentence like: I am Sam. How do you explain these subtle areas of language? Children's listening skills need to be honed. At the same time, they need to be taught the functions of sounds like these that are glued together.
Glued sounds
Some letters are so closely joined that they produce a blended sound and cannot be separated. “Am" in "ram" and "an" in "fan" are perfect examples of this. Even "ang" in bang, "ing” in ring, and “ung” in sung must be considered. Reading them aloud creates a sense of intermingling between consonant and vowel letters. As a result, it’s common for children to misspell these words because some parts remain unclear. With the help of decodable text, you can teach them glued sounds effortlessly. Whether you need them for kindergartners or first graders, the phonics book options like these can make even challenging lessons fun for them. Select books that feature relatable or inspiring characters to convey important information effectively.
Ways to help young learners identify and practice glued sounds
Controlled texts, such as decodable books, are wonderful tools for explaining complex concepts to children. Controlled text means that most words in the books are already known to the children. Nevertheless, you can use these texts to help your students read and spell two-sound glued sounds. Have them detect the glued sounds and circle them. These will serve as visual cues, reminding them that these sounds are welded together and must be decoded as a unit. How do you bring them to this level?
- Pronounce the word.
- Let the kids repeat it.
- Encourage students to mark the word and write the letters in the appropriate boxes.
- Ask them to write the word next to the boxes.
Step-by-step teaching guide for glued sounds
To be precise, you first need to make them aware of this concept. You may have to explain how some sounds need to be treated as a team. Please show them your tongue and jaw movements when pronouncing such sounds. Repeat ring, sang, bank, and other similar words aloud so children can hear them clearly. Also, ask them to produce those sounds through clapping. Ask them to clap when they say /s/ /ang/, but don't make them say /s/ /a/ /n/ /g/. Start with a small list of words before moving on to sentences. You can also ask students to write sentences containing these words. With the help of decodable readers, you can explicitly target glued sounds and solidify their learning process.
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A well-crafted Orton-Gillingham curriculum enables young learners to develop strong reading and writing skills. It helps build their skills on a solid foundation with clear concepts. Some platforms offer various types of decodable texts that align with your children's existing reading skills. You can choose from them.
