Abeka Blend Cards

[Elizabeth86]

Turns out I didnt get these. Figured I could make them, but the book just says what number cards. How do I get a list of the blend cards?

[nixpix5]

Are you using A beka grade 1? I actually found the blend cards to be not necessary at all. If you bought the package did you get the package of blend and special sound cardboard pages? Not sure what to call them. Basically all of those cards are on there and in the handbook for reading. If you just follow the lettered steps in the lesson so do A, B, C teaching objectives then you will be good to go. I have never used the cards and I skip all of the enrichment activities. I use a white board and work through the lettered teachings and then do the dictation of sounds and words when called for. All 3 of my kids who worked through A beka 1 are reading so well thanks to that curriculum and one has autism, one hearing loss and the other apraxia so I cannot say enough good things.

[nixpix5]

Just to be more clear I will give an example:

 

So if you turn to page 159 which is lesson 40 I would:

 

First do the pencil icon with an A in it. I would write those sentences on a white board and have the child tell what is wrong with the sentences

 

Then I would write the words from pencil B "found, cloud, mouth, shout" going through special sound "ou" as in "out". The child would read them and circle special sounds and mark any vowels.

 

I might do chart 8 review and go through 6 and 7 if need be.

 

Lastly I would do the application/review by dictating the words for them to spell "tick, neck, crack, stack" etc which would be review from them previously learning the "k" and "ck" rules.

 

That would be it. We spend about 10 to 15 min and then they would do the two worksheets that accompany the lesson and the reading in the reader in this case "Tip Toes"

 

Hope that makes sense!

[UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama]

Just to be more clear I will give an example:

 

So if you turn to page 159 which is lesson 40 I would:

 

First do the pencil icon with an A in it. I would write those sentences on a white board and have the child tell what is wrong with the sentences

 

Then I would write the words from pencil B "found, cloud, mouth, shout" going through special sound "ou" as in "out". The child would read them and circle special sounds and mark any vowels.

 

I might do chart 8 review and go through 6 and 7 if need be.

 

Lastly I would do the application/review by dictating the words for them to spell "tick, neck, crack, stack" etc which would be review from them previously learning the "k" and "ck" rules.

 

That would be it. We spend about 10 to 15 min and then they would do the two worksheets that accompany the lesson and the reading in the reader in this case "Tip Toes"

 

Hope that makes sense!

Blend cards are actually different than the Clue word cards or basic phonics flash cards with the special sounds (ck in duck, o in go, ay in pray, etc).  Blend cards are the ones that have all the "ba" "be" "bi" "bo" and "bu" type blends.  There are quite a few.  I use them a lot because I find that any issues with my kids reading comes back to getting those initial blends wrong or skipping over them in words.  Normally ABEKA will tell you how to make your own, but in my opinion I would just buy them and then re-sell when you are done.  ABEKA has a great re-sell value.  There are ABEKA used pages on FB.

[Elizabeth86]

Blend cards are actually different than the Clue word cards or basic phonics flash cards with the special sounds (ck in duck, o in go, ay in pray, etc). Blend cards are the ones that have all the "ba" "be" "bi" "bo" and "bu" type blends. There are quite a few. I use them a lot because I find that any issues with my kids reading comes back to getting those initial blends wrong or skipping over them in words. Normally ABEKA will tell you how to make your own, but in my opinion I would just buy them and then re-sell when you are done. ABEKA has a great re-sell value. There are ABEKA used pages on FB.

Yeah, I dont mind buying them, but I am going to have to wait until dh gets paid this weekend and wait on them to come in.

[nixpix5]

Blend cards are actually different than the Clue word cards or basic phonics flash cards with the special sounds (ck in duck, o in go, ay in pray, etc). Blend cards are the ones that have all the "ba" "be" "bi" "bo" and "bu" type blends. There are quite a few. I use them a lot because I find that any issues with my kids reading comes back to getting those initial blends wrong or skipping over them in words. Normally ABEKA will tell you how to make your own, but in my opinion I would just buy them and then re-sell when you are done. ABEKA has a great re-sell value. There are ABEKA used pages on FB.

Why not just use the blend ladders in the back of the teaching manual that work through all of those? I guess I am still not seeing the absolute necessity of them.

 

All of their blends are on the ladders which I just pulled out and laminated and also in the Handbook for Reading.

Edited August 6, 2017 by nixpix5

[nena3927]

Are you using A beka grade 1? I actually found the blend cards to be not necessary at all. If you bought the package did you get the package of blend and special sound cardboard pages? Not sure what to call them. Basically all of those cards are on there and in the handbook for reading. If you just follow the lettered steps in the lesson so do A, B, C teaching objectives then you will be good to go. I have never used the cards and I skip all of the enrichment activities. I use a white board and work through the lettered teachings and then do the dictation of sounds and words when called for. All 3 of my kids who worked through A beka 1 are reading so well thanks to that curriculum and one has autism, one hearing loss and the other apraxia so I cannot say enough good things.

 

I agree with this post especially if you are doing first grade. I bought almost every teaching aid Abeka sells for Kindergarten last year and was constantly pulling out and sorting cards. I was so stressed, I almost quit mid year. Now mind you, I had three in Abeka Phonics last year on two different levels, so that could have been some of my stress. Anyways, in 1st grade this year we have not used the Blend Cards at all  bc the exact ones are in the Handbook for Reading. When they introduce a new sound, the corresponding pages are listed in the Handbook for the blends that match the numbers they are calling for with the Blend Cards. That's great if you want to buy them of course, but after using this course with 3 children, I don't feel they are necessary. 

[Elizabeth86]

Why not just use the blend ladders in the back of the teaching manual that work through all of those? I guess I am still not seeing the absolute necessity of them.

 

All of their blends are on the ladders which I just pulled out and laminated and also in the Handbook for Reading.

Ok, so it is just what is on the blend ladders but on a flash card?

[UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama]

So I guess it is like anything else.  I bought them for my oldest and they are now on my third kid.  I've gotten my money's worth,  We play games with the cards and like having the blends in isolation.  We do stepping stones, bean bag throws, games on the stairs, etc. with all the individual sounds and blends.  For my DD it wasn't a huge deal but my second DS needed them to be isolated a lot.   ABEKA is definitely a curriculum that is second to none with phonics, but you can't get bogged down.  If "just another flashcard" is too much, then don't get them for sure!!  If you feel like they would help your child(ren) then go for it!!  They are only as necessary as you think they are for your situation.  For the record, if I only had one kid, I wouldn't get a lot of the extras. 

[Elizabeth86]

So I guess it is like anything else. I bought them for my oldest and they are now on my third kid. I've gotten my money's worth, We play games with the cards and like having the blends in isolation. We do stepping stones, bean bag throws, games on the stairs, etc. with all the individual sounds and blends. For my DD it wasn't a huge deal but my second DS needed them to be isolated a lot. ABEKA is definitely a curriculum that is second to none with phonics, but you can't get bogged down. If "just another flashcard" is too much, then don't get them for sure!! If you feel like they would help your child(ren) then go for it!! They are only as necessary as you think they are for your situation. For the record, if I only had one kid, I wouldn't get a lot of the extras.

Ive got 3 and 1 on the way.

[nixpix5]

Ok, so it is just what is on the blend ladders but on a flash card?

UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama would probably be able to answer this better since she uses them but it sounds like she said they encompass the blend ladders sounds and like was mentioned, all of those things are in the handbook. I felt like my kids picked up the sounds so easy without having to do any extra stuff just becasue A beka is a superior way to teach phonics. Kids pick it up easily if you have them going up and down the blend ladders in those early lessons plus they are reinforced in the workbooks. If you have children that are not retaining that way then maybe the flashcards would make sense. You could technically make them yourself though with index cards if you needed them.

 

Really my posts are just that you really don't need them as the curriculum is plenty thorough but if you think they would be fun and you have multiple kids then why not :) I had 3 in A beka 1 last year and one who will be finishing off the last part this year. I love it. I hope you have a great year with it!

[Elizabeth86]

UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama would probably be able to answer this better since she uses them but it sounds like she said they encompass the blend ladders sounds and like was mentioned, all of those things are in the handbook. I felt like my kids picked up the sounds so easy without having to do any extra stuff just becasue A beka is a superior way to teach phonics. Kids pick it up easily if you have them going up and down the blend ladders in those early lessons plus they are reinforced in the workbooks. If you have children that are not retaining that way then maybe the flashcards would make sense. You could technically make them yourself though with index cards if you needed them.

 

Really my posts are just that you really don't need them as the curriculum is plenty thorough but if you think they would be fun and you have multiple kids then why not :) I had 3 in A beka 1 last year and one who will be finishing off the last part this year. I love it. I hope you have a great year with it!

Yeah, I mean right now it is review. He reads very well. We used the reading lesson and I feel nervous it wasnt as thorough as it should have been and I wanted to be 100% sure with phonics so we are going through abeka. I dont think he will have any problems.