Little sounds join together.
Listen to each sound. Blend them into a word.
Choice 1
Choice 2
Choice 3
Count sounds, not letters.
Oral sound blending
Hear each sound with a short gap, then say the word. No letters are required. /sh/ /i/ /p/ blends to the spoken word ship.
Grown-up guide
Practice spoken sounds together. No reading is needed. Start with Little steps, then try Growing sounds or the Big adventure. Say consonants cleanly; avoid adding an extra “uh.” Accents can change a vowel sound without changing the number of sounds.
Speak this prompt for your learner
Say these separate sounds with a short gap, without saying the whole word: /s/ · /i/.
Using this helper records grown-up support separately from independent matches.
Grown-up answer and choice key
Answer: see — /s/ · /i/ — 2 sounds.
- Choice 1: go
- Choice 2: see
- Choice 3: in
Listen to sounds, not letters
“Ship” has three sounds: /sh/ /i/ /p/. “Moon” also has three; its long vowel is one sound. “Clap” has four because /k/ and /l/ are separate. “Box” has four because its final letter represents /k/ and /s/. Praise careful listening and spoken attempts; use a hint or reveal together when needed.
Sound Train practices oral segmentation, the skill measured by DIBELS Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF). This original game does not use official test forms, cut scores, or diagnostic scoring. For formal administration and scoring, use the University of Oregon guide and official PSF scoring practice.