Reading Made Easy

with
Blend Phonics for
First Grade

Lesson Plans and

Teacher’s Guide

Hazel Logan Loring

www.blendphonics.org

This publication is a project of the

Logan Institute for Educational Excellence

Copyright © 1980 by Mrs. Hazel Logan Loring

Revised Edition Copyright © 2017 by Donald L. Potter
 WHY TEACH BLEND PHONICS?
It is my belief that most reading failures are caused by the perfectly normal and very common
tendency of many children to look at words from right to left. That this tendency is neither
abnormal nor pathological is evident by the fact that many languages are written from right to
left: Hebrew, Arabic, etc. Before the time of Homer, Greek inscriptions were written in the
boustrophedon (pathway of the ox) form: one line from left to right; the next line from right to
left. Oriental languages are written in a vertical manner. There is no “physiologically correct” or
incorrect direction in which a language may have been developed.

When a child sees a word as a whole, he or she has no way of knowing in which direction it
should be looked at until the correct direction is shown. Each child will look at it in whatever
direction his/her tendencies dictate. If the word is in English and the child looks at it from right
to left, he/she is in BIG TROUBLE: “ten” is not the same as “net”; “pat” is not the same as “tap”
and if instead of “fun” some children see “nuf” they are headed toward confusion.

It has been common practice to teach the word as a whole in the first grade and, then, later, in
second grade, to introduce phonics in the form of word analysis. That is, the child is expected to
break down the whole word into its component parts and thus deduce the relationship between
phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (symbols).

This method can be reasonably successful if the child has a natural left to right tendency, is
capable of deductive reasoning, and has memorized the whole word accurately. But what of the
children of equal or even superior intelligence who have a natural right to left tendency? They
cannot deduce correct phoneme/grapheme relationships because they are working from a false
premise when they see the whole word in a reversed order. Even though they may have 20/20
vision, they do not see what the teacher sees in the expected order. They hear the phonemes in a
left to right order, while seeing the graphemes from right to left – or perhaps in a confused –
direction. This explains why some people think of word analysis as “phony phonics,” and why
the confused child is thought to have a learning disability or “dyslexia.”

To be fair, although most techniques in word analysis are useless for the children with directional
problems – or may even add to the confusion – there is one technique that may be helpful, i.e.,
that of teaching of the initial consonant as part of the whole word. As long as care is taken to be
sure that each child looks at the first letter in the word as the sound is heard, the child will be
able to learn the consonant sound. BUT THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. They must be able to learn the
vowel sounds, and it is imperative that they be given early directional training.

I have a daughter who taught for more than eleven years has taught remedial reading in an urban
adult education institute. High school graduates, who have diplomas but who cannot read on a
second-grade level, come to her for tutoring. She tells me that most of them know the consonant
sounds, but they cannot learn to read until after they have had training in blend phonics.

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Directional guidance is inherent in the system of blend phonics. First, we show the student
the initial consonant in isolation and teach its sound. (True, we cannot pronounce the pure sound
in isolation but must add a neutral vowel – or schwa - sound. However, this is of no importance
because the schwa sound will be elided when we make the blend.) Next, we show the student the
vowel grapheme and teach its sound. Then we blend the two sounds together before adding the
next consonant. There is no way for the child to go except from left to right, and with enough
practice an automatic left to right habit is acquired. Then, to insure comprehension, it has been
my practice to have the student use the completed word in a verbal sentence.

Directional guidance is also inherent in spelling and writing. They are the other side of the same
coin and much practice should be given in all three skills: spelling, writing and reading, reading
and more reading.

There is nothing new about the material that we use in teaching blend phonics. It can all be found
in “A Guide to Pronunciation” in the front of any dictionary. Take a look at it and you’ll say,
“Wow, teach that to first graders? Impossible!!” It is not surprising that some anti-phonics
persons say that it cannot be done. The trick is to present these seemingly complicated facts in a
simplified, streamlined, bare bones version that can be assimilated by a six-year old or younger.
There are bound to be differences of opinion as to the order in which the facts should be
presented, and also as to which grapheme/phoneme relationships occur with sufficient frequency
to be considered “regular,” and which are so rare as to be called “irregular.” Even pronunciations
may vary due to geographical and ethnic differences.

English is a wondrous and varied means of communication, but at heart it is simple and
consistent. In first grade we must teach the heart of the subject and not get bogged down with
linguistic niceties. In this way we can provide the basic tool that a person can develop and
expand all through life to enjoy a means of communication to express the most complex thoughts
and feelings, and to understand those of fellow human beings.

I found I could provide this tool adequately in its simplest form to my school children in daily
half-hour sessions in the first semester of the first grade. By starting in September, children have
gained a working knowledge of the 44 phonetic elements in the English language and an overall
concept of its basic structure before winter vacation. While their knowledge may not be l00%
perfect, it will be sufficient so that they can, with the teacher’s continuing help as needed, utilize
the phonic key to unlock 85% of the words in the English language. (The other 15%, while
largely regular, contain phonetic irregularities which sometimes require a little extra help from
the teacher.)

The format of these lessons consists in taking a regular word and building it up phonetically as a
class exercise. Then a child is called on to use it in a sentence. At first it is sometimes practically
necessary to put the words in the child’s mouth until it is understood what is meant by making up
a sentence. As soon as the child catches on, the lessons become lively and spirited. The children
are eager to participate. (When I inadvertently failed to give a child a turn, I heard about it!)

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It was something like “Show and Tell” without the “Show.” Instead of using a “Show” object as
an inspiration for conversation, we used the key word which we had built up phonetically.
Actually, it was a language lesson as well as a reading lesson because the children learned to
speak in complete, correct sentences. The context was limited only by the children’s speaking
vocabularies and was not confined to sentences like. “Go. go, run. run, see, see” or like “A fat cat
sat on a mat.”
I recall one instance when we had sounded out the word “mill.” To avoid missing anyone,
ordinarily I called on the children in turn, but this time I simply had to break the rule to call on
the little fellow who was waving his hand frantically and just bursting to tell us something. He
blurted out, “My daddy has a sawmill.” Now that’s what I call reading with comprehension!
True, we read only one word at a time but it was always phonetically regular and there was no
guesswork. By the time we had completed the 47 Units, the children had the feeling of security
that comes from knowing that the language was basically an ordered, dependable system. As we
came to words in our books that contained irregularities, they were welcomed as something
surprising, unique, different and thus easy to remember.
It is possible to teach this work from the chalkboard, but it means that the teacher is half turned
away from the class. An overhead projector is ideal because the lighted area holds the children’s
attention and, since the teacher faces the class directly, there is better control and more eye
contact.
As to textbooks with which to implement this study, it would no doubt be easier for the teacher
who is using blend phonics for the first time if phonics-based texts were available, correlated
more or less with the structured phonics lessons. However, I can vouch from both tutoring and
actual classroom experience that any books—old or new—can be used if they are of interest to
the children and suitable for their age level. A few problems may be encountered in the first four
months if the books have words that contain phonetic elements that have not as yet been
introduced in the structured phonics lessons, but it is not too difficult to muddle through this
phase. After the children have been exposed to the 44 phonetic elements, they can tackle
anything with a little help from their teacher. Frequently, delighted parents reported to me that
their children were reading from newspapers and magazines and were devouring library books at
a great rate.
In the second semester we used much enrichment material. All of the children belonged to our
Book Club. They took home books that they selected during regularly scheduled visits to the
school library. My Room Mother arranged to have a volunteer mother sit in the hallway outside
the classroom two afternoons a week. The children were excused from the classroom one by one
to give brief book reports to the mother who added a star to the child’s bookmark for each book
read.
Blend phonics is just about the easiest lesson to teach that can be imagined. No preparation is
needed (except to have at hand a copy of the groups of words as given in the LESSON PLANS);
no papers to correct for this phase of the reading lesson; no compulsory tests to be given. The
children themselves do most of the work by making up sentences, and thus they learn by doing.
It’s easy; it’s inexpensive and it works!

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 LESSON PLANS FOR THE TEACHING OF
BLEND PHONICS IN FIRST GRADE
Do not delay teaching the names of the letters of the alphabet. They are not only necessary in
spelling and in the use of the dictionary, the telephone directory and alphabetical filing systems,
but they will help in teaching the sounds. The sounds of many consonants are heard in the letters’
names and the long sounds of the vowels a, e, i, o and u* are identical to their names.
(NOTE: Because the soft sounds of the letters c and g are heard in these letters’ names and thus
are easier to teach, we introduce the hard sounds first and provide plenty of opportunity to
practice them. Also, we make sure the student is familiar with the short sounds of vowels before
we present the easy-to-teach long sounds.)
The vowels are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. If a letter is not a vowel, then it is a consonant.
In our first lessons in blend phonics (or word building), we teach the sound of a consonant, then
the short sound of a vowel. The child is taught to look at these letters from left to right
(IMPORTANT) as they are presented to him one by one and as the sound is blended. Then we
add another consonant to form a word which the child uses in a verbal sentence to insure
comprehension.
It is true that, when we pronounce the sound of a consonant in isolation, it is necessary to add an
extraneous neutral (or schwa) sound. This is of no importance because, when the consonant is
blended with the vowel, the schwa sound is elided. For example:
b says b-uh
a says ă
Blend b-uh and ă to make bă
The uh sound has disappeared.
The great advantage of this technique is the fact that the child has received directional guidance
and has been taught, step-by-step, to look at the word from left to right. This is extremely
important because many children have a normal, natural tendency to look at words from right to
left. When shown the word as a whole, they may not see what the teacher sees. If shown the
word ten the child may see n-e-t. Such reversals cause serious confusion when the child is
shown whole words as is the case in the look-say method which incorporates no detailed
directional guidance.
After you make the blend, ba, add the letter t to form the word bat. Have the child make up a
verbal sentence using the word bat. If necessary, use leading questions to help the child think of
a sentence.
For example: TEACHER: If you have a ball, what do you do with the bat?
CHILD: I hit the ball with the bat.
Use this format to teach each of the words in Unit I for the short sound of a. Then introduce the
short sound of i and teach the children to sound out as many of the words given in Unit 2 as are
necessary for good practice. Choose the words that will be most interesting to the class and, of
course, let the children take turns using each word in a verbal sentence. Continue in the same
manner with short o, short u and short e. Short e may give some difficulty because the sound of
this letter is easily confused with the short sound of i. (We have all heard some people say “git”
or “get” and “ingine” for “engine.”)
*u has two long sounds. One is the same as its name; the other is like long oo.

4
When teaching this work to an individual, use a chalkboard, slate or paper and pencil. For
teaching a class, a chalkboard is adequate but an overhead projector is ideal because the teacher
is able to face the class directly.
You will notice that the units, if taught in the order given, are cumulative. That is, only one new
phonetic element (or related group of elements) is introduced in grapheme/phoneme
relationship(s) plus those that were used in the previous units. The work proceeds step by easy
step. It is not obligatory to teach phonics in this particular order, but this presentation is one that
has proved successful over the years.
When your students have completed all 47 units, they will have been introduced to all of the
regular phonetic elements in the English language. They will then have the tools with which they
can sound out 85% of all words. Most children will need help in implementing this basic
knowledge in actual reading and may need help in identifying the graphemes in a word. For
example, when the student comes to the word, teaching, it may be necessary to help break it
down into its phonetic components: t-ea-ch-ing. Often it takes only a quiet hint: (ea sounds like
long e) to give the child the clue needed.
To help students with the 15% of words that contain phonetic irregularities, consult your
dictionary. Write the word as it is given in parentheses following the correct spelling in the
dictionary. For example, said (sed). Although students must learn the correct spelling, they can
sound out the word as it is given in parentheses.
Phonetic irregularities occur most frequently in short, commonly used words. As the child reads
more advanced material the phonic training will become increasingly useful and the child can
achieve independence in reading unfamiliar words.
The basic work should be presented to a class in one semester (Sept.-Dec.) in half-hour periods
daily in the first grade. Where large groups of words are given (as in Units 2, 6, 13, 14, etc.)
choose only the words that will be most interesting. You do not need to teach all of them.
Large word lists have been included to demonstrate how the phonics system provides the key to
unlock unlimited numbers of words…unlike the narrow capabilities of the “controlled
vocabularies” associated with the look-say method.
It is helpful to lay out a schedule at the beginning of the semester, allotting certain time-periods
in which to present words from a given number of units. The objective would be to introduce all
of the units before winter vacation. Remember that this formal introduction is merely the
foundation. It starts the child off right by giving strong directional guidance and an overall
understanding of the phonetic structure of the language. It must be accompanied by—and
followed by—much practice in writing and reading of books.
If one is adapting this material to individual work—rather than a class—it is well to plan on at
least 50 hours in which the basic units are supplemented by exercises in writing and practice in
reading.
Phonics-based textbooks are useful—especially for those who are teaching phonics for the first
time. However, the lack of such textbooks is no excuse for the failure to teach the material in
these Lesson Plans. Any sort of book may be used. The writer has done it successfully using the
only books at hand: look-say basal readers! When words are encountered which contain sounds
that have not as yet been taught in formal phonics lessons, they may be offered as whole words
or better still, if the teacher feels up, to it, may be presented as a “preview” of what is to come in
the formal sessions.

5
The writer knows from actual classroom experience that, even though the textbook material is
not coordinated with the structured phonics lessons, the problem will solve itself when, in a few
weeks’ time, the class has completed the 47 units in these Lesson Plans. Don’t make a big issue
of it. Be patient, pleasant and adaptable during textbook reading lessons but, on the other hand,
do not let anything interfere with the daily half-hour formal phonics sessions. At the end of the
first semester, with the guidance and assistance of the teacher and with supplementary work in
writing and spelling, the children will be able to sound out words in any reading material suitable
to their age level.

If millage failures and tight budgets—or the prejudice of school administrators or supervisors—
preclude the possibility of new phonics-based textbooks, don’t despair. Remember how many
persons in history learned to read with only the Bible or Pilgrim’s Progress for textbooks and,
though Abraham Lincoln never saw a basal reader, he achieved mastery of the English
Language.

Do plan a tentative schedule before you begin to teach this material. The 47 units in these Lesson
Plans should be completed in about four months. Do not linger over any one unit. Do not expect
the student to know perfectly the sound in one unit before you go on to the next. After all, this
material is arranged to provide a continuing “built-in” review. For example, if you are teaching
the word “toothbrush” in Unit 31, the only new sound is that of long oo. The other sounds, t, th,
b, r, u and sh are review elements. When all 47 units have been completed, don’t worry if the
student has not learned thoroughly every phonetic element that has been presented in this
preliminary work. From now on, every time the student reads any written matter whatsoever it
will constitute a review of the material in these Lesson Plans. It is to be expected that the student
will need help and reminders for some time after the four months of initial instruction is
completed. The more practice the student has in reading, the sooner complete mastery of phonic
skills will be achieved.

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 SEPTEMBER
SUN MON TUE WED THR FRI SAT
UNIT UNIT
1 1
UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT
1 2 2 3 3

UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT

3 4 4 5 5

UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT

6 6 6 7 8
Here is a blank calendar for four months on
which to write in the units on the days you UNIT UNIT UNIT
plan to teach. 9 10 11

SAMPLE
SCHEDULE AND CALENDAR

FIRST MONTH SECOND MONTH

S M T W Th F S S M T W Th F S

THIRD MONTH FOURTH MONTH

S M T W Th F S S M T W Th F S

Now you are ready for the first lesson. You have before you groups of words to guide you but, remember,
these are mere skeletons of your lessons. It is your task to inspire the children to put flesh on the bones
and to breathe life into them. Here is a sampling of a proven teaching method:

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THE TEACHER SAYS: THE TEACHER WRITES

The name of this letter is b. b

It says b-uh.

The name of this letter is a. a

Its short sound is ă

Blend b-uh and ă ba

Now we’ll add the letter t that says t-uh. bat

What is the word?

(Pronounce it with the class.)

CLASS: bat

I’ll draw a picture of a bat.

Johnny, if you have a ball, what do you do with

the bat?

JOHNNY: I hit the ball with the bat.

Good, let’s sound out another word. b

This word also starts with b that says b-uh.

The next letter is a that says ă. a

Blend b-uh and ă together to make bă ba

Now we’ll add the letter g that says bag

(hard sound of g)

What is the word? (Pronounce the word

bag with the class.) I’ll draw a picture of a bag.

Mary, in what does you mother carry

groceries home from the store?

MARY: She carries them home in a bag.

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That’s fine. You have read two words this morning.
Let’s sound another word

b says buh b

a says ă a

Blend b-uh and ă to make bă. ba

Now we’ll add d that says d-uh. bad

The word is? Class?

CLASS: bad

Billy, a dog walked on mother’s clean floor with muddy paws.

Was that good?

BILLY: No, it was bad.

(NOTE: If Billy has a dog, he will probably want to tell

about something bad that he did.
Point to – and pronounce – the new word whenever it is used.)

Now we’ll start the next with another letter. c

It’s name is c and it has more than one sound,
but today we will learn only the hard sound: k-uh.

You remember a; it says ă. a

Blend k-uh and ă together to make ca. ca

Now we’ll add the letter p that says p-uh. cap

The word, class, is?

CLASS: cap

Donald, what do you wear on your head?

DONALD: I wear a cap.

9
Continue in this fashion. After you have Finished Unit 1, you need not try to teach all of the
words in the longer units. Choose the words you think will be most interesting to the children.
Stay on your schedule so that the work will be completed in about four months.

It is important that each child has a turn making up a sentence. This is the “bait” that is used to
hold the children’s attention. They will not realize that they are sounding out “lists of words”
because they will be so intent in expressing their own thoughts as they incorporate the “key”
words in sentences.

If anyone is bashful or slow in responding, gently ask leading questions to draw the child out.
Don’t be afraid to improvise. Talk about the “key” words as much as is needed. Then ask the
child to tell you something about it even if, at first, the response consists only of a parrot version
of your ideas. The children will soon have their own delightful, original sentences. Of course,
our purpose is to encourage them to think of the meaning of the “key” words. A six-year old
child’s verbal vocabulary is said to consist of 5,000 - 10,000 words or more. These lessons
provide a means of exercising that vocabulary and developing a reading vocabulary at the same
time.

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING BLEND PHONICS

By Donald Potter

HANDWRITING: I have taught Blend Phonics successfully with and without handwriting. Mrs.
Loring did not mention handwriting in her pamphlet. My experience is that students benefit
greatly from writing all the letters, blends, and words. I prefer to use regular wide lined writing
tablets. The letter writing should be taught with direct instruction. I have published two excellent
handwriting programs: Shortcut to Manuscript and Shortcut to Cursive that parents and teachers
will find very helpful. The students´ spirals become spelling reference books for the students.

ORAL SPELLING: I consider oral spelling using letter names the best way to cement the spellings
in the students’ long-term memory. This leads to what has recently become known as
Orthographic Mapping, whereby words are amalgamated in the memory so that they are
recognized instantly (sight words) and accurately, without the need for guessing or sounding out.

VOICELESS CONSONANTS: I recommend totally eliminating any vowel sound at the end of the
voiceless consonants: p, wh, th (of think), t, s, sh, ch, k, h, and x. For example, instead of p-uh
for the sound of p, I recommend slightly exaggerating the aspiration (puff of air) at the end of the
sound (phoneme).

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UNIT 1
SHORT SOUND OF a
bat ham rat wax
bag had ran yak
bad jam rag zag
can lap rap am
cap lad sap an
cab map sad at
cat man Sam Ann
dad mat tan lass
fan nap tap mass
fat pan tag pass
gas pad tax
hat quack wag

UNIT 2
SHORT SOUND OF i
bib fix mill sip
big hid miss sit
bill hill mix six
bin him nip Tim
bit hit pig tin
did if pill tip
dig in pit vim
dim it quick wig
dip jig rib will
fib kid rid win
fig kill rig yip
fill kiss rim zig-zag
fin lid rip zip
fit lip sin
UNIT 3
SHORT SOUND OF o
bob fog lot pot
bog fox mob rob
boss got mop rod
box hod moss rot
cob hog nod sob
cot hop not sod
dog hot off sop
doll job on top
Don log pod toss
dot loss pop tot

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UNIT 4
SHORT SOUND OF u
but duck hum pup
bun dug jut rub
bug fun jug rug
bud fuss lug run
bus gull mud sum
cup gum muff sun
cub gun mug tub
cuff Gus muss up
cut hug nut us

UNIT 5
SHORT SOUND OF e
bed hen net ten
beg jet peg vet
bell let pen web
bet leg pet well
dell less red wet
den let sell yell
fed men set yes
fell mess Ted yet
get met tell

UNIT 6
FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS
ck, ft, lk lp, lt, mp, nd, nt, sk, st, ts, xt (Short sounds only of vowels)
band hand pump ck:
bent hint pant
bend jump quest duck
belt just rest Jack
best lend rust kick
bump lent sent lock
camp land send luck
damp lamp silk neck
desk hump next pick
fast lift sand quick
fist list tent quack
felt lint test rock
fond melt went sick
fund must wind tack
gift milk and
tilt mist help
gust mend its

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UNIT 7

CONSONANT DIGRAPH: sh
cash hush shed shop
dish wish shelf shot
fish shall ship shut
UNIT 8
CONSONANT DIGRAPH: th
(Voiced)
than them this
that then thus

CONSONANT DIGRAPH: th
(Unvoiced)
thick thud bath
thin thump with

UNIT 9
CONSONANT DIGRAPH: ch, tch

chat chum fetch witch

chin much latch thatch
chill rich match
chick such notch ch: SOUNDS LIKE k:
chop catch patch
chip ditch pitch mechanic

UNIT 10
CONSONANT DIGRAPH: wh

BLEND wa SOUNDS LIKE wŏ

wha SOUNDS LIKE whŏ

want watch when whip

was wash which whisk
water what whiff wish

13
UNIT 11
ng (ang, ing, ong, ung)
bang ding wing song
gang ping-pong king hung
hang ring thing lung
rang sing gong rung
sang thing-a-ling long sung

UNIT 12
nk (ank, ink, onk, unk)
bank link sink chunk
bunk mink wink thank
dunk pink tank honk
kink rink sank think

UNIT 13
INITIAL & FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS:
bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw
black fling skin spill
bland flip skip spin
blend flit slam spit
blink flock slap spot
bliss flop slash spun
block clung sled spunk
blush glad slip stab
clang gland slot stack
clank glass slum stand
clap plan slush stem
clench plant smack step
click plop smash stiff
cliff plot smell still
clinch pluck smelt stop
cling plum smug stub
clink plus snap stuck
clip scalp snip stuff
clock scan snob swam
club scat snub swell
flag scotch snuff swept
flap scuff snug swift
flash scum span swim
flat sketch spank swing
fled skid spat switch
flesh skill spell

14
UNIT 14

INITIAL & FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr

brag crunch frump grin

brand crust fresh prank
brass drag French press
brim drank Fred prim
brick drop frog print
bring drum frock track
branch drink grand trap
brush dress grass trick
crab drunk grasp trim
crash drip grant trip
cramp drug gruff trot
crack Fran grog truck
crib Frank grip trend
crop frost grunt trust

Unit 15

SHORT VOWEL COMPOUND WORDS.

ashcan dishpan hilltop sandbag

backstop dogsled Hobbit shipment
bedrock dustpan hubcap sunspot
napkin eggnog kidnap tiptop
blacktop endless hotdog traffic
bobcat filmstrip landmass trashcan
cashbox flapjack laptop upland
catfish gumdrop lesson sunset
catnap handbag magnet sudden
catnip handcuff Midland combat
chestnut handstand nutmeg upon
desktop helmet pocket wingspan

15
UNIT 16
WHEN THE FINAL e IS SILENT, THE VOWEL IS USUALLY LONG
(long vowel sound of vowel is the same as its name):

ate tame bite tile rope

bake tape dime tide sole
cane blame dine wife stone
cape flame dike wine scone
cake plane fine wide spoke
date stake fife slide slope
daze glade dive size smoke
fate snake file glide note
fade chase five while tone
gate safe hide white tote
gaze paste hive drive those
hate gave lime pride stole
came case life prime mope
haze fake like prize mole
lake haste mine vote
lame flake mite bone woke
make save mile cone broke
mane blaze nine cope drove
made vase pike code probe
mate taste pine dote
late waste pile dole cube
game brave quite dome duke
wake brake kite globe dune
name crate ride hole cute
pale crave shine home tube
quake craze side hope tune
rate drape spike joke mule
rake grape smile lone flute
pane grade slime lode prune
sake grave stile lope rule
shame trade swine poke rude
shake spine quote plume
same here ripe rode brute
take these time robe

16
UNIT 17

PHONOGRAMS USING LONG VOWELS:

old, olt, oll, ost, oth, ild, ind

bold colt most blind

old jolt post find
cold molt host grind
fold bolt hind
gold volt both kind
hold mind
mold toll child rind
sold roll mild wind
told wild
scold

UNIT 18

SHORT WORDS ENDING IN A LONG VOWEL:

be he she go so
he we the no

UNIT 19
PHONOGRAM: ar
bar dark mark scar
barn far mart star
car farm park start
chart hard part tar
charm jar spark warm
darn lark smart
UNIT 20
PHONOGRAM: or
born fork porch torn
cord fort scorn torch
cork horn scorch morn
corn horse storm morning
for pork stork worn

17
UNIT 21
PHONOGRAMS: er, ir, ur and sometimes or
clerk stir camper sitter
fern third cutter starter
jerk curb catcher swimmer
her curl chopper sender
herd burn dipper spinner
term fur drummer better
bird hurt helper never
birth purr jumper after
dirt urn marker under
fir word farmer actor
first world pitcher doctor
girl work planner janitor
sir worm runner visitor
UNIT 22
VOWEL DIGRAPHS: ai, ay
ail paid wail lay
bail laid may
brain pain bay pay
fail rail clay pray
gain rain day play
grain sail gay ray
jail tail gray say
maid train hay sway
mail wait jay way

UNIT 23
VOWEL DIGRAPH: ee

bee free need sleet

beef freeze peep sweep
beech fleet peek sweet
beet green queen sheep
deed greet reed wee
deep heed see weed
breeze heel seed week
fee jeep seem weep
feet keep seen
feed keen sleep
feel meet sleeve

18
UNIT 24

VOWEL DIGRAPH: ea
(three phonemes: long e, short e, and long a)

beat each reach threat

beach leaf read thread
beast leap real tread
bean leave wealth
cream lean bread weather
cheat meal breast
cheap least breath steak
deal sea dead beak
dream seat death great
feast tea health bear
east teach instead
eat clean read

UNIT 25

VOWEL DIGRAPH: ie
(two phonemes: long i and long e)

cried lies tied priest

cries lied tried relief
dried pie believe
dries pies brief thief
fried spies chief yield
lie tie grief belief
field
UNIT 26
FINAL VOWEL: y
(Some dictionaries give it the sound of short i; others say long e. Take your choice.) Long i in
one-syllable words.
army handy sleepy fly
candy hilly thirty my
corky healthy twenty ply
daddy fairy silly sly
dolly fifty wealthy try
dusty messy pretty sky
funny penny shy
gummy puppy by why
party rainy cry myself
happy sunny dry

19
UNIT 27
VOWEL DIGRAPH:
oa, oe, (like long o)
boat load roast Joe
boast loaf soapy toe
coat road toes
coach soap foe woe
coast soak goes
goat toad hoe
float throat hoed

UNIT 28
DIGRAPH: ow
(like long o)

bow tow yellow bowl

throw blow show own
crow shown glow grow
fellow snow grown follow
growth hollow low shadow
flow pillow row window
slow willow

DIPHTHONG: ow
gown growl how bow
howl cow power crowd
powder clown row crown
now brown town down
frown flower

UNIT 29
DIPHTHONG: ou

cloud mound round found

out sound ground our
shout house mouse scout
loud pound
DIGRAPH: ou (Often irregular; it can sound like short u, short oo, long oo, short o, etc.)
you country young soul
four

20
UNIT 30
DIPHTHONGS: oy, oi
boy toys coin point
boys oyster boil soil
joy oysters coin spoil
joys join toil
toy joint going

UNIT 31
LONG SOUND OF oo
boot moon stoop foolish
booth roof spoon smooth
bloom loose spool teaspoon
coo room shoot noonday
cool proof too toothbrush
boost mood tool scooter
droop gloom tooth papoose
food noon troop tooting
groom soon coolness school
goose roost zoo
doom stool cooler

UNIT 32
SHORT SOUND of oo
book good hood shook
booklet foot look wool
cook footstep looking wood
crook goodness soot wooden
brook hoof took woolen
cooker hook stood footstool

UNIT 33
VOWEL DIGRAPHS: aw, au
crawl hawk shawl faun
crawling jaw thaw haul
dawn law yawn fault
draw lawn pause
drawn paw cause
fawn saw clause

21
UNIT 34
PHONOGRAMS: al, all
already bald salt mall
almost false ball tall
always halt call wall
also malt fall

UNIT 35

DIGRAPHS: ew, ue

blew flew news flue

brew threw pew glue
chew dew stew true
crew few due
drew mew blue hue
grew new clue Sue
UNIT 36

UNACCENTED a AT THE BEGINNING OF A WORD. ALSO THE WORD a WHEN NOT

USED FOR EMPHASIS:

a ajar around asleep

about alike arouse astir
adrift ahead apart awake
afar amuse aside awhile

UNIT 37
PHONOGRAMS: ul, ull, ush
(u SOUNDS LIKE SHORT oo)

careful full fullback put

pull push full moon
bull bush fulfill

22
UNIT 38

SOFT SOUND OF c
(before e, i and y) Usually sounds like s: sometimes sh.

cent brace mice rice

cell chance nice space
cease decide niece slice
center dance pace spice
civil dunce place since
cinder face peace twice
cyclone fleece piece trace
circus fence prance thence
cinch France prince choice
cigar hence princess voice
acid ice pencil
cistern lace price special
ace mince race

UNIT 39
SOFT SOUND OF g IN dge AND SOMETIMES BEFORE e, i and y.
age page badge ridge
barge plunge dodge smudge
change rage edge wedge
cage range fudge ginger
engage sage hedge giraffe
fringe stage lodge gist
huge wage nudge giblet
large urge pledge gyp
lunge budge ledge gypsy
hinge bridge judge gymnast

UNIT 40
SILENT gh AND gh SOUNDS LIKE f
bright might thigh caught rough
blight night right daughter tough
fight moonlight taught laugh
fighter plight laughter
flight sigh laughing
high tight
light slight (In the above
words, au and
ou are irregular.)

23
UNIT 41

SILENT k, w, t, b l, h

knee chasten wrist lamb hour

kneel glisten wring limb honor
knelt hasten wrote thumb honest
knight listen wreck ghost
knife often wrong calf
knit soften half
knot comb walk
know wreath climb
known wretch debt answer
knock write doubt sword
dumb

UNIT 42

se SOUNDS LIKE z

choose nose rise is

chose pause tease has
cheese pose these his
ease praise those use
because please wise
noise rose as

UNIT 43
ph SOUNDS LIKE f

elephant prophet phonograph telegraph

nephew pamphlet phone alphabet
orphan photograph telephone phonics

UNIT 44
FINAL le, tion, sion
battle handle attention partition
bundle puzzle action portion
bottle scramble addition station
buckle scribble affection section
circle sprinkle invitation
little struggle foundation expression
middle tickle education impression
pickle wiggle mention mission
sample nation

24
UNIT 45

ed WITH SHORT e

added ended painted waited

acted folded planted
counted landed printed
crowded lighted rested

ed SOUNDS LIKE ‘d

aimed changed saved stayed

burned filled rained turned
called named rolled

ed SOUNDS LIKE t

baked picked looked wished

boxed hoped packed
camped jumped pitched
hitched liked stopped

UNIT 46

Long Vowels in Open Syllables

baker racer pony mural

shady fever holy rural
lady cedar over tyro
paper hero clover tyrant
caper legal donor
taper regal solar dial
favor before polar giant
savor tidy sober trial
vapor limy local friar
wafer slimy focal pliant
maker viper vocal vial
taker biter total
nasal libel oval poem
fatal cider grocer brier
natal spider oral
label tiger open cruel
halo vital tulip duel
sago final Lucy fuel
pacer bony pupil gruel

25
UNIT 47

37 Dolch List Service Words with “other” speech sound correspondences, plus three word with
the /zh/ sound of treasure.

do come again only where measure

to done said are were pleasure
today does carry every treasure
together some could eight been
two one would have buy
who once give don’t
into of any their your
from many they
very

26
 CONSONANTS and VOWELS
A SUMMARY of PHONETIC SOUNDS

Our alphabet has 26 letters.

Each letter has one name and one or more sounds.
____________________________________________________________________________
The consonants are all the letters, except a, e, i, o, u.
Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, y, z. Vowels: a, e, i, o, u
and sometimes y (which is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant.)
____________________________________________________________________________
Most single consonants have only one sound.
Example: the “b” sound you hear in “baby”
Exceptions: “c” has a hard sound “k” (as in “cat”) and
a soft sound “s” when followed by e, i, or y (as in “cent, city fancy”)
“g” has a hard sound “g” (as in “go”) and sometimes
a soft sound “j” when followed by e, i, or y (as in “age, ginger, gym”)
______________________________________________________________________________
In a consonant blend you hear the sounds of two or three consonants blended together.
Example: Single consonant rap
Consonant blend with two consonants trap
Consonant blends with three consonants strap
______________________________________________________________________________
In a consonant digraph you do not hear the separate sounds of the consonants, but you do hear a
new sound. (Most of the consonant digraphs are a consonant followed by an “h”)
Example: ch – church th – that ph – phone
sh – shop wh – when gh – laugh
______________________________________________________________________________
Some letters are silent that is do not have any sound in the word.
Example: Silent consonant “b” – comb. Silent vowel “e” – date.
______________________________________________________________________________
Every word has one or more syllables. A syllable is a “beat” in the word.
This symbol ΄ means the syllable is accented, or has the heavy beat.
Example: un΄der be gin΄ in for ma΄ tion

Every syllable has a vowel sound. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.
(“y” is usually a consonant when it is the first letter in the word, as in “yes,” but a vowel when
it is in the middle or at the end of, as in “gym” or “my” or “baby”)
Each vowel has several different sounds, depending on how it is used in the word.
______________________________________________________________________________
A single vowel usually has the short sound ( ˇ )
Example: ădd, ĕxit, ĭt, ŏn, ǔp
A single vowel may have the long sound ( ˉ means long).
Example: dāte, mē, Ī, gō, ūses

27
A closed syllable ends in a consonant, and the vowel sound is short.
Example: gŏt
An open syllable ends in a vowel, and the vowel sound is long.
Example: gō
______________________________________________________________________________
Silent “e” as the end of the word usually makes the vowel before it long.
Example: āte, Pēte, rīde, hōpe, tŭbe
______________________________________________________________________________
Often when two vowels come together, the first one is long and the second one is silent.
(The second vowel “works on” the first vowel to make it long.)
Example: ēe – trēe āi – rāin īe – pīe ōa – rōad ūe – blūe
ēa – ēat āy – dāy ōe – Jōe ūi – sūit
______________________________________________________________________________
Two vowels together may give a different sound than those made by the single letter. They are
digraphs if they have a single sound.
Example: o͞o – moon o͝o – book au – Paul aw - saw
They are diphthongs when two sounds slide together to make a continuous unit of sound.
Example: oi – oil oy – boy ou – out ow - cow
______________________________________________________________________________
Other vowel sounds can be made with a vowel followed by an “r.”
Example: ar – car or – for er – her
ir – bird
ur – turn
______________________________________________________________________________
Or vowel sounds can be made with a vowel followed by a “w.”
Example: aw – saw ow – cow ew – new
ow – slow
(“r” and “w” are “vowel helpers” in the above examples.)
______________________________________________________________________________
The symbol “ə” stands for the schwa sound, which is the sound of the unaccented short “u.”
Any one of the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) can take the schwa sound.
Example: about, elephant, politics, ebony, crocus
______________________________________________________________________________
Other common letter combinations using the vowels are:
ǎng – săng ǎnk – bănk äll – ball ōlt – bōlt īnd – fīnd
ǐng – sĭng ǐnk – pǐnk ält – salt ōll – rōll īld – chīld
ŏng – sŏng ŏnk – hŏnk älk – walk ōld - cōld
ǔng – sŭng ǔnk – jŭnk
______________________________________________________________________________
ti, si, ci can say “sh”
Example: nation, tension, special

28
 HAZEL LOGAN LORING
(1902-1983)

Born in Massachusetts in 1902, Hazel Loring viewed the recent history of reading instruction
from the unique perspective of one who taught under both the phonics and the “whole word”
method.
After attending what is now the University of Massachusetts for two years, she had her first
experience teaching phonics in 1923-24. While raising a family of three children, she maintained
a keen interest in reading problems and later returned to the teaching profession. Mrs. Loring
earned her B.S. in Education from Wayne State University, received her Michigan State
Permanent Elementary Certificate, and taught a first-grade classroom in Oscoda, Michigan for
ten years from 1960 to 1970.
As a retired teacher she joined the Reading Reform Foundation and served as its Michigan
Chairman. She was a member of the NRTA and a Retired Member of the NEA.
The original edition contained this acknowledgement: For their encouragement and assistance,
grateful acknowledgement is made to Mrs. Raymond Rubicam and Ralph W. Lewis, Professor
Emeritus, Department of Natural Science, Michigan State University.

First Printing – January, 1982

Second Printing – February, 1983
Third Printing – July, 1983

The original edition carried the following permission for reproduction:

Unlimited reproduction for solely educational
purposes is encouraged. However, reproduction
for profit may not be made of any part of this publication.

For historical interest, we will include the following note to teachers from the original edition:
To the Teacher
You are one of the first to receive this booklet outlining a practical and inexpensive way to add
blend phonics to your present reading instruction. We hope to continue – and expand – non-
profit distribution of this method to other teachers in the near future. Your comments on your
experiences with the method will be invaluable to us in our efforts. Replies will be treated
confidentially if you request. Send your comments to the address below, and than you for your
cooperation.
Logan Institute for Educational Excellence
6197 Livernois Avenue
Troy, Michigan 48098
Of course, the above information is dated, and the address is no longer valid.
This edition was prepared by Donald L. Potter on May 28, 2003 for free distribution on the
Internet. The inexpensive paperback edition was created by Mr. Potter to further encourage wide
use of the program in English speaking schools. The paperback is available on Amazon.

29
Robert W. Sweet, Jr. Co-Founder and Former President of The National Right to Read
Foundation wrote this stirring recommendation for Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics, in
his 1996 article, “The Century of Miseducation of American Teachers:”
“An effective answer to illiteracy … Let me offer a less costly, and more effective answer.
I have here a twenty-five-page booklet called Blend Phonics written by Hazel Loring, a
master teacher born in 1902, who taught under both the “whole word” and phonics
systems. The legacy she has left us is powerful. Within the pages of this little booklet is the
cure of illiteracy as we begin the twenty-first century. … If every pre-service reading
teacher, every reading supervisor, every kindergarten, first- and second-grade teacher in
America had the information contained in Hazel Loring’s 25-page booklet and taught it
this fall, there would be such a dramatic decrease in illiteracy in this country that the
national media would be forced to take note.”
Note from Internet Publisher – Donald L. Potter
Retired 21 years Elementary Bilingual and Junior High Spanish Teacher
for the Ector County ISD, Odessa, TX.
Retired 13 years Spanish, Cursive Handwriting, and Remedial Reading Teacher
for the Odessa Christian School

I first learned of Loring’s pamphlet from the 1996 article mentioned above by Robert W. Sweet. I got a
copy of Loring’s Blend Phonics from the Interlibrary Loan on May 5, 1999. I was so impressed that I
retyped it for Internet publication on May 28, 2003. Later Mr. Charlie Richardson sent me a copy along
with his excellent instructional article, “The Alphabet Code & How It Works” which I republished and
provided with an mp3 audio instruction file. There is also a “Table of Contents” at the end of this
document. I am delighted to report that the document has received many thousands of hits since I first
published it on the Internet. It is my earnest prayer that every pre-service reading teacher, every reading
supervisor, and every kindergarten, first- and second-grade teacher in America will receive the
information contained in Hazel Loring’s 25-page booklet and apply its message so that there will be such
a dramatic decrease in illiteracy in this country that the national media will be forced to take note. I use
Blend Phonics extensively in my private tutoring practice. I have the students spell the words orally in
each Unit after I have taught them to sound out the words with Loring’s blend phonics technique. I also
have them write all the words in cursive in a wide lined notebook. Manuscript will also work fine.
Students of all ages can learn to read with Loring’s Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First
Grade. Her daughter Pat Lent used it to teach adult education students to read. I have used it to teach a
41-year-old man who could not read and numerous other students in elementary and secondary grades.
The title merely indicates the ideal time to teach phonics-first. I have also published several supplemental
aids for Blend Phonics: Don Potter’s Blend Phonics Lessons and Stories, Blend Phonics Blend Phonics
Timed Fluency Drills, Beyond Blend Phonics: English Morphology Made Easy, Blend Phonics Lessons
and Stories: Cursive Edition. These are all available for FREE at www.blendphonics.org. I have a
YouTube video explaining how to teach Blend Phonics. All these books are also available now in
inexpensive paperback from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
I have republished two articles by Mrs. Loring on the following pages that will be of considerable interest
to those interested in the history of good phonics instruction America

Last revision 8/14/19.

30
 Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade
by Mrs. Hazel Logan Loring

Table of Contents
Step One: Short Vowels and Consonants

Unit 1. Short sound of a b c d f g h j k l m n p qu r s t v w x y z ck

Unit 2. Short sound of i
Unit 3. Short sound of o
Unit 4. Short sound of u
Unit 5. Short sound of e

Step Two: Consonant Blends and Digraphs

Unit 6. Final Consonant Blends: (ck) ft, lk, lp, lt mp, nd, nt, sk, st, ts, xt.
Unit 7. Consonant Digraph: sh
Unit 8. Consonant Digraph (Voiced): th
Consonant Digraph (Unvoiced): th
Unit 9. Consonant Digraph: ch, tch (ch sounds like k)
Unit 10. Consonant Digraph: wh
Unit 11. ng (ang, ing, ong, ung)
Unit 12. nk (ank, ink, onk,, unk)
Unit 13. Initial & Final Consonant Blends: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sc, sk, sl, sm,
sn, sp, st, sw
Unit 14. Initial & Final Consonant Blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr
Unit 15. Short Vowel Compound Words

Step Three: Long Vowels (VCE)

Unit 16. When the final e is silent, the vowel is usually long
(The long sound of vowel is the same as its name.)
Unit 17. Phonograms using long vowels: old, olt, oll, ost, oth, ild, ind
Unit 18. Short words ending in a long vowel: be, go, he, me, no,
so, she, we

31
 Step Four: R-Controlled Vowels
Unit 19. Phonogram: ar
Unit 20: Phonogram: or
Unit 21: Phonograms: er, ir, ur and sometimes or
Step Five: Vowel Digraphs and Diphthongs
Unit 22. Vowel Digraph: ai, ay
Unit 23. Vowel Digraph: ee
Unit 24: Vowel Digraph: ea (three phonemes: long e, short e, long a)
Unit 25: Vowel Digraph: ie (two phonemes: long i and long e)
Unit 26. Final Vowel y: sound e. Long i in one syllable words.
Unit 27. Vowel Digraph: oa, oe (like long o)
Unit 28. Digraph ow. Diphthong: ow
Unit 29. Diphthong ou: Digraph ou (Often irregular; it can
sound like short u, short oo, long oo, long o, etc.)
Unit 30. Diphthongs: oy, oi
Unit 31. Long sound of oo
Unit 32. Short sound of oo
Unit 33. Vowel Digraphs: aw, au
Unit 34. Phonograms: al, all
Unit 35. Digraphs: ew, ue
Step Six: Advanced Spelling Patterns
Unit 36. Unaccented a at the beginning of a word.
Also, the word “a” when not used for emphasis.
Unit 37. Phonograms: ul, ull, ush (u sound like short oo)
Unit 38. Soft sound of c (before e, i, and y)
Usually sounds like s: sometimes like sh.
Unit 39. Soft sound of g in dge and sometimes before e, i, and y.
Unit 40. Silent gh and gh sounds like f.
Unit 41. Silent k, w, t, b, and l
Unit 42. se sounds like z
Unit 43. ph sounds like f
Unit 44. Final le, tion, sion
Unit 45. ed with short e; ed sounds like ‘d, ed sounds like ‘t
Unit 46. Long vowels in open syllables
Unit 47. 37 Dolch List Words with Other Sounds and 2 /zh/ Words.
The Table of Contents was prepared by Donald Potter on June 2003. Revised 5/23/2017

32
Says a retired campaigner:

Intensive phonics is the only way to go

By Mrs. Hazel Loring

I am a retired teacher, 76 years old, who taught the genuine old-fashioned phonics using New
Beacon Charts, flashcards, and readers in the early 1920s. I left the profession to raise a family
but maintained a lively interest in methods of teaching beginners’ reading, particularly when I
learned of problems encountered by my neighbor’s children who were being exposed to the
recognition system in school.
It was in the early 1950s that I began to think seriously of the possible causes of reading
failure. Following discussion about eye phenomena with a friend, Dr. J.A.J Hall, an
ophthalmologist, I put my ideas in a little manuscript entitled “Monocular Intervals in Binocular
Vision and Their Relationship to Reading Disability.”
Dr. Hall had the paper read at a regular meeting of the Detroit Ophthalmology Society, and he
sent it to a committee on vision whose membership he described as international.
My project lost its sponsor when Dr. Hall died of a heart attack. I had had only two years of
college training and no prestige or academic standing. You can imagine the opposition my ideas
encountered from the powerful anti-phonics people in education.
I had enrolled in Wayne State University but as a cliff-hanging encounter with cancer
prevented me from completing my work for a degree. Amazingly, I recovered and had an
opportunity to teach first grade at Oscoda, Mich., on a Special Certificate.
I taught first grade for 10 years and, with summer, night and correspondence courses – and at
age 61 – I received my Bachelor’s degree and later my Michigan Permanent Teaching
Certificate.
All of my teaching experience has confirmed my belief that directional guidance,
inherent in the blend phonics system, is the key to success in teaching reading.
In my first years at Oscoda a sudden influx of personnel at nearby Wurthsmith Air Force Base
resulted in over-crowding of the schools and we had more than 40 first-graders in a room. This,
together with the fact that I used phonics cautiously in a limited way, resulted in only fair
success. As class sizes were reduced to the low 30s and I felt free to give the children intensive
phonics training, the results were very gratifying. Only “recognition” textbooks were available
(Houghton, Mifflin series), but I spent at least a half hour daily in formal phonics training, which
I implemented in all reading classes.
At first, I used the chalkboard for phonics instruction, but when I came across an overhead
projector that was not being used, I found it to be an ideal phonics-teaching tool.
Three days before my retirement, I went into the school storeroom and took a set of first
reader books which my children had never seen before. Each child stood in front of the class and
read a full page. Only one little girl needed help, and that with just a couple words. The others
read fluently, without error. Of course, most of them had been reading supplementary library
materials far beyond first grade.

33
 About 10 years ago my daughter, Pat Lent, asked me to teach her how to teach phonics, and
she then volunteered as a teacher at an Urban Adult Education Institute in Detroit. For the first
eight years she taught as a volunteer, but her work has been so successful that she is now a paid
teacher.
It was Pat who told enthusiastically of the Reading Reform Foundation and urged me to
write to you: “Mom, they are saying the very same things that you have been talking about all
these years!”
Well, now I am retired and putter around with my garden and photography, but perhaps you
may be interested in the experiences of a phonics believer of more than 50 years.
You quote Janette Moss as saying she cannot understand how it became possible to make
money more easily and quickly with an ineffective technique than with an effective technique
(see RRF Conference Report, October, 1978). It is like an unbelievable nightmare, but I saw it
happen. The fanaticism of the Gestaltist cult, bolstered by self-righteousness, left no room for
reason or objective evaluation. A science education professor from a large Eastern University,
after reading my manuscript, told me, “They won’t get you on this (pointing to my paper); they’ll
get you on something else.”

Anyone who opposes the look-say method could expect to be blacklisted. I felt I was a
member of an endangered species at Wayne State, but they didn’t “get” me. My first bout with
cancer took me 200 miles away where teachers were scarce and results counted more than
methodology.
There is no question that Gestaltists played rough, and the conflict of interest of policy-
makers in Education was a disgrace. The very people who raked in royalties as authors or editors
of textbooks were the very same people who dictated reading methods and selected textbooks.
Theirs, of course.
“Publish or perish” may be acceptable if the publication is restricted to non-profit professional
journals, but it is an ugly situation when educational concepts are dictated, not by a search for
truth in a spirit of academic freedom but by the edicts of publishers and the amount of royalties
that will accrue to faculty members who use their university prestige for commercial purposes.
I realize that decent, well-intentioned educators who felt the need to augment their limited
salaries were caught in the web – “everybody” was doing it. But it was wrong.
Congratulations to the Reading Reform Foundation on your campaign to restore common
sense teaching in the schools. Your forthright stance is courageous and admirable. The
opposition you encounter is entrenched and formidable, but you are right, and you will win out.
I’m a humble person, far from affluent, and I sometimes wonder for what purpose I have
survived my on-going fight against cancer, but is feels mighty good to be able to cheer you on in
your good work against the legacy of illiteracy that has been bequeathed to our children by the
self-anointed, highly organized, cultist Gestaltists whose bullying tactics have dominated the
reading scene for more than 50 years.

34
 Another Letter from Hazel Logan Loring in the Same Publication
[Hod’s Podge]

We were delighted to get a letter from Mrs. Hazel Loring of Birmingham, Mich., and to be
able to share with you in these pages. Just before we went to press, we received a second letter;
one, which we believe, raises an excellent point for further discussion. Speaking of an RRF
publication, The Reading Crisis, Mrs. Loring says, in part:
“It mentions that Dr. Jean S. Chall in her very fine book, Learning to Read: The Great
Debate, divides reading methods into two groups: the ‘code-emphasis’ group and the ‘meaning-
emphasis’ group. This could lead to the false assumption that intensive phonics fails to
emphasize meaning.
“I know that in the past, anti-phonics people like to create the impression that they alone
taught comprehension and that the intensive phonics method failed to do so. I question if one can
‘teach comprehension,’ but surely it is possible to create a situation where the exercise of
comprehension is encouraged. I suppose that conceivably, a child could be taught to read lists of
words without comprehension of their meaning…but that is not the way I taught my first-
graders, and I doubt if it is a common practice…”
Mrs. Loring concluded her letter: “Because in years past I have heard so many claims by
look-say people in regard to their ability to teach comprehension, when, in fact, in many cases
they fail to even teach reading, I simply had to unburden myself.”

“With the kindest regards and cheers for the work you are doing…”
“I must dispute Mrs. Loring on that last sentence. With her first letter to the RRF, she sent a
very nice financial contribution, it’s “we” not “you,” Mrs. Loring.

Note: G. K. Hodenfield was the editor of this issue of The Reading Informer.
[Hodenfield was “Associated Press National Education Writer before getting angry because he
couldn’t write what he wanted to about what he was learning about the reading problem and its
cause. He quit and went to work at Indiana University.” He co-authored, with Kathryn Diehl,
Johnny STILL Can’t Read but You Can Teach Him at Home, AP, 1976. (Per. letter from Kathryn
Diehl, 2/15/06.)]

Note from Internet Publisher – Donald L. Potter

Concerning Loring’s Articles

January 25, 2006

The above articles by Mrs. Hazel Loring were published in The Reading Informer, Volume 6,
Number 3 – February 1979. The Reading Informer a publication of the Reading Reform
Foundation. Their motto was: OUR SOLE AIM: TO RESTORE INTENSIVE PHONICS TO
THE TEACHING OF READING THROUGHOUT THE NATION. A special word of thanks
goes to Mrs. Kathy Diehl, former Research Director for the Reading Reform Foundation, for
sending me a box of The Reading Informer magazines and her book, Johnny Still Can’t Read
but You Can Teach Him at Home. These articles by Loring were added to this online edition of
Hazel Loring’s Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade on February 3, 2007.

35
 Article by Kathryn Diehl on Loring’s Blend Phonics
The Barbara M. Morris Report
May 1983
The Detroit Free Press (2/13/83) printed a long-featured article, “A Sound Road to Reading.”
As far as anyone knows, this is the first time the facts about good teaching reading ability have
been printed in the Detroit news media. The article was about Hazel Loring, an elderly retired
teacher, and her little booklet for teachers, “Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for the
First-Grade.” This was sent free to 5000 Michigan first-grade teachers last year. The article
quotes admiring teachers who determinedly use this phonics method, saying their basal reading
series “doesn’t teach enough phonics” or they are “disgusted” with the failure it produces.
The Loring title alone is revealing to most teachers. Mrs. Loring began teaching before the
sight word books were printed, and then watched the old standard phonics method forced out of
the schools. “It was like a swarm of locust descending on the schools from coast to coast, and
soon phonics was taboo.” She went right on teaching it secretly, of course.
“Blend phonics” is a very helpful term, to try to combat the false theory that the big basal
series today teach through phonics. For what they do not do is teach the children to use the letters
sounds by blending them from left to right to figure out the printed words. Some big publishers
have even stolen the term “intensive phonics” (coined years ago by Sr. Monica Foltzer to
describe her real phonics method), and apply it to their skimpy “phonics.” If we begin to call for
“blend phonics” methods, they’ll have a harder time to invent an Orwellian “redefinition” of
that specific term, since blending and sounding out words is the essential thing, they carefully
avoid teaching. It is also necessary to show many teachers that “first grade” is the time to teach
children independent reading through phonics, not spread out over three years and more, as
they’ve been trained.
ANYONE CAN ARRANGE TO PRINT MRS. LORING’S BOOKLET AND DISTRIBUTE
IT, AS LONG AS IT ISN’T SOLD. She refuses to sell them, considering that the big money that
changes hands in the sales of the sight word basal programs is the corrupting reason they remain
a virtual monopoly in the schools. She would “die happy,” if every first-grade teacher had a free
copy of her booklet, to help them make up for the flaws in the programs most must use.
Any organization or group of businessmen frightened about the effect of illiteracy on the
U.S. economy could contact Mrs. Loring to ask approval to print it – as long as they do not sell,
but give them to teachers. They would have to bypass the curriculum and reading supervisors,
and school superintendents, in many districts, sending the booklets directly to the teachers to
ensure they receive them. A couple of million copies of this tiny treasure, in the hands of every
K-12 teacher in the schools, would bring about a revival of grassroots literacy within a year.
Many teachers at last would understand why their school’s adopted commercial programs
produce poor reading, and what to do about it.
____________________
I appreciate Mrs. Diehl for sending me the above article. Her idea of printing a “couple million
copies of this tiny treasure” may seem a bit ambitious. Nevertheless, with its publication as a free
e-book on my website, www.donpotter.net, there is nothing to prevent it from reaching every
classroom in America, or even the entire English-speaking world.
This page last edited: 2/18/06.

36
The following is the cover letter that was included with each copy of Hazel Loring’s booklet sent
free of charge to more than 5,000 Michigan teachers. (Reading Informer, March 1982)

Dear First Grade Teacher:

This booklet is sent to you free of charge by the non-profit Logan Institute for Educational
Excellence, thanks to the generous contribution of Mrs. Raymond Rubicam, who has
unselfishly devoted many years to the purpose of improving the teaching of reading and of
combating illiteracy. It was Mrs. Rubicam who inspired me to write about my work in
teaching reading to a first-grade classroom. When Dr. Ralph W. Lewis read my description
of the method that I had used, he commented that we should find some way to get it into
the hands of every first-grade teacher in Michigan. And here it is.

Please read the little booklet and try it out. It will take very little time and cost nothing.
Simply allot half an hour each day for about four months in which to teach blend phonics
to your children and thus provide them the important ingredient that too often is missing
from reading programs, namely, directional training.

Except for this half hour, use materials of your choice, as you ordinarily would do. There is
no need to disrupt the program to which you are accustomed though, of course, I am sure
you will find it useful to utilize blend phonics techniques while attacking new words in
oral reading, spelling, and writing. Your own judgment will dictate to what extent you
make use of this tool during the school day.

Please try it. It can make all the difference for those children who might otherwise fail. I
found this to be true in my classes. With best wishes for a successful school year.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Hazel Logan Loring

37
I received the encouraging letter below on May 15, 2015 from one of Hazel Loring’s former
students. It is a living monument to Mrs. Loring’s stature as a teacher and an enduring testimony
to her highly effective Blend Phonics method.

Hello,

My name is Cheryl McNarie Stackhouse and I was one of those “Wurtsmith AFB” children that
overwhelmed the Oscoda, Michigan school system in the mid 1960’s. The most wonderful thing
for me was having Mrs. Hazel Loring as my first-grade teacher. Two nights ago, on a whim, I
googled her name. Her booklet on phonics and your video on YouTube concerning her work
intrigued me immensely. She was (as I’m sure you can imagine) my most beloved teacher. She
was, to say the least, my reason for loving reading and learning in general. (She taught me in
either 1967 or 1968).

I distinctly remember her teaching me phonics. I remember learning “ph” made an

/f/ sound...and so on... She had the ability to project her faith in each of us and build our
confidence by doing so. Her contribution to phonics although great, will never overshadow her
overall contribution to each and every one of us who were lucky enough to enter her hallowed
classroom.

She was amazing. I distinctly remember going to school every day conscientious, never wanting
to disappoint her. She was without a doubt the teacher that instilled my love of learning. I loved
her like my own grandmother. She taught with care, concern, and pure delight. I am forever
blessed for having had her light shine upon me!

Sincerely - with great affection,

Cheryl McNarie-Stackhouse

38
 Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics
Unit Progress Chart
Student: ____________________ Teacher ___________________
Start Date __________________ Finish Date _______________

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7

Step 1 Step 2

Unit 8 Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13 Unit 14

Unit 15 Unit 16 Unit 17 Unit 18 Unit 19 Unit 20 Unit 21

Step 3 Step 4

Unit 22 Unit 23 Unit 24 Unit 25 Unit 26 Unit 27 Unit 28

Step 5

Unit 29 Unit 30 Unit 31 Unit 32 Unit 33 Unit 34 Unit 35

Unit 36 Unit 37 Unit 38 Unit 39 Unit 40 Unit 41 Unit 42

Step 6

Unit 43 Unit 44 Unit 45 Unit 46 Unit 47

Created by Donald L. Potter, 9/30/2007, Revised 5/23/2017 (www.donpotter.net)

39
 Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics
Unit Progress Chart with Skills
Student: ____________________ Teacher ___________________
Start Date __________________ Finish Date _______________

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7

Step 1 ĭ ŏ ŭ ĕ Step 2 sh
ăbcdfghjklm p End C. Blends
qr r s t v w y z ck

Unit 8 Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13 Unit 14

th th ch, tch wh ng nk Beg. C. Blends Beg. C. Blends

Unit 15 Unit 16| Unit 17 Unit 18| Unit 19 Unit 20 Unit 21

SV Compd. Step 3 LV: old, etc. LV Short Step 4 or er/ir/ur/or
Words VCE Words ar

Unit 22 Unit 23 Unit 24 Unit 25 Unit 26 Unit 27 Unit 28

Step 5 ee ea ie y=ī, --y=ē - oa/oe ōw/ow
ai/ay

Unit 29 Unit 30 Unit 31 Unit 32 Unit 33 Unit 34 Unit 35

ou oy/oi Long oo Short oo aw/au al/all ew/eu

Unit 36 Unit 37 Unit 38 Unit 39 Unit 40 Unit 41 Unit 42

Step 6 ul/ull/ush = Soft c & s = ch Soft g, dge gh Silent se - /z/
a=ŭ short oo kwtb

Unit 43 Unit 44 Unit 45 Unit 46 Unit 47

Silent gh le, tion, sion ed Long Vowel in 37 Dolch Words
Open Syllables + 3 /zh/ Words
ph/gh=f

Created by Donald L. Potter, 9/30/07. Skills added 2/18/12. Revised 5/23/2017 (www.donpotter.net)

40
 Blend Phonics Reader - Skills Ladder
Step Unit Association # of Words
47 37 Dolch List words and 3 /zh/ words 40
46 Long Vowels in Open syllables 73
45 ed with short e; ed sounds like ‘d; ed sounds like ‘t 37
44 Final le, tion, sion 33
Step 6 43 ph sounds like f 12
Advanced
42 se sounds like z 22
Spellings
41 Silent k, w, t, b, l, and h 41
Open Syllables
40 Silent gh (igh, ough/augh), and gh like f 24
37 Dolch Words
39 Soft sound of g in dge & sometimes before e, i, y. 40
38 Soft sound of c (before e, i, & y); s like sh (sugar) 50
37 Phonograms: ul, ull, ush (u sound like short oo) 10
36 Unaccented a at beginning of words & a 16
35 Diagraphs ew, ue 23
34 Phonograms: al, all 15
33 Vowel Digraphs aw, au 21
32 Short sound of oo 24
31 Long sound of oo 42
Step 5 30 Diphthong: oy, oi 18
Vowel 29 Diphthong ou; Digraph ōu, often Irregular 19
Digraphs & 28 Digraph: ōw, Diphthong: ow 44
Diphthongs 27 Vowel Digraph: oa, oe (like long ō) 24
26 Final Vowel y (ē); Long ī in single syllable words 38
25 Vowel Digraph ie (long ī and long ē) 24
24 Vowel Digraph ea (long ē, short ĕ, long ā) 44
23 Vowel Digraph: ee 41
22 Vowel Digraph: ai, ay 35
21 Phonogram er, ir, ur, and sometimes or 52
Step 4 20 Phonogram: or 20
R-Contr. Vowels 19 Phonogram: ar 23
Step 3 18 Short words ending in long vowels: be, go, he, me, etc. 9
Long Vowels 17 Phonograms - Long Vowels: old, olt, oll, ost,, oth, ild, ind 32
(VCE) 16 VCE (long vowels) a-e, e-e, i-e, o-e, u-e 166
15 Short Vowel Compound Words 48
14 Initial Consonant Blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr 56
13 Initial Consonant Blends: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw 92
Step 2 12 nk (ank, ink, onk, unk) 16
Consonant Blends 11 ng (ang, ing, ong, ung) 20
& Digraphs & 10 Consonant Digraph: wh 12
Compound Words 9 Consonant Digraphs: ch, tch (ch = k) 21
8 Consonant Digraphs: th (voiced); th (unvoiced) 12
7 Consonant Digraph: sh 12
6 Final Consonant Blends 63
5 Short vowel ĕ 33
Step 1 4 Short vowel ŭ 36
Short Vowels & 3 Short vowel ŏ 40
Consonants 2 Short vowel ĭ 55
1 Short vowel ă b c d f g h j k l m n p qu r s t v w y z ck 47

There are over 1,900 words in the program.

41
 Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics
Phonovisual Charts Correlation

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7

Step 1 Short ĭ Short ŏ Short ŭ Short ĕ Step 2 sh
All single letter (fish) (top) (duck) (bed) End C. Blends (ship)
consonants & No new sounds
ck short a (cat)

Unit 8 Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13 Unit 14

th th ch, tch wh ng nk Beg. C. Blends Beg. C. Blends
No new sounds No new sounds
(3 & this) (cherry) (wheel) (swing) (swing)

Unit 15 Unit 16 Unit 17 Unit 18 Unit 19 Unit 20 Unit 21

Compound Step 3 old, etc. be, go, etc Step 4 or er/ir/ur/or
SV Words VCE (rose & 5) (rose & tree) ar (fork) (fur)
(cake, tree, 5, (car)
rose, mule)

Unit 22 Unit 23 Unit 24 Unit 25 Unit 26 Unit 27 Unit 28

Step 5 ee - ea ie -y = ē (ĭ) oa, oe ōw, ow
ai/ay (tree) (tree, bed, (five & tree) (tree) (rose) (rose, cow)
(cake) cake)

Unit 29 Unit 30 Unit 31 Unit 32 Unit 33 Unit 34 Unit 35

ou oy/oi Long oo Short oo aw/au al/all ew/eu
(cow, etc.) (boy) (moon (book) (saw) (saw) (mule)

Unit 36 Unit 37 Unit 38 Unit 39 Unit 40 Unit 41 Unit 42

Step 6 ul/ull/ush = Soft c & s = sh Soft g gh Silent k, w, t, b, l se = z
(saw, ship) No new sounds
a=ŭ Short oo (jar) (5) (zebra)
(duck) (book)

Unit 43 Unit 44 Unit 45 Unit 46 Unit 47

ph = f le, tion, sion -ed Long Vowel in 37 Dolch List,
Open Syllables 3 /zh/
(fan) (leaf, ship) No new sounds
(cake, tree, 5,
rose, mule)

Created by Donald L. Potter, 9/30/07. Skills added 2/18/12. Phonovisual correlation added 4/11/13. Last Revision
on May 23, 2017.

The Phonovisual Sound Pictures are in parenthesis. The two Phonovisual Charts (Consonants & Vowels) form a
universal method for teaching the sound-to-symbol associations of written English. In constant use since 1942, they
are a time-tested method for teaching phonemic awareness and phonics. Coupling the Phonovisual Charts and Blend
Phonics forms a powerful combination that is easy to teach and leads to reading success for all students.
www.phonovisual.com.

42
 Dolch Sight-Words Taught Phonetically in Hazel Loring’s
Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade
(Countering the false claims that Dolch Sight-Words are so irregular
that they have to be taught with whole-word memorization)
a U35 call U33 gave U14 keep U22 only -- sleep U21 very --
about U35 came U14 get U5 kind U15 open U45 small U33
after U20 can U1 give -- know U40 or U19 so U16 walk U40
again -- carry -- go U16 our U28 some -- want U10
all U35 clean U23 goes U26 laugh U39 out U28 soon U30 warm U18
always U33 cold U15 going U29 let U5 over U45 start U13 was U10
am U1 come -- good U31 light U39 own U27 stop U13 wash U10
an U1 could -- got U3 like U14 we U16
and U6 cut U4 green U22 little U43 pick U6 take U14 well U5
any -- grow U27 live U14 play U21 tell U5 went U6
are -- did U2 long U11 please U41 ten U5 were --
around U35 do -- had U1 look U31 pretty U25 thank U8 what U10
as U41 does -- has U41 pull U36 that U8 when U10
ask U6 done -- have -- made U14 put U36 the U16 where --
at U1 don’t -- he U16 make U14 their -- which U10
ate U14 dawn U32 help U6 many -- ran U1 them U8 white U14
away U21 draw U32 her U20 may U21 read U23 then U8 who --
drink U17 here U14 me U16 red U5 there -- why U25
be U16 him U2 much U9 ride U14 these U14 will U2
because U41 eat U23 his U41 must U7 right U39 they -- wish U7
been -- eight -- hold U15 my U25 round U35 think U8 with U8
before U19 every -- hot U3 myself U25 run U4 this U8 work U20
best U6 how U27 those U14 would --
better U20 fall U33 hurt U20 never U20 said -- three U22 write U40
big U2 far U18 new U34 saw U32 to --
black U13 fast U6 I U16 no U16 say U21 today -- yellow U27
blue U34 find U15 if U2 not U3 see U22 together -- yes U5
both U15 first U22 in U2 now U27 seven U17 too U30 you U28
bring U17 five U14 into -- shall U7 try U25 your --
brown U27 fly U25 is U42 of -- she U16 two --
but U4 for U19 it U5 off U3 show U27
buy -- found U28 its U6 old U15 sing U11 under U20
by U25 four U28 on U3 sit U2 up U4
from -- jump U6 once -- six U2 upon U13
full U5 just U6 one -- us U4
funny U25 use U41

These 220 words make up from 50% to 75% of all ordinary reading-matter. U = Blend Phonics
Unit. The three words in italics (away, seven, upon) are not in Reading Made Easy with Blend
Phonics for First Grade, but they are in Mr. Potter’s Blend Phonics Fluency Drills and Blend
Phonics Lessons and Stories. The 37 irregular Dolch Lists words are now taught in Unit 47.

43
 Only 40 of the 220 Dolch List Words are absent from Hazel Loring’s
original Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade
again any are away been buy carry come could do does done don’t eight every from give have
into many of once one only said seven some their they to today together two upon very were
where who would your
Note: “Of” is the only word that can be considered completely irregular; the others are only
slightly irregular. Līve is regular, but with lĭve the e is there because of the v, which cannot end a
word.
Here is a useful classification of the omissions:
3 Regular words: away, seven, upon (Included in Blend Phonics Lessons & Stories.)
37 Semi-Irregular words: again any are been buy carry come could do does done don’t eight
from very give have into many of once one only said some their they to today together two very
were where who would your (Unit 47 in Blend Phonics is dedicated to teaching these words.)

o=Long oo o=Short ŭ ai=Short ĕ ou=Short oo a=Short ĭ

do come again would any
to done said could many
today does
together some
two one
who once
into of
from

Have has a short ă before a single consonant, e is there because a word cannot end in v (In this
case the final e is not a long vowel marker). Give is similar to have in that the i is short before a
single consonant, and the e is there because the word cannot end with v. Are is regular except for
the silent e. In carry the a before the double r is long, this is a rather common pattern, marry is
good example. In eight the eigh in a long ā is a common pattern as in weight, freight, etc. Were is
regular except for the silent e. In very the r goes with the y and not the e, the e being short. In
every, the first e is short and the second is not sounded. Buy has an unsounded u to distinguish it
from the preposition by. Been is pronounced with a single short ĭ in the United States. The long ā
pronunciation of ei and ey in their and they are simply alternative spellings. I believe the o in
don’t is long because of the double consonant n’t. The o of of is the schwa sound, and the f is
pronounced as v, which is a simple voicing of the usually voiceless consonant letter. The o in
only is a long ō, I am not sure why. In my dialect where is pronounced /hwĕr/, but across
America it is subject to considerable variation in pronunciation. Your is pronounced a couple
different ways, I use the short oo; but children find it easy to identify just from the sounds of the
y-r.

44
 Sample Phonovisual Charts

Explanation of Scientific Organization of Charts

Consonant Chart: The top of the chart starts at the front of the mouth and goes to the back
going down the column. The first column (p, wh, f, th, t, s, sh, ch, k, h) are voiceless consonants
(Quiet Cousins). The second column (b, w, v, th, d, z, j, g) represents voiced consonants (Noisy
Cousins). The third column (m, n, ng/nk) are nasals (Singing Cousins). The column on the right
(qu, l, r, y, x) relates to the consonants to the left according to points of articulation (Neighbors).
Vowel Chart: Top row are long vowels spellings. Second row are short vowel spellings. The
vowels below the short vowel row are called “other vowels.” The small print represents
secondary spellings.

Color Coded Large Wall Charts, Small Student Charts, and Flashcards can be ordered from
www.phonovisual.org. They are a useful aid to teaching the sound-to-symbol correspondences.

45