1st Grade spelling
1st Grade L Blend Words
First grade l blend words: play, clean, flag, blue, sleep, globe, slow. Play hangman with the list, read it with scores, or print a worksheet.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: Words that start with bl, cl, fl, gl, pl or sl, where both consonant sounds are heard.
An l blend is a consonant followed by l, where each sound can still be heard: bl in blue, cl in clap, fl in flag, gl in globe, pl in play and sl in sleep. In a blend, unlike a digraph, you hear both consonants. This list gathers one-syllable words that begin with one of those six blends: place, please, play, close, clear, blue, sleep, clean, floor, flight and more.
The words were selected by their opening letters, then checked against a pronunciation dictionary, with frequency data used to choose first grade words. The blends are the shared part. The vowels vary a great deal, which is deliberate: this list is for practicing the beginning of words rather than one vowel sound. You will see long a (place, plane, plate), long e (clean, sleep), long i (flight, blind) and others. That makes it a good review list after the short vowel and silent e lists.
30 entries. Our solver needed 4.3 wrong guesses on average: 1 easy, 15 medium and 14 hard. The toughest is fly (10 misses), the quickest clear (1).
- place Hard · 5
- please Medium · 2
- play Hard · 7
- close Medium · 3
- clear Easy · 1
- blue Hard · 5
- sleep Medium · 2
- clean Medium · 2
- claim Hard · 5
- floor Medium · 3
- flight Hard · 5
- slow Medium · 3
- fly Hard · 10
- flat Medium · 3
- plane Medium · 4
- flow Medium · 4
- blame Medium · 3
- blow Hard · 7
- flag Hard · 5
- plate Medium · 3
- blind Hard · 6
- cloud Hard · 6
- plain Hard · 5
- flood Hard · 5
- fleet Medium · 3
- blast Medium · 2
- slide Medium · 3
- globe Medium · 3
- slip Hard · 5
- clip Hard · 8
Words worth a closer look
- floodThe oo here says short u, unlike in floor or flute. Not a word to sound out, so teach it by sight.
- floorSame fl start as flood, but the oor sound is different. Show the two together.
- flightThe igh makes the long i sound. The silent gh stays hard for beginners.
- blueThe ue spells the long u sound. Compare with glue and clue.
- flyThe y works as a vowel at the end of a short word. Cover the y and the word cannot be read.
- plainAi spells long a in the middle. Compare with plane, which has a_e, and play, with ay at the end.
Teaching it
Teach the six blends one at a time. A good order is bl, cl, fl, pl, sl, gl, since gl has the fewest words. Have children say the first two sounds quickly without a vowel in between. A common trick is to write the blend in one color and the rest of the word in another when you display it.
Expect children to drop the l and write bue for blue or fag for flag, or to add a vowel between the letters (bulue). In hangman, reveal the blend at the start and let the group guess the remainder. For a more demanding round, ask them to sort the words by vowel sound afterward. The printable gives a short mixed dictation.
Print a 1st Grade L Blend Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 1st Grade Short A WordsFirst grade short a words with blends and digraphs: that, back, last, hand, class, match. Play hangman with the list, or print a worksheet.
- 1st Grade Short E WordsFirst grade short e words with blends and digraphs: when, best, next, check, dress, fresh. Play the hangman game, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade Short I WordsFirst grade short i words with blends and digraphs: with, this, think, list, ship, fish, stick. Play hangman, read the list, or print a worksheet.
- 1st Grade Short O WordsFirst grade short o words with blends and digraphs: stop, rock, drop, shop, block, clock, frog. Play hangman, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade Short U WordsFirst grade short u words with blends and digraphs: just, much, club, luck, jump, lunch, brush. Play hangman, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade SH WordsFirst grade sh words: she, shop, ship, fish, dish, wash, sheep, shell. Play hangman with the list, read it with difficulty scores, or print a sheet.