A student who struggles with blending phonemes in short words would benefit from which approach?

The most beneficial approach for a student struggling with blending phonemes in short words is combining an onset with a rime to create familiar words. This method focuses on breaking down words into manageable parts; the onset (the initial consonant or consonant cluster) and the rime (the vowel and any following consonants). By practicing this technique, the student learns to blend sounds more effectively, thus enhancing their ability to form and recognize words.

This approach is especially useful because it helps the student interact with phonemes in a structured way, promoting better understanding and greater fluency in reading. Familiar words that have a clear onset and rime structure foster confidence and make it easier for the student to practice blending. By consistently working with familiar sounds and patterns, the student can improve their phonemic awareness, which is crucial for developing strong reading skills.

Other approaches, such as phoneme segmentation tasks, focus more on isolating sounds rather than blending them, which may not directly address the student's specific struggle. Identifying vowel sounds in words does not target the blending of phonemes directly, and reading aloud simple books might not provide the targeted phonemic blending practice needed for this student.