Free glued sounds worksheets

Glued sounds, also called welded sounds, are the chunks taught as one piece because the vowel and the sound after it run together and cannot be heard separately. There are eleven of them: all, am and an, then the -ng family (ang, ing, ong, ung) and the -nk family (ank, ink, onk, unk). A child who sounds bank out letter by letter gets the wrong answer, because the a in bank is not the clean short a of cat, so the chunk is learned whole. These eight worksheets introduce all eleven, build words with each family, and finish with a twenty-item check. Seven of the eight have an answer key on page 2.

What's in this set

1. The eleven glued sounds. A reference and copying page: every chunk with one example word (ball, ham, can, rang, ring, song, hung, bank, pink, honk, junk) and two lines to write it on, plus a plain explanation of why the chunks are taught whole and a note that onk is the smallest family.
2. Build -ng words. Twelve beginning sounds to add to ang, ing, ong or ung and write as a whole word: ring, song, hung, bang, king, long, lung, fang, sing, strong, stung, clang. Answer key.
3. Build -nk words. The same layout for ank, ink, onk and unk: bank, pink, honk, junk, thank, think, trunk, sink, drank, skunk, blank, wink. Answer key.
4. all, am and an. Eighteen words to read and copy across three panels (ball, call, fall, tall, wall, small; ham, jam, ram, clam, slam, swam; can, fan, man, pan, van, plan) and three sentences to finish with ball, jam and van. Answer key.
5. Sort by glued sound. Sixteen words in a bank to copy into four columns for the chunks children confuse most: rang, hang, clang, sprang; wing, bring, sting, swing; tank, plank, crank, shrank; blink, drink, stink, shrink. Answer key.
6. Match the meaning. Twelve written meanings with a word bank to choose from: bank, blink, honk, king, long, pink, sink, skunk, thank, think, trunk, wing. No pictures, so the child has to read. Answer key.
7. Fill in the chunk. Twelve words with only the beginning sound given and a box for the chunk, each with a clue: song, ring, tank, pink, hang, lung, bang, drank, skunk, honk, can, small. All eleven chunks are listed at the bottom. Answer key.
8. Glued sounds check. Twenty items in three parts: ten words to finish with the right chunk, six words where the chunk has to be circled from three choices (shrink, swung, plank, strong, trunk, slang), four sentences to finish with think, thank, small or swam, and a score box. Answer key.

Frequently asked questions

What are glued sounds?

Chunks where the vowel and the sound after it blend so closely that you cannot hear them one at a time, so they are taught as a single unit instead of being sounded out. Say ink, then say short i followed by n and k, and listen to how different they are.

Are glued sounds and welded sounds the same thing?

Yes. Welded sound is the term used in the Wilson Reading System, glued sound is used in several other structured literacy programs, and some teachers just say chunk or unit. They all mean the same eleven pieces.

What are the 11 glued sounds?

all, am, an, ang, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, onk and unk. The first three are usually taught early and on their own. The -ng and -nk families come later, once a child reads short-vowel words confidently.

Are and, amp and ink the same kind of chunk?

ink is one of the eleven. and and amp are not: they have a consonant after the nasal that belongs to a different pattern, so most programs teach them as blends rather than glued sounds. This set keeps to the eleven so that it matches what a child is being taught in a program.

What order should glued sounds be taught in?

all, am and an first, then the -ng family (ang, ing, ong, ung), then the -nk family (ank, ink, onk, unk). Within the last two, teach one family fully before mixing them, because ang and ank sound so alike.

Do these worksheets have answer keys?

Seven of the eight do, on page 2 with an answer key badge. Sheet 1 is a reference and copying page, so there is nothing to mark.

More phonics practice

Glued sounds come after short-vowel reading, so if a child is still blending three-letter words start with the CVC words worksheets, then the word families worksheets for the rimes these chunks sit inside. The digraphs worksheets cover sh, ch, th and wh, the other case where two letters make one sound, and the phonics worksheets and sight words worksheets fill in the rest of a beginning reader's week.