Use visual media like flash cards if you are introducing or practicing consonant blends with younger or more remedial students. Some students also respond better to visual cues. Integrate activities about spelling, letters and pronunciation into simple activities like games or group work. Arrange letters to form words with consonant blends, or ask students to list adjectives that use consonant clusters to describe a picture or photo. These activities can also be great for building vocabulary and speaking skills.
Simple and sometimes mundane activities like tests and drills can challenge students on both their spoken and written proficiency with consonant clusters. Repetitive drills of words that contain consonant blends or just the blends themselves help students remember the proper sounds and pronunciation. Drill exercises are often used with older students in more intense classes, but drills can be modified and combined with other activities like puzzles or group work to make them less intimidating.
English pronunciation is less difficult when it is sung or is incorporated in lyrical poetry. Teachers can use music to help their students learn to pronounce consonant blends. Younger children can learn songs that contain consonant clusters and practice them without really being aware of it. Older students can study lyrics and poetry, finding common patterns in the rhythm and rhymes of words that contain consonant blends.
Activities that involve consonant blends are often paired with writing and reading activities. Students can read out loud to practice their pronunciation. Teachers can ask students to find certain consonant blends in paragraphs of prose or stanzas of poetry. Writing can be simple, like copying words or phrases that contain many consonant blends. Complex writing exercises could be free writing that includes consonant cluster vocabulary words.