Book 8: Max and the Tom Cats - Part 8 - Learning About Blends, Digraphs, and Vowel Patterns

Oct 22, 2026

Printable learning activities for Book 8, Max and the Tom Cats, focused on foundational phonics skills. Materials explain blends and digraphs, introduce common digraphs, and provide a short i/long i word sort based on vowel patterns (i_e and igh). Students practice through word puzzles, picture-word matching, bottle cap spelling, picture card spelling, a Blend-a-Word game, color-by-vowel-pattern tasks, and sight word activities including search and “I Spy.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time39 min

AccessFree to download

What is a blend?

What is a digraph?

Common digraphs

Short i / Long i Word Sort

Word puzzles (with blends)

Word & picture matching with blends

Bottle Cap Spelling cards

Blend-a-Word game

Color by Vowel Pattern

Sight Word Search

I Spy Sight Words

Word-Wac-Woe game

| | | --- | | Book 8: Max and the Tom Cats
1. What is a blend?
2. What is a digraph?
3. Short i / Long i Word Sort
4. Word Puzzles (with blends)
5. Picture and Word Cards
6. Bottle Cap Spelling Cards
7. Blend-a-Word Game
8. Color by Vowel Pattern
9. Sight Word Search
10. I Spy Sight Words
11. Word-Wac-Woe Game
This printable pack was created for use with your child at home or in the classroom setting. Permission was granted from BOB Books to use their logo.
Created [by Becky @](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[ ](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[www.thisreadingmama.com](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)
©2013 All Rights Reserved. | A blend is… two letters s t put together and you hear BOTH sounds st [www.thisreadingmama.com](www.thisreadingmama.com) s t | A digraph is…

two letters
t h
put together

t h | | | --- | --- | |
[www.thisreadingmama.com](www.thisreadingmama.com) | and you hear ONE sound
th
Common Digraphs: th, wh, sh, ch, kn, wr, gn | Short i/Long i Word Sort Directions: Cut apart the short i and long i moons and use as headers. Cut apart the word cards in the sort. Read each word. Sort under the short i moon or long i moon (i_e or igh), depending on the vowel pattern. Not all of these words are from the text. |
| e
|

| | --- | --- | --- | | time | night | six | | --- | --- | --- | | sits | white | light | | sight | lick | dime | | pine | tonight | fish | | bright | with | fine | | kids | fright | kite | Max and the Tom Cats ©2013 All Rights Reserved. BOB Books: Set 4, Book 8 Created [by Becky @](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[ ](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[www.thisreadingmama.com](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com) | g |
l |
a | [www.thisreadingmama.com](www.thisreadingmama.com)
d | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | c |
l |
a |

p | | | [www.thisrea](www.thisrea) | [dingmama.com](dingmama.com) | | |
s | o | n | g | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | l | a | s | t | | | [www.thisrea](www.thisrea) | [dingmama.com](dingmama.com) | | Word & Picture Matching with Blends Directions: Cut apart and match the words with pictures. | | | | --- | --- | | glad | clap | |
| | | song | last | Max and the Tom Cats BOB Books: Set 4, Book 8 Created [by Becky @](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[ ](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[www.thisreadingmama.com](by Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com) ©2013 All Rights Reserved. Bottle Cap Spelling with Blends Use the pictures from the picture/word match for this activity. | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [www.thisreadingmama.co](www.thisreadingmama.com)[m](www.thisreadingmama.com) | | | | | Directions: *Gather bottle caps from water bottles or plastic soda bottles, write letters on the words with blends. Use red tops for vowels, or write the vowels with red marker. *Print the Bottle Cap Spelling mat (1 for each student) & pictures onto cardstock To make this activity self-checking, write the word on the back of each laminated picture. Created by tops, and use them to spell these and laminate for durability. BOB Books: Set 4 [Becky @](Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[ ](Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[www.thisreadingmama.com](Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)[ ](Becky @ www.thisreadingmama.com)©2013 All Rights Reserved. Spell a Word Use the pictures from the picture/word match for this activity. [www.thisreadingmama.co](www.thisreadingmama.com)[m](www.thisreadingmama.com) Picture Card Spell the Word Directions: *Place the picture card on the square. Then use the dotted lines for the student to write the word, sounding out the four phonemes. *Print the spelling mat (1 for each student) & pictures onto cardstock and laminate for durability. To make this activity self-checking, write the word on the back of each laminated picture. BOB Books: Set 4 Created [b

FAQs

What does the pack teach about blends and digraphs?

It explains that a blend combines two letters while hearing both sounds, and a digraph combines two letters to produce one sound. It also lists common digraphs such as th, wh, sh, ch, kn, wr, and gn.

How does the short i/long i word sort work?

Cut and sort the “short i” and “long i” word cards under the correct header. Use the vowel pattern rules (i_e or igh) to decide where each word goes, then read the words.

What activities can students do to practice blending and spelling?

Students match words with pictures using blends, spell words with bottle caps by writing blend letters and marking vowels, and play the Blend-a-Word game by combining cards to read real or silly words.

Oct 22, 2026

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