Reading (Blending) & Writing (Segmenting) words:

This section will show you how sounds can be blended to read words and how words can be segmented into sounds to spell them. The line in between letters/groups of letters shows where the boundaries between the sounds are. 

The first words children are usually taught to blend and segment have 2-3 sounds. Each sound is represented by a single letter. Eg

c-a-t
p-i-n
o-n
h-o-t
m-a-n
g-e-t

Consonant digraphs consisting of double consonants may be introduced into words with 2-3 sounds. These tend to occur at the end of words, following short vowels. A short vowel is a vowel sound which is short - there are 5 of them: /a/ (as in back), /e/ (as in neck), /i/ (as in miss), /o/ (as in m-o-ss), /u/ (as in huff). Eg

p-i-ck
m-e-ss
k-i-ss
o-ff
t-o-ss
b-u-zz

Other consonant digraphs are introduced into words with 2-3 sounds. Eg

ch-o-p
th-i-s
sh-u-t
s-i-ng
qu-i-ck

Words containing one way of representing each of the 44 phonemes not yet covered. Words usually still have only 2-3 sounds. Eg

r-ai-n
b-ee
f-igh-t
c-oa-t
t-oo
b-oo-k
c-ar
f-or
h-ur-t
c-oi-n
c-ow
h-air
h-ear
l-o-ng-er

Words with 4-5 sounds may be introduced, using the graphemes children already know. These contain consonant blends/cluster Eg

s-t-u-m-p
s-t-r-i-ng
s-p-l-i-t
f-l-i-ck
s-w-ee-t
b-r-ow-n
t-oa-s-t

Words with different graphemes for the sounds the children already know are taught. The words may have between 2-5 sounds. Eg

sh-ou-t
p-l-ay
g-r-ou-n-d
n-e-ph-ew

There are words in which a grapheme may make more than one sound. The sounds are blended and if the word doesn't make sense, it is blended again, using the other sound that grapheme can make. Eg If 'm-i-s-t-y' is sounded with the 'y' being pronounced /y/ as in yellow, it wouldn't make sense. It has to be sounded out again, using /ee/ for the 'y'. Other words might include:

t-r-y
p-a-ss (in some parts of the UK)
w-i-n-d
s-ch-oo-l
g-er-m
b-r-ea-d

When writing words, we segment them into their sounds, but are then faced with a choice. We may hear the /ai/ sound in a word, but how do we know whether to write a; ai; ay; a-e; ey etc? Certain graphemes tend to occur at the beginning/middle of a word and others at the end. Eg when you hear the /ai/ sound in a word, if it's at the end, its' most likely to be 'ay' eg play, day. If you hear the /ai/ sound at the beginning or middle of a word, it's most likely to be 'ai' or 'a-e' eg rain, make. 

Words with 2 or more syllables are introduced from early on in the above sequence. These long words are broken up into their syllables for reading, each syllable being blended separately and then putting the syllables together eg
playground would be sounded: p-l-ay, play, g-r-ou-n-d, ground, playground.

A similar process is used for writing. The syllables are tapped out first. Each syllable is then segmented and spelled. Eg
Playground would be spelled out: play, ground, play, p-l-ay, ground, g-r-ou-n-d

Suffixes (endings) are added to shorter root words. Eg
play might become playing, played, playful etc