Short Vowel Review Game

Hearing the middle sound of a word is the step that turns letter sounds into real reading, and the Short Vowel Review Game makes that practice feel like a morning on the farm. First graders listen for the short a, short e, short i, short o and short u sounds in simple CVC words like cat, hen, pig, pot and sun, and catch every egg that has the right vowel. Playing a short vowel review game again and again helps children hear the difference between vowel sounds that are easy to mix up, so they can sound out new words with confidence.

In this short vowel sounds game, happy hens sit on the roost beam of a red barn and lay eggs into hanging straw nests. Every egg shows a picture and its word. When a nest tips, the egg drops, and kids slide the woven basket underneath or tap the egg to make the basket zip over and catch it. Each of the five rounds reviews one vowel: short a like cat, short e like hen, short i like pig, short o like pot and short u like sun. The other vowels fall too, so children must really listen and read. Funzy says the vowel sound out loud in every direction and after every catch, a wrong egg just bounces back out with a gentle “try again,” and an egg that hits the ground hatches into a cheeping chick. Play it in your browser on a phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer, or download the offline version for a PC or Mac with no internet needed.

What’s Included

• Online game that plays in any browser on desktop, tablet and phone
• Offline download for Windows PC and Mac (just unzip and double-click)
• 5 rounds: short a, short e, short i, short o and short u, each with words from the other vowels mixed in
• Voice directions that model every short vowel sound, farm sound effects and a star score at the end

Here are three reasons this short vowel review game helps kids learn. First, every round puts all five vowels side by side, which is exactly the contrast first graders need to stop mixing up sounds like short e and short i. Second, each egg shows both a picture and the printed word, so children connect what they hear to the letters in the middle of the word. Third, the catching action, the golden egg surprise, the hatching chicks and the stars at the end keep kids motivated to play again and get even more practice.

Teachers and parents can carry the learning off the screen. Draw five baskets labeled a, e, i, o and u, then sort picture cards or toys into the basket that matches the middle sound. Say a word slowly, like h-e-n, and have your child hold up the vowel they hear. Write a CVC word, change only the vowel, and read the new word together, like bag, beg, big, bog and bug.

Related Resources

• Short Vowels Space Worksheet
• Different Vowel Sounds Worksheet
• CVC Worksheet – Write the Words
• Short Vowel A Song on the Have Fun Teaching YouTube channel