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Kindergarten Short Vowels Resources

37 kindergarten short vowels resources: 22 activities, 11 worksheets, 2 lesson plans and more. How teachers use these

Kindergarten Short Vowels Resources

37 kindergarten short vowels resources: 22 activities, 11 worksheets, 2 lesson plans and more. How teachers use these

Game
GameKindergartenLetter A Sound Game

A carnival water-squirter letter A sound game where kindergarten kids squirt the targets with the short a and long a sounds, from apple and acorn to cat and cake. Play online on any phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel A Word Sort Activity

This short vowel a word sort activity gives kindergarten and 1st grade readers 24 word cards to sort into the at, an, ap and ag families, plus a sort mat and practice page. Answer key included.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenCVC Vowel Sounds Worksheet

This CVC vowel sounds worksheet asks Kindergarten students to name six pictures and write the short vowel they hear in the middle. Answer key included, so beginning readers get quick, no-prep practice hearing every short vowel.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel Pumpkin Patch Activity

This short vowel pumpkin patch activity helps K-1st grade children hear short a, e, i, o and u sounds with a fall picture sort and recording page. Answer key included.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenShort I Matching Game Worksheet

This short i matching game worksheet lets kindergarten students name six pictures and write the matching short i word from a word box. An answer key is included for fast, easy checking.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenShort Vowel A Worksheet

This Short Vowel A Worksheet asks Kindergarten students to circle short a pictures, then trace and write cat, hat and fan. An answer key is included, so checking takes only seconds.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenShort U Beginning and Ending Sounds Worksheet

This Short U Beginning and Ending Sounds Worksheet asks Kindergarten students to name six pictures and write the letter they hear at each end of the word. Answer key included for fast, no-prep phonics practice.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel Garden Activity

Plant picture cards by sound in this short vowel garden activity for Kindergarten and 1st grade. Children sort pictures into a, e, i, o and u pots. Answer key included.

Lesson Plan
Lesson PlanKindergartenShort Vowel A Lesson Plan

This Short Vowel A Lesson Plan includes an entire lesson that teaches all about the short vowel a. This lesson plan will make your job easy!

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort and Long Vowels Matching Activity

This short and long vowels matching activity helps preschool to 3rd grade children sort picture cards by vowel sound on a mat, with a practice page. Answer key included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel E Word Sort Activity

This short vowel e word sort activity gives kindergarten and 1st grade readers 24 word cards to sort into the et, ed, ell and est families, plus two sort mats and a practice page. Answer key included.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenFill in the Vowel CVC Worksheet

This Fill in the Vowel CVC Worksheet has Kindergarten students trace the five short vowels, then say each picture and write the vowel missing from its CVC word. Answer key included, so checking takes seconds.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel Sounds Activity

Using this Short Vowel Sounds Activity, students sort the short vowel sound picture cards and place them under the matching vowel sound letter card.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenShort E Matching Game Worksheet

This short e matching game worksheet helps kindergarten students say each picture name, hear the short e sound and write the matching word. An answer key makes checking easy.

Workbook
WorkbookKindergartenShort Vowels Mini Pack

Mini Pack: Short Vowels includes 10 Short Vowels Worksheets and 3 Short Vowels Themed Activities.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenVowel Letter I Activity

This vowel letter i activity has kindergarten to 2nd Grade children sort under-the-sea picture cards by the short i or long i sound. Sorting mat, practice page and answer key included.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenShort U Matching Game Worksheet

This short u matching game worksheet helps kindergarten students say each picture name, hear the short u sound and write the matching word. An answer key makes checking easy.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenShort A Matching Game Worksheet

This short a matching game worksheet gives Kindergarten students six pictures to name and six short a words to write, with an answer key included, so they build the vowel sound they need for reading.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel U Puzzle

Using this Short Vowel U Puzzle, students match picture and word puzzle pieces with the short /u/ sound.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel Word Family Activity

This Short Vowel Word Family activity has kindergarten and 1st grade students sort snow globe word cards into -at, -en, -ig, -op and -ug families, with a practice page and answer key included.

From our teachers' playbook

A, e, i, o, u, here we go!

What do kindergarteners learn about short vowels?

Kindergarteners learn the five short vowel sounds: /a/ as in apple, /e/ as in egg, /i/ as in itch, /o/ as in octopus and /u/ as in up. They learn that every word needs a vowel, and they hear the middle sound in short words. Then they blend sounds to read simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words: c-a-t → cat, p-i-g → pig. They also spell CVC words by listening for each sound. The click moment comes when a child changes one vowel to turn "hat" into "hit" and gets the joke.

Our favorite ways to teach short vowels in kindergarten

Short vowels are the heart of early reading. These moves make the sounds stick.

One sound, lots of play

Introduce a short vowel with a game where kids listen for that sound. Play it a few times during the week. Hearing the sound again and again in a game makes it automatic.

Why it works: the National Reading Panel found that systematic, explicit phonics teaching clearly improves how children learn to read.

Letter A Sound GameTry it withLetter A Sound GameGamesOpen it →

Fill in the middle

Show a CVC picture like "cat" with a blank in the middle. Kids say the word slowly, find the middle sound and fill in the vowel. Listening for the middle sound is the tricky part, so stretch the word like a rubber band.

Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.

Fill in the Vowel CVC WorksheetTry it withFill in the Vowel CVC WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Picture and sound match

Show pictures of CVC words and have kids sort them by vowel sound. Start with just two vowels, like a and o, before adding more. Fewer choices means more success early on.

Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).

CVC Vowel Sounds WorksheetTry it withCVC Vowel Sounds WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask us

What are short vowels for kindergarten?

Short vowels are the sounds a, e, i, o and u make in simple words like cat, bed, pig, hot and bug. Kindergarteners learn these sounds to read and spell CVC words.

What is a CVC word?

A CVC word has a consonant, a short vowel and a consonant, like cat, sun or big. These are often the first words kids learn to sound out.

Which short vowel should I teach first?

Many teachers start with short a, then short i or o, since those sounds are easier to tell apart. Short e and short i are often taught later because they sound so similar.

How can I practice short vowels at home?

Play "I spy" with middle sounds or make CVC words with magnetic letters. Change one letter at a time, like cat to cut to hut, and read each new word together.