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Kindergarten Short Vowels Activities

22 kindergarten short vowels activities. Teacher favorites: Short Vowel A Word Sort Activity and Short Vowel Pumpkin Patch Activity. How teachers use these

Kindergarten Short Vowels Activities

22 kindergarten short vowels activities. Teacher favorites: Short Vowel A Word Sort Activity and Short Vowel Pumpkin Patch Activity. How teachers use these

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel I Word Sort Activity

This short vowel i word sort activity gives kindergarten and 1st grade readers 24 word cards to sort into the it, ig, in and ip families, plus a sort mat and practice page. Answer key included.

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.

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ActivityKindergartenVowel Letter E Activity

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

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel I Puzzle

This short vowel i puzzle activity for Kindergarten to 2nd Grade has kids match pictures to -ing, -ick, -ill and -ip words, then sort them. Answer key included for easy checking.

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ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel A Puzzle

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

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ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel O Puzzle

This short vowel o puzzle activity for Kindergarten to 2nd Grade has kids match pictures to -og, -ock, -op and -ox words, then sort them by word family. Answer key included.

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ActivityKindergartenSpelling Short Vowel Words CVC Words Activity

This spelling short vowel words CVC words activity has Kindergarten and 1st Grade students build words with frame and vowel cards and sort real from made-up words. Answer key included.

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ActivityKindergartenVowel Letter O Activity

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

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel E Puzzle

This short vowel e puzzle activity for Kindergarten to 2nd Grade has kids match pictures to -ell, -est, -ed and -en words, then sort them by word family. Answer key included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel O Word Sort Activity

This short vowel o word sort activity gives kindergarten and 1st grade readers 24 word cards to sort into the ot, op, og and ock families, plus two sort mats and a practice page. Answer key included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenVowel Letter U Activity

Using this Vowel Letter U Activity, students match the short and long vowel U sound cards with the matching vowel crab cards.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenShort Vowel U Word Sort Activity

This short vowel u word sort activity gives kindergarten and 1st grade readers 24 word cards to sort into the ug, ub, ump and uck families, plus two sort mats and a practice page. 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: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.

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.