Kindergartners’ and First Graders’ primary literacy focus is to master short vowels in words while reading text and writing their own thoughts. Gaining this independence in skills takes quite a bit of repetition and practice. I’ve found the best way to encourage fluency in these skills is to incorporate fun, yet consistent activities and games in their literacy or word work centers.

PRACTICING SHORT VOWELS

Elementary school teachers know that the key to mastering CVC words is understanding and knowing all 5 of the short vowels. I have created some fun activities that are both consistent and engaging to help build students’ fluency while reading and writing short vowel words. I encourage consistency with the activities they use so they know what to expect from the activities each time they start. This creates a better sense of independence and confidence while they work. Bonus: They aren’t asking you what to do every single day!

My SHORT VOWEL WORD WORK BUNDLE is packed with 6 different activities that students can use to practice their short vowel skills. The first activity is a cut and sort activity. Students are simply differentiating between the short vowel in question and any other word that doesn’t fit into that category. You can have them cut and paste the words or you can laminate the pieces and attach velcro so students can use them over and over again.

The next activity in the bundle is a Read, Write and Stamp activity. Students practice their short vowel knowledge by reading the word, writing it themselves and then stamping it for an added element of fun. I love stamps because students have so much fun with them that they hardly realize they are learning!

The Highlight-a-Word activity is a fun one to have as you practice each vowel. The example below shows a student highlighting all of the short a words and then writing the words they find on the numbered lines. This helps students identify different vowel sounds in words while reading all of the words. Then, they practice their hand at writing the words!

The Real and Silly Word sort is probably my favorite activity from this bundle! The kids cut out the words, read them and sort them. I like to call them real and silly words to get students excited about the activity. The kids love sounding out the words and then exclaiming whether they are real or not. Something about the silly words gives them a good giggle!

Other Activities Included in the Bundle

Also included in this SHORT VOWEL WORD WORK BUNDLE are a word mat and recording sheet. Students can read the short vowel words, circle or color them and then record the words found on their recording sheet. You can let them write in pencil or crayon. The kids love rainbow writing the words if they have extra time!

If you don’t want to print tons of copies, you can place the word mats in sheet protectors like the one below! Use a dry erase marker to circle the words found and then erase so the next student can use the mat.

The final activity is a Little Book of Words! Students each get their own mini book full of short vowel words to trace and illustrate. I love seeing their amazing illustrations of the words. They always enjoy taking these home to their families to read and show off!

Below is a visual of everything included in this bundle! This example is all of the short a materials you can use in your word work centers. The bundle includes all five vowels and makes a great addition to any literacy center.

If you’re looking for even more Word Work activities, you can check out my WORD WORK SUPER MEGA PACK BUNDLE. The bundle includes all of the short vowel materials mentioned above and so much more!

Curious about Phonemic Awareness, it’s Importance and how you can implement it successfully in the classroom? Check out my PHONICS + PHONEMIC AWARENESS TOOLKIT.