Lesson plan: short vowels

Amelia Mehra

Mon, Jun 12, 23

1 minutes read

Short vowel sounds are some of the first sounds kids will learn. Vowels usually make a short sound when they appear directly before a consonant.

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. Print out or display the phoneme /a/ chart on a screen. Scan the QR code to listen to the sound. It’s that simple!

CVC words are short words that consist of a vowel connecting two consonants, like cat or hat. These short, three-letter CVC words are the first that children learn to read or decode. The CVC words: a activity introduces children to CVC words, focusing on one connecting vowel.

We’ve made pairs of exercises for all five short vowel sounds. These can be used as five lesson plans.

Short vowel e
- The phoneme /e/
- CVC words: e

Short vowel i
- The phoneme /i/
- CVC words: i

Short vowel o
- The phoneme /o/
- CVC words: o

Short vowel u
- The phoneme /u/
- CVC words: u

These pairs of activities are a simple, fun, and effective way of learning short vowel sounds. Be sure to show us how you're using them in the classroom or at home by sharing with us!

Deep Dive

Read our report on the Science of Reading. Research-based reading instruction must incorporate the 5 pillars of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This report provides an easy to understand overview of each of these pillars and explains the important connection between how the brain learns to read (the Neuroscience of Reading) and how we teach children to read (The Science of Reading Instruction). It also explains why helping children build connections between letters and sounds, through phonics and phonemic awareness, is so crucial for the developing reading mind. This report is perfect for sharing with colleagues and friends!