CVC Short Vowel Games
Oh… I’m a sucker for games, and these CVC Short Vowel Games are no different! Today I’m going to share 9 different games that your students can play to build fluency with short vowel words. From independent activities, to whole group games – Let the FUN BEGIN!
#1 BINGO GAMES – Whole group or small group
These Bingo mats (although they aren’t the typical 5 x 5), we still call it BINGO. With these sets, I’ve created a 3×3 grid (nine words) and a 4×4 grid (sixteen words for your more advanced students). There are 200 cards in each set, so there’s plenty of mats for students to get different word mats each time.
Calling cards for the set as well as a black and white version of the cards are included. Just print, laminate, and this center is READY TO GO!
SIGN UP BELOW (end of this blog post) TO GET THE SHORT U BINGO CARDS FOR FREE!
#2 Matching Game (Oldie but Goodie)
I know I’ve said it before, but these matching games always stump me! I guess I just thought they wouldn’t be such a hit, yet year after year – students love these.
We play a few different ways:
Partners:
- Two students with one set of matching cards
- They lay out the cards on the floor and work together to match up the picture and the word
- Once they have them all matched, someone else checks or they check together
- OR… you could play it like the real matching game – turn over all of the cards, and try to find matches
Indepedent Activity:
- Student lays out the cards and matches them
- Then they have another student check their matches
I know… so simple, but they love it.
#3 Boom Cards Short Vowel Games
If you’ve ever read any of my blog posts, you know I’m a HUGE fan of Boom Cards. So of course I can’t skip over my CVC games that students play on Boom. 🙂
One of my favorite sets covers RF.K.3.B standard. Students click on the speaker to hear the word. Then they have to pick which vowel is used in that word. For us – this is a kindergarten skill that didn’t always stick when they started 1st grade. Some had it, but many didn’t – so this game is GREAT to use at the beginning of our year.
#4 GUESS THAT WORD short vowel games
If #3 didn’t impress you, I think this one will! For this Boom deck, students will listen to the word, and then they have to BUILD the word with the letters given. This is such a great skill for students to master, and truly helps during those first few weeks when you’re trying to figure out what your students know and don’t know.
If you’re not a Boom fan (gasp – but it’s ok…) I also have these as Early Finisher PPTs. This is how we used them first (before I knew about boom). These work just like the fast play of Wheel of Fortune. First, press play on your ppt, and letters start to appear. Then students try to figure out the word before all of the letters show up. Last, they write the word on their white board while the presentation is in play. Once all of the letters appear, they check their work. It’s quick, fun, and great to use as Early Finisher.
#5 Say it to Win it Games
Yeah… these again! So, let’s just say – of all my printable games, these are BY FAR my most favorite. They are a labor of love, for sure! (They take a while to create, but so worth it!)
This game is MAGIC! Like, I’m serious… MAGIC! You can lose a card, still works. Every card has one and ONLY ONE match. The matches are NOT the same (typically). It’s crazy how it works, but it does! I had a person write a script for me to make this work, and let’s just say… I owe her BIG TIME!
looking for a freebie?
#6 Short Vowel Games, Worksheets and Activities
If you are looking for a set that has group work, independent work, flashcards, sentence strips, worksheets and much more – this set might be for you! This follows my year-long high frequency word units, (READ MORE HERE and grab 2 freebies) but covers word families instead.
Comes with:
- homework sheets that cover words and sentences
- PPT to help you introduce the words
- Tons of different worksheets for homework, assessments, and practice
- PPT to practice words
- Center activity to build sentences with the words
- Flash Cards for students to practice word family words
- Sentence strips to practice fluency with short vowel words
#7 CVC Word Search
This digital Boom Deck Word Search is fun for the students and is a no-prep game for you!
- Students click on the speaker to hear the word
- Then they tap each letter of the word
- If they tap each corrrect letter, it moves on to the next page
- Great practice for initial, medial vowel, and final sound practice
#8 Bee Bots
Eeeeeekkkk… if you’re ready for the word of coding, these Bee Bot mats are a great way to introduce coding to your elementary students. It’s super easy, and they absolutely LOVE IT!
I’ve got the mats broken down into each vowel sound. Students read the word on their card, then they program their Bee Bot to move to the picture that represents the word.
#9 I HAVE WHO HAS (ANOTHER OLDIE BUT GOODIE!)
I think I have Who Has games were some of the first games I used in my classroom that were created by a teacher. We fell in love, and so I quickly learned how to create my own so that I could adapt it to anything I wanted to use it for!
These phoneme substitution cards are super fun and give students tons of practice with beginning, middle and ending sounds. They are colorful, cute, and a great addition to your literacy centers!
We play a few different ways – check out my blog post about how we play I Have Who Has games HERE!
CVC SHORT VOWEL GAMES
I hope these visuals and explanations helped in some small way! I’m always looking for fun ways to keep my students engaged and learning, so if you have other things you use in your classroom, I’d love to hear about it!
Until next time!
Shanon Juneau
We Are Better Together
