Short E CVC Words Build-a-Word Activity for Kindergarten
Kindergarten teachers, I know you can relate! A group of wide-eyed, wiggly bodies sits around a table. You pull back the corners of your mouth as far as possible, bare your teeth, possibly make a hand motion, and say the short ‘e’ sound, “eeeeeeeeee.” Said students look at you blankly and repeat, “iiiiiiii.” Please tell me I’m not alone!
Sound discrimination can be tricky for early learners! The Short ‘e’ CVC Words Build-a-Word Activity for Kindergarten is designed to help. Your students will love the engaging pictures. Most importantly, over time and repetition, they’ll be able to discriminate between short ‘e’ and short ‘i’!
Recommended Grade Level:
Materials for the CVC Word Building Task Cards
- Paper
- Laminating Materials
- Paper Cutter
- Dry Erase Marker
- Task Card Box
CVC Word Activities for Kindergarten:
CVC Word FAmilies
BUILDING SHORT ‘E’ WORDS WILL HELP YOUR STUDENTS BE BETTER READERS AND SPELLERS!
Reading instruction often begins with simple consonant/vowel/consonant (CVC) words. It’s important for young learners to become fluent in short vowel sounds before moving on to reading CVCe words and more.
Teaching CVC words should involve lots of word work including reading CVC words, writing them, and building CVC words.
I love to practice word building whole group first so students get the routine of saying the picture, stretching each sound in the word, then matching the letter of the alphabet with each sound.
This short ‘e’ word list of CVC words includes 24 words. The starred words at the end of the list do not have word families:
- bed
- wed
- led
- red
- fed
- beg
- leg
- peg
- den
- hen
- pen
- ten
- men
- gem
- hem
- jet
- net
- pet
- set
- vet
- wet
- *web
- *wed
- *yes
The free literacy center for kindergarten includes engaging pictures that will also help your students gain vocabulary and phonemic awareness. For each card, students will:
- Name the picture
- Stretch the word into individual sounds
- Match the sounds with the appropriate letters
- Blend the sounds to read the word
What Do Students Learn Building Short ‘e’ CVC Words in Kindergarten?
WORD-BUILDING with KINDERGARTENERS
THE PRINTABLE CVC WORD CARDS GIVE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE LETTER-SOUND RELATIONSHIPS.
The more short ‘e’ words the students can build and read, the easier it will become for them to hear the differences in vowel sounds.
Word-building provides a truly hands-on way for students to physically manipulate letters while pulling apart individual sounds, then stringing them back together to make a word.
Why Is It Important For Kids To Build CVC Word Lists?
Kindergarten literacy provides an important foundation for later when students read more advanced letter patterns. Early learning experiences should allow plenty of time for hands-on exploration of letters and sounds.
Develops Decoding Habits: Word building promotes the idea that in order to decode a word, you must attend to each letter/sound combination. Early exposure to this important concept ensures young readers aren’t just looking at the first letter and guessing when they get to those harder patterns, like magic ‘e’ words and beyond.
Supports Spelling: Early exploration with CVC and CVCe words helps children make an important connection between letters and sounds. Those skills transfer later when they begin to spell words phonetically.
Promotes Fluency: Word-building practice helps students become familiar with specific letter patterns and word families. The more they build and read words, the more likely those words will become automatic and fluent.
Materials needed for the printable CVC word lists and picture cards:
- Printer
- Printer paper or card stock (personal preference)
- Paper cutter
- Laminating supplies
- Letter tiles (optional)
How To Use This Short ‘e’ CVC Words Build-a-Word Activity for Kindergarten
WORD-BUILDING LESSON PLANS FOR KINDERGARTEN
THIS LIST OF CVC WORDS FOR KINDERGARTEN INCLUDES WORD FAMILIES FOR STUDENTS TO BECOME FLUENT WITH COMMON LETTER PATTERNS.
All you need to do is print the CVC ‘e’ word cards onto white paper/card stock and laminate them. I included both a color version and a black-and-white version.
To play, students will:
- Choose a CVC picture card.
- Name the picture.
- Stretch the sounds in the word. If desired, students can point to a sound box for each sound, or place a counter into each box to really illustrate each sound.
- Find each letter that corresponds to each sound and place in the box. Alternatively, use letter tiles or dry erase markers to write the letters in the boxes.
- Repeat!
Extend the Activity:
Rhyming
Use the picture cards as a rhyming game! Children can pick a card, say its name, then sort it into piles with the same ending sounds.
Phoneme Segmenting
You might use the CVC picture cards to focus solely on phoneme segmentation. Students pick a card and name it. Then, they place a manipulative into each box while saying each sound.
Oral Language
The picture cards are a great oral language tool! Children can choose a card and name the picture. Then, they can share a personal connection/story they have about each picture.
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More CVC Word Activities You’ll Love:
- 30+ CVC Word Printables and Activities
- Short ‘u’ CVC Word Building Activity
- Short ‘i’ CVC Word Building Activity
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