I have to admit it: I’ve become enamored with word-building literacy activities! I just think they are the BEST for learning simple CVC words because they are hands-on, repetitive, and adaptable. The Short ‘i’ CVC Words Build-a-Word Activity for Kindergarten is an amazing way to teach CVC words! All you need to do is download and print to have your students mastering the short ‘i’ vowel sound in no time!

Learning About Short Vowel Words:

kINDERGARTEN LITERACY CENTERS

BREAKING APART THE SOUNDS IN EACH SHORT VOWEL CVC WORD IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN WORD BUILDING.

Teaching students to read is no small task! It requires systematic instruction in letter/sound relationships. Word building is ideal because it introduces the idea that each sound in a word corresponds to a specific letter.

I love practicing CVC words because they are predictable. We’ll save all those English language ‘exceptions’ for AFTER the students are fluent with CVC word families.

This free literacy center for kindergarten should be introduced with a lot of scaffolding at first. As students become familiar with the steps in building words from the CVC words list, they can work independently during guided reading centers.

The printable CVC word list included in this activity:

Hands-on word work gives lots of opportunities for kids to explore:

• Vocabulary
• Phoneme segmentation
• Phoneme-grapheme matching
• Reading CVC words
• Spelling

What Can Kindergarteners Learn From CVC Activities?

building words with kindergarteners

ASKING STUDENTS TO IDENTIFY EACH SOUND IN THE WORD CREATES GREAT DECODING HABITS.

All words are made up of sounds (phonemes). Each phoneme corresponds to specific letter(s) patterns (graphemes).

The sooner children understand that important concept, the easier it will be for them to begin decoding unfamiliar words instead of memorizing sight words.

Encourage phoneme segmenting by:

• Hold up a finger as you stretch each sound in a word
• Physically move a counter/manipulative as you say each sound
• Play CVC word games, like the teacher says each sound in a word and the students guess what word
• Use the short ‘i’ CVC word pictures to practice stretching sounds

How To Use This Short ‘i’ Word Building Activity

BUILDING SHORT ‘I’ WORDS IN KINDERGARTEN

EXPLICITLY TEACH EACH STEP IN THE WORD-BUILDING PROCESS TO ENSURE YOUR STUDENTS GET THE MOST OUT OF THE ACTIVITY.

First, print the CVC word cards and letters. I included a color version and a black-and-white version.

Next, cut the letters at the bottom of each page. If you have letter tiles instead, you can just cut off the bottom of each page and you’re good to go!

Finally, laminate your pieces and cut them out. Store the CVC word cards in a plastic storage bag, photo box, or another storage container for ease of use.

To play:

1. Say the picture.
2. Stretch each sound in the word by pointing to each box.
3. Place the corresponding letter into each box.
4. Blend the sounds together to read the word.
5. Repeat with the next picture.

Other Ways To Use Short ‘i’ CVC Word Cards:

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