Today in this post I’m sharing 5 ways to teach CVC words to your students. I love being able to mix up and create fun and engaging activities for my students to work on skills. Worksheets can be great, but hands-on activities can be extra fun – and this can be a bonus for my students to retain skills.
But first, let’s go over some brief facts about CVC words, just incase you’re new here and wondering why we teach these.
What are CVC Words?
CVC words are words that consist of a consonant – vowel – consonant. The vowel sound in CVC words is always short. And they can be read by blending the individual sounds together.
Why Teach CVC Words?
It’s so important to teach students CVC words because they are an introduction for students to transform individual sounds into words using a simple pattern of consonant-vowel-consonant. You will find that CVC words are a very important part of pre-reading programmes. It also helps our students to recognize that words have beginning, middle and end sounds.
CVC words help students with their reading, writing and rhyming skills. They are an introduction to reading for students by learning the sounds of individual letters and being able to blend these.
How Can I Teach CVC Words?
There are lots of ways that you can teach CVC words – and in this post today I’m going to share 5 ways to teach CVC words to your students that are some of my favourites.
1. Worksheets
Worksheets are a staple in classrooms all around the world. The bonuses are that they’re quick and easy to prep because you just print and they’re ready to be used with minimal work needed. And generally, students do enjoy worksheets, especially if they’re a little more engaging.
I love having worksheets on hand, especially if my students need occupying for a few minutes between activities or sessions. And especially for early finishers or students who need a little more help working on a specific skill each day.
These CVC worksheets are hugely popular with my students. Often I’ll put them together using a binder as a CVC booklet for my students to work through, completing one worksheet a day. This mixes up the type of worksheets they’re doing and helps to keep them engaged and enjoying.
Download them here.
2. Adapted Books
If you know me, you know how much I love adapted books. I think I’ve probably got an adapted book for everything.. And if I don’t have one yet, you’ll have to let me know, because I’ve either just not shared it yet, or it’s on my to-do list. Although, one day, someone might just surprise me with a need for adapted books that I haven’t thought of!
Adapted books are hugely popular with my students. They love being able to use a hands-on activity, they’re engaging and they’re perfect for differentiating for students and helping them to progress through different levels.
I use these CVC adapted books where my students identify the image that they see on the page, and find the matching CVC word to match to it. This is great for my students to be able to work on their reading and blending skills, as well as image identification. There’s a book for each medial vowel and I still use these year after year with my students!
Download them here.
3. Sand Tray Formation
A lot of my students really love to play in sand and explore in sensory trays. So I always try to include these in my lesson plans and when I’m planning different activities. I don’t know why, but dinosaurs seem to be a hugely popular trend in my classroom year after year – my students LOVE to play with them, learn about them.. they just love anything with dinosaurs!
So I created this dinosaur tray activity where students need to find the CVC word cards and then form the words in the sand tray. They can either do this with their hands – or like my students like to do it, by using the dinosaur toys! They love to choose their dinosaur, dip their tail into the sand and use it to form the CVC words. This works really well for my students who are working on their fine motor skills and can’t quite grasp a pen or pencil yet.
Download it here.
4. Play Dough
I know, I know, play dough is like marmite. So you’re either going to love this.. Or hate it. But honestly, the more that you use play dough with your students, and set out boundaries, the easier it becomes to use them in activities and lessons throughout the school year.
I love to use these play dough cards where the CVC words are formed using play dough clipart letters because it really helps my students who may struggle to know how to form letters using play dough. The image is also a great visual on each card. And once again, this activity is perfect for working on a variety of skills – not just CVC words!
Download them here.
5. Fly Swat
This CVC activity here is a firm favorite every year. Each year I pull it out, and each year every student has an absolute blast with it! It’s also a great activity to use with students who like to race against each other or play with each other too.
You’re going to need a fly swatter or too, and before you call me crazy, trust me, this game is going to be a huge hit with your students. Students need to pick a card and find the matching fly with the matching CVC word or CVC image and word on. They use their fly swatter to swat the matching fly. You can make it competitive, or not. Have it as a race against the time activity, or not. Honestly, you can use it so many ways, and you can pull it out year after year and mix it up depending on your students and what they respond to best!
Download it here.
Or maybe you’re looking to be able to jazz up your CVC word activities and provide your students with a variety of different activities that they’ll love.. If so, I have a huge bundle of CVC activities that you can get here that is sure to keep you going for months with your students and they’ll be mastering their CVC words in no time!
P.S. Have you signed up for a 3 day free trial of our VIP membership yet? If not, click here to do it now and go and get access to a huge range of resources, templates, crafts and more for free.
More CVC Fun!
Looking for some more fun CVC activities? Check out some of my favorite teacher friends and the activities they use to teach CVC words by clicking here or the image below.
