What Are CVC Words? Plus, Examples and Free Activities
Learn why CVC words are an essential part of your child’s reading journey and get free activities to practice them.
What Are CVC Words?
Parents of young children have likely encountered the term “CVC word” and wondered at its meaning. CVC stands for consonant-vowel-consonant. A CVC word is one that follows that spelling pattern. These simple one-syllable words are easy for new readers to decode (sound out using phonics) because the letters usually stand for the most common sounds that children learn early on.
CVC means “consonant-vowel-consonant.” Words following this pattern are simple and easier for early readers to sound out.
In a typical CVC word, the vowels are pronounced using their short sound, while the consonants make their most common individual sounds. That means kids can simply make the letter sounds one at a time, then blend them together into a word.
Children focus heavily on CVC words as they begin learning to read, usually around ages 4 to 6. Before your child can be successful with these words, they’ll need to know all their letter sounds. They should also be comfortable with identifying consonants and vowels and understanding that vowels can make both a long sound and a short sound.
CVC Word Examples
There are hundreds of CVC words in the English language. Be sure to grab our complete set of free printable CVC word lists for practice and activities. Here are some common CVC examples categorized by their vowels.
| Short A /ǎ/ | Short E /ě/ | Short I /ǐ/ | Short O /ǒ/ | Short U /ǔ/ |
| ban | bed | did | fox | but |
| cat | hem | pig | hop | cup |
| ham | jet | rip | job | hug |
| pad | men | sit | log | mud |
| tap | pet | six | nod | sun |
| rag | ten | win | pot | tub |
How to Teach CVC Words to Young Readers
Whether you’re introducing them for the first time or helping a child who needs a little extra practice, these methods can aid in building literacy skills for reading simple CVC words.
1. Review Letter Sounds
Strong letter sound skills make reading CVC words easier. This includes identifying vowels and consonants. If your child is still struggling with this skill, they’re likely to find reading CVC words a frustrating experience. Try the following activity to review letter sounds before teaching CVC words.
Letter Sound Practice Activity:
Do a letter sound speed round! Fill a box or bag with alphabet letters or cards. Have your child draw them and quickly say the name and sound/s they make. Put correct ones to the side and throw mistakes back in the container. Time them to see how long it takes to get them all right, then try to beat the time!
Find more letter sound activities for kids here.
2. Start With VC Words
When your child is ready, teach basic decoding skills using alphabet magnets or cards. Show them how to say the sound each letter stands for, then slowly blend those sounds together. Start with two-letter vowel-consonant (VC) words like at, it, and on (this list has loads of great VC words to try). Be sure to choose only words that use short vowel sounds at this point.
VC Words Practice Activity:
Start with two letter magnets or cards spaced far apart, saying each sound individually. Slowly move the letters closer together, saying the sounds each time. As the letters get closer, begin to blend them together until you’re ready to read the whole word at once.
3. Move on to CVC Words
Once your child is comfortable with the concept of blending a vowel and a consonant to read a two-letter word, add the beginning consonants to create true CVC words. Start with words that all include the same vowel sound, such as short /a/ CVC words. Repeat the activity you used with VC words, making individual letter sounds and slowly blending them together.
Tip: Skip words ending in R, W, and Y. These final consonants change the way the vowel is pronounced. Think of words like raw, for, or may: none of these use the short vowel sound you might expect in CVC words. Vowel teams and r-controlled vowels are more advanced skills your child will tackle later in their literacy journey. For now, skip these or treat them as sight words.
CVC Words Practice Activity:
Write words in slightly spaced letters in chalk on your driveway or sidewalk. Start by having your child stand on each letter, making its sound. Then, they can slowly walk from one letter to the next, sounding out the letters and blending them together. Finally, let them run across the letters while reading the word in one smooth sound.
4. Explore Word Families and Rhymes
Word families are made up of words that share a spelling or pronunciation pattern. For CVC words, these are usually those that end in the same two letters, like -at or -op. Recognizing words in a family makes it easier for kids to remember their pronunciation since all they need to do is add a new consonant sound to the beginning of each one. Learn more about word families and find examples here.
Word Families & Rhymes Practice Activity:
Word family members generally rhyme. Make a word family list with your child, then work together to write a rhyming poem or song using those CVC words. Illustrate your poem or share your song with friends and family!
Tip: For more insights on teaching letter sounds and early phonics concepts, check out these insights on teaching phonics to kindergarteners.
CVC Activities from ABCmouse
ABCmouse curriculum experts designed these engaging and interactive worksheets and games to help children enjoy building early literacy skills. Use them for enrichment or extra practice with your emergent reader.
CVC Words Printable Worksheets and Activities
Vowel Practice Worksheets This free set of coloring pages can help your child master short and long vowel sounds.
Kindergarten Reading Worksheets Find a collection of free printable pages here for practicing reading, writing, and spelling CVC words.
Word Family Worksheets Connect the dots and fill in the blanks to create words in a wide array of word families with these free printables.
CVC Words Printable Worksheets and Activities
Note: Some of these games may require an ABCmouse subscription to play.
Short Vowel Paintings With Maggie
Help artist Maggie name her paintings using CVC words in this simple game.
First Letter in Line
Choose the correct first letter to spell all the CVC words on the chalkboard.
Last Letter in Line
Same concept as above, but players need to choose the correct final letter.
Word Family Tile Match
Match the CVC word tile to its corresponding picture tile.
Hidden Word Family Hunt
Zoom off to space and use your memory skills to match up pictures and CVC word cards.
ABCmouse’s expert advice review process:
Our team of ABCmouse Curriculum Experts, made up of talented professionals in early childhood education and development, take a close look at educational content and learning claims. They put in the effort to make sure our information is accurate and current. We have a certified educator or another respected authority review the content, matching their expertise with the topic at hand. They’ll make sure the content is thorough and follows the latest research and educational guidelines. If they think we can make things even better, they’ll chat with our editorial team, and we’ll make those improvements right away. Only after a reviewer gives their thumbs-up does a piece of content get the official stamp of approval in the byline.
Additional Resources
ABCmouse offers resources for parents and activities to help children keep learning. Here are a few examples.
Preparing Your Preschooler for Reading
Tips and strategies to help get your preschooler ready to start reading.
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How to Teach Phonics to Kindergartners
Tips and activities to help make learning phonics fun for your kindergartener.
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Free Printable Vowel Worksheets
Check out our collection of vowel worksheets for preschoolers and up.
Browse ➜
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