The Best CVC Word Activities for Kindergarten {Freebies Included}

It’s that time of year when we really get into cvc word activities. It’s hard to imagine that these are the same students who came to us a few months ago not knowing any letters or sounds! But now that they are officially beginning readers, how do we teach our students to read and write these words fluently?

This post is full of ideas and hands on activities to make your phonics lessons on CVC words fun and meaningful! There are also lots of freebies sprinkled in to get you started!

Introducing CVC Words | What Is a CVC Word?

Before our students start segmenting and blending cvc words, it’s important that they know what a CVC word even is! A CVC word is a 3 letter word made up of a consonant + a vowel + a consonant. We talk about how this is the “secret recipe” for cvc words.

We began our study of CVC words by creating this anchor chart together.

This blog post will walk you through how I introduce CVC words, how I teach the short vowels, and how to teach CVC words week by week.

We spend a week on each vowel:

These short vowel activities really help my students learn to identify the short vowel sounds in CVC words.

Every day, we practice segmenting and blending CVC words whole group. Students have their personal dry erase boards in their laps. We segment the words together and then they write the sounds they hear on their boards. After, I write the word on my board and they see if it matches. This is an easy way to engage all your learners and get a quick, informal assessment!

CVC Word Worksheets and Printables

After we practice cvc words together whole group, my students do some individual cvc word activities at their tables. These are just some of the cvc word activities that they do:

I love using these CVC Strech and Write pages because there are 4 levels that allow me to easily differentiate for all my learners. They can all complete the same page and yet be working at their own level!

Try out these pages for free here!

These CVC Word Interactive Readers are a class favorite! Each book follows a predictable text to support my beginning readers. Students cut out the cvc words and match them to the correct pages. We love adding these to our book boxes or taking them home to read to our families!

You can try out a Short A reader for free here!

Another version of that activity are these Rainbow Write and Match pages. Students will read the words, match the pictures to them, and then rainbow write the cvc words.

Try this out for free here!

Once my students are ready for a challenge, these CVC Word Decode It sheets are perfect! These also make a great cvc word literacy center!

Try it out for free here!

CVC Word Centers for Kindergarten

Once we start learning about cvc words, I want to make sure that my students get as much practice as they can during centers too! {You can read more about how I run my literacy centers here}.

I try to make these cvc word activities as hands on as possible to keep my students engaged and learning!

For this cvc words center, students will roll a word, stretch it out either with magnetic letters or a dry erase marker, and then write it on their mat!

You can try it out for free here!

For this cvc word activity, students will read the words and cover them with the matching color manipulative. You can use colored cubes or tweezers and pom poms to build in some fine motor practice!

Try this center for free here!

My students love these CVC Word Match It Mats! Students read the cvc words and then match them to the pictures.

If you can’t tell, I like no prep mats! With these CVC Word Mats, students spin a word, build it twice with magnetic letters, and then write it three times on the lines.

Try these mats for free here!

Ever since they learned how to bowl in gym class, my students are obsessed! That’s how I knew this CVC Words Bowling center would be perfect!

You can make this even more fun by using mini binder clips to make the pins stand up. After students build the cvc word, they can “bowl” it over with a little rubber ball!

If your students struggle with segmenting and blending CVC words, they need to work on their phonemic awareness. I do make these CVC Word Trains a literacy center, but I also use them in our small groups.

Students can tap out the sounds in each train car and then write them!

Working With CVC Words in Small Groups

While I do teach phonics whole groups, I also make sure to teach in in my small guided reading groups. I think that it is so important to work with your students on the specific skills they need as a reader.

Here are some of the cvc word activities we do in our small groups. You can also grab the cvc word decodable readers for free at the end of this post!

I use these CVC Word Tap, Stretch, and Write pages to help my students practice segmenting cvc words in isolation. Students tap each sound on the dots, write the sounds in the sound boxes, and then write the words on the lines.

For my students who are ready, I also like to use cvc decodable readers. I love these type of readers because they can be more or less patterned depending on the needs of my readers, but still give each of them practice reading cvc words.

Many of these stories are silly, which my students love!

Students can also answer comprehension questions, which gives them the chance to write the cvc words in a meaningful way.

You can grab your free set of CVC Word Decodable Readers below!

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