3.2 Explicitly Teaching Short Vowels

When you're ready to teach, we hope you'll consider using our lesson plans for short vowels. Our research-based plans combine instruction of letter names, letter sounds, articulation, and letter formation.

And here's a brief look at the components of the lesson:

• Warm up with a phonological awareness activity to get students hearing sounds. 
• Remind students that there are five vowels and ask them to name them.
• Remind students that all words must have a vowel. 
• Explain that we are working on short vowel sounds because they are very common.
• Use pictures and motions to help students remember the short vowel sounds. 
  'a', apple, /ă/
  'e', edge, /ĕ/
  'i', itch, /ĭ/
  'o', octopus, /ŏ/
  'u', umbrella, /ŭ/
• Explain that vowels make their short sounds when they are “closed in by” (followed by) at least one consonant. (If using our scope and sequence, students will learn more about closed syllables next.)
• Choose one vowel to focus on at a time. Eventually move on to mixing all the vowels.

• Offer students numerous opportunities to hear and say the short vowel sounds both in isolation and in words. 
• Have students practice reading and spelling words with all of the short vowel sounds.