Short Vowel Words
For Beginning Readers
a
ant
e
egg
i
in
o
ox
u
up
Entire contents © 2008 By Kathryn J. Davis
7223 Cedar Lane Drive
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 737-4466
All rights reserved.
Permission is hereby granted to reproduce student materials in
this book for individual or classroom use. Permission is granted for
school-wide reproduction of materials. Commercial production of
these materials for profit is prohibited.
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
How To Use This Book ...................................................................................................... iv
Sound Story ......................................................................................................................... v
How to write the lower case letters ..................................................................................... x
How to write the upper case letters ................................................................................... xii
Sound Story Alphabet Chart with hand-written and printed letters ................................. xiv
Short Vowel Chart ............................................................................................................ xix
One-page Alphabet Chart .................................................................................................. xx
Short o words with letters o, n, f, x, m, s............................................................................. 1
Short u words, add letters u, r .............................................................................................. 2
Short u and short o words, add letters h, l ........................................................................... 3
Suffix study, _s with verbs .................................................................................................. 4
Short a words, add letters a, y ............................................................................................. 5
Short a words, add letters v, w ............................................................................................ 6
Sentences, introduce sight words: a, A, as, has ................................................................... 7
Short i words, add letters i, qu ............................................................................................. 8
Short i words, add letters z, _p ............................................................................................ 9
Sentences, introduce sight words: I, is, his........................................................................ 10
Short e words, add letters e, _b ......................................................................................... 11
Short e words, add letters _t, _g ........................................................................................ 12
Sentences ........................................................................................................................... 13
Words with beginning letter c ........................................................................................... 14
Words with beginning letter k ........................................................................................... 15
Sentences, introduce sight word: was................................................................................ 16
Words with beginning letter j ............................................................................................ 17
Words with beginning letter d ........................................................................................... 18
Sentences ........................................................................................................................... 19
Short a words with beginning letters p, b, g, t ................................................................... 20
Short i words with beginning letters p, b, g, t ................................................................... 21
Short o words with beginning letters p, b, g, t................................................................... 22
Short u words with beginning letters p, b, g, t................................................................... 23
Short e words with beginning letters p, b, g, t ................................................................... 24
Sentences with beginning p, b ........................................................................................... 25
Sentences with beginning t, g ............................................................................................ 27
Short a words review ......................................................................................................... 29
Short i words review.......................................................................................................... 31
Short u words review ......................................................................................................... 32
Short e and short o words review ...................................................................................... 33
Review sentences .............................................................................................................. 34
Suffix _s with plural nouns ............................................................................................... 40
Sentences with plural nouns .............................................................................................. 42
Suffix _s with verbs........................................................................................................... 43
Sentences with verbs with suffix _s .................................................................................. 44
Using _’s to show ownership ............................................................................................ 45
Sentences with _’s ............................................................................................................. 46
How To Use This Book
1. Listen to the sound story on the CD while you look at the pictures beginning on
page 5. Look at the picture for each new sound. Look at the letter that represents
that sound.
2. Look at the Sound Story alphabet beginning on page 10. Look at each letter. Say
the sound. Each vowel sound has a special color. This will help you notice the
vowel when you read new words.
3. Look at page 1. Write the new letters listed at the bottom of the page on plain
white index cards. Go through the cards and practice saying the sound for each letter. Then read the words on page 1. To read each word, say each letter sound going from left to right. Read each word several times until you can connect the
sounds smoothly. Look at the picture for each word. Listen to this page on the CD
for help. Then read it all by yourself.
4. Continue in the same way for the remaining pages with words and pictures. Add
new index cards for each new letter that you study. The new letters that you need
will be written at the bottom of the pages. Go over all the letter cards you’ve studied every day.
5. When you get to a page with sentences, look at the vowel at the top of the page.
Say the vowel sound. Then read the sentences. Read each word going from left to
right in the sentence. If you remember the words in the sentences, that’s great. If
you don’t remember a word, just say the letter sounds from left to right, connecting
the sounds smoothly. Think about what the word means. Then read the whole sentence. Use the listening CD to help you. Then read the page all by yourself.
6. On the sentence pages, you’ll see a row of sight words near the top of the page.
These words cannot be sounded out in the regular way. If you see an umbrella over
a vowel, use the /u/ umbrella sound (short u sound) for the vowel. If you see a
small z above the letter s, use the z sound instead of the s sound. If you see an x
above a letter, the letter is silent. Don’t say its sound. Practice reading each sight
word before reading the sentences.
7. Some pages have words with the letter _s added to the end of the word. Read the
word the regular way and add the _s sound to the end.
8. Use the Short Vowel Workbook to practice spelling the words that you’ve read.
9. If the words seem hard to read, remember that you will need to read very slowly at
first while you are learning. If it takes you a long time to read a page, practice going over the same page several times before going on to the next one. You’ll be
surprised at how well you can do it after you’ve practiced. Don’t forget to use the
listening CD to help you. Also, if you’re having trouble, get the Beginning and
Ending Sounds Workbook and work through it first. It will help you how figure out
how sounds fit together to make a word.
10. Congratulations! You’re on your way to being a great reader!
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
iv
Short Vowel Words
A Sound Story
About Audrey and Brad
One Saturday morning, Audrey and Brad sat in the
den, watching the pendulum swing back and forth on
the clock on the wall, “t, t, t, t.” They were bored.
“Hey, Mom,” said Brad. “Can we walk down to the
park?” “Yes,” said Mom. “Be sure you are back in
time for your violin lessons.” Soon Audrey and Brad
were swinging as high as they could at the park.
They could hear the loud sound of the chains
screeching as they went back and forth, “i, i, i, i.”
Then they jumped down and ran around the park
playing chase. Before long, they were out of breath.
Brad could hear himself breathing hard, “h, h, h, h.”
They ran home and their Mom drove them to their
violin lessons. Mrs. Russ was pleased to see them.
“Did you practice every day?” she said. “I did,” said
Audrey quickly. Brad replied that he had practiced,
too.
Soon they were playing music. Each violin made a
beautiful sound as they pulled their bows across the
strings. The sound was “l, l, l, l, l.”
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
v
Short Vowel Words
Just as they arrived home from their music
lesson, they heard the “n, n, n” sound of the
engine on a big delivery truck. It pulled into
their driveway and the delivery man handed
Mom a package. Audrey and Brad were pleased
to see that new books had arrived from their book
club.
As they went into the house, they could see dark
clouds gathering overhead. Soon, lightning was
flashing and rain was pouring down. The wind
blew hard enough to make the branches on the
trees sway back and forth. Audrey and Brad
could hear the sound of the wind forcing it’s way
into the house around the front door, “wwwwww.”
“Well,” said Mom. “The weather is so bad, this is
the perfect time to go over your math facts.” It
was Brad’s turn to go first. “Uuuuhhh,” was all
he could say as he looked at the flashcards. He
had not been practicing his math facts. When
Audrey had her turn, she got every one right.
They ate lunch and then Audrey and Brad and Dad
got into the car to go to basketball practice. The wind
had stopped blowing, but it was still drizzling. At the
gym, all the kids on the team warmed up by dribbling
a basketball. “B, b, b, b,” was the sound of the balls
bouncing on the hardwood floor. Then they practiced
passing and shooting.
After basketball practice they went home. Soon,
Mom called Audrey and Brad to dinner.
“Mmmmmm,” they said when they saw their
plates. They were having scrambled eggs, ham,
and muffins. It looked delicious.
Just as they sat down to eat, they heard a loud
“Rrrrrr” coming from the back yard. They ran to
look out the back door. Chewie had cornered a
neighborhood cat in the yard. She was growling
at the cat.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
The cat had no intention of putting up with Chewie.
She reached out and scratched Chewie right on the
nose, “fffff.” Chewie cried out in pain as the cat quickly
jumped over the fence and ran away.
“Poor, Chewie!” said Brad. “She’ll know to leave
cats alone, next time.” He reached into the
refrigerator and pulled out a soft drink. “Kssss,”
was the sound of the air rushing out as he pulled
the tab off the can.
After dinner, the whole family watched a movie
together. It was pretty good. One character was a
man who couldn’t hear very well. He kept saying
“Ehh?” whenever someone spoke to him. He
couldn’t understand a word they were saying.
“That man should get hearing aides,” said Mom.
“He could hear much better with them.”
The following Monday morning, Audrey and Brad
took the bus to school. As Audrey slipped into her
desk, she saw that a classmate had brought a
snake to school in a cage. They talked about the
snake during science class. It slithered around in
its cage, flicking its tongue in and out with a soft
“sssss” sound.
Audrey worked hard all morning. After lunch, her
class went outside for recess. She enjoyed jumping
rope with her friends. The rope made a “j, j, j”
sound as it slapped the concrete.
After recess Audrey realized that her throat was
hurting. It had been sore all day, but now it was
worse. Her teacher sent her to the office to see the
school nurse. Audrey opened her mouth wide and
said “oooooo” while the nurse examined her throat.
Then the nurse took her temperature. “You don’t
have a fever,” said the nurse. “It will be all right
for you to go back to class.”
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
Back in the classroom, Audrey picked up her
pencil to begin her afternoon assignment. “Ccc,”
the lead broke on her pencil as soon it touched the
paper. She reached into her desk to get out
another sharpened pencil. It was a good thing she
had an extra one.
At 2 o’clock, Audrey heard a knock at the door, “d,
d, d.” It was her father, Dr. Davis, coming to help
students work on the computers in the back of the
room. It wasn’t Audrey’s turn to work on the
computers, today, so she smiled at her dad and
then continued working on her assignment.
At the end of the day, Audrey and Brad met their
bus group in the hall. Their bus teacher waited for
their group to be called. As they stepped outside,
they could barely see their bus in the distance,
already on its way. “AAAaaa!” screamed Audrey
and Brad. All the children were upset. “It’s OK,”
said the teacher. “We’ll call your parents to come
pick you up.”
The children waited in the office for their parents.
They could hear the sound of the vacuum cleaner
as Mrs. Taylor vacuumed the rug, “vvvvv.”
Brad was thirsty, so he asked for permission to go
to the hall to get a drink of water. He went
straight to the water fountain. He turned the
handle and leaned over to swallow the gushing
water. “G, g, g, g,” went the water as it streamed
out of the faucet. “G, g, g, g,” went his throat as he
guzzled the water.
When Mom arrived at school she took them
straight to the doctor’s office to get Audrey’s throat
checked. She wanted to be sure it wasn’t strep
throat. As they waited in the waiting room, they
watched the fish swim back and forth in a large
aquarium. They could hear the “p, p, p, p” sound
of the air pump pushing air into the water.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
Audrey looked up when she heard the “k, k, k”
sound of the receptionist’s heels stepping across
the tile floor. “I need to ask you a question about
your insurance,” said Mrs. Kendrick to Audrey’s
mother. “Certainly,” said her mother, as she
stepped to the office counter.
When Audrey’s exam was finished, the doctor
said that she didn’t have strep throat after all.
Mom was relieved. As Audrey, Brad and Mom
returned to their car, Brad accidentally stepped
on a piece of yucky bubble gum. “Yyyy,” he said.
He tried to scrape it off on the edge of the
sidewalk.
Mom took the kids to the park on the way home.
They sat at a picnic table and had a snack that
she had packed. It was a pretty day. They could
hear a mourning dove cooing in the distance,
“coo, coo, coo.”
Suddenly they heard a loud buzzing sound,
“zzzzzzz.” They turned to see an enormous
swarm of bees moving through the air. It landed
in a pine tree near their picnic table. Other bees
flew around in the air nearby. “Let’s go home,”
they all yelled in unison. And that is exactly
what they did.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
x
Short Vowel Words
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Short Vowel Words
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
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Short Vowel Words
Sound Story
Alphabet
1
a A
b B
c C
d D
e E
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
Sound Story
Alphabet
2
f F
g G
h H
i I
i I
j J
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Short Vowel Words
Sound Story
Alphabet
3
k K
l L
mM
n N
o O
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
Sound Story
Alphabet
4
p P
qu Qu
r R
s S
t T
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
Sound Story
Alphabet
5
u U
v V
wW
x X
y Y
z Z
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
Short Vowel Sounds
a
e
i
o
u
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
xix
Short Vowel Words
aA
bB
cC
dD
eE
f F
gG
hH
iI iĪ
jJ
kK
lL
mM
nN
oO
pP
qu Qu
rR
sS
tT
U vV
v Vw W
w Wx X x X
uu U
yY
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
xx
yzYZ
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
an
am
fan
ham
man
ram
ran
Sam
Nan
yam
van
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
1
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
mass
ax
lass
sax
fax
wax
Max
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
2
Short Vowel Words
a
Sight Words
ant
a
A
as
z
has
z
1. Nan has a fan.
2. A man has a hat.
3. A man ran.
4. A man has an ax.
5. Sam has a sax.
6. A man has a van.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
3
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
hat
lad
sat
had
rat
fad
mat
sad
vat
mad
fat
add
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
4
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
map
rag
lap
nag
sap
wag
nap
sag
zap
lab
yap
yak
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
5
Short Vowel Words
a
Sight Words
ant
A
a
as
z
has
z
was
z
1. A man had a hat.
2. Nan had a nap.
3. A man ran a lap.
4. A rat was fat.
5. A man was mad.
6. A man was sad.
7. Nan was at a lab.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
6
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
can
bag
cat
bat
cap
bat
cab
bass
cam
bad
gas
gap
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
7
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
pan
tan
pat
tap
pad
tab
pad
tax
Pam
tag
pass
tam
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
8
Short Vowel Words
a
ant
Jan
dad
jab
dam
jazz
dab
jam
Dan
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
9
Short Vowel Words
a
Sight Words
ant
A
a
as
z
has
z
was
z
1. Pam has a pan.
2. Dan has a cat.
3. Dad had a hat.
4. Pat has a bat.
5. Max was sad.
6. Sam has a cap.
7. Sam has a gap.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
10
Short Vowel Words
i
in
if
ill
in
fill
fin
hill
win
will
fix
quill
mix
mill
six
sill
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
i
in
Liz
miss
quiz
hiss
fizz
rim
him
vim
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
i
Sight Words
in
Ī
is
z
his
z
1. I will run.
2. Will I win? I will win.
3. I will mix it.
4. Liz will miss him.
5. Nan is ill.
6. Max will wax his van.
7. Sam will hit it.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
13
Short Vowel Words
i
in
it
sip
sit
rip
lit
hip
hit
lip
fit
yip
quit
zip
mitt
quip
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
14
Time flies
when you’re
having fun.
Short Vowel Words
i
in
fig
rib
wig
nib
rig
fib
hid
sic
rid
lid
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
i
Sight Words
in
Ī
is
z
his
z
1. Max will zip it.
2. Sam is six.
3. Liz will miss it.
4. It is his mitt.
5. Nan hid.
6. A man hit him.
7. I lit it.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
16
Short Vowel Words
i
in
kit
kid
kiss
dig
Kim
did
kin
dip
kip
dim
kill
dill
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
17
Short Vowel Words
i
in
big
Jill
bin
Jim
bit
jib
bill
jig
Bill
bib
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
18
Short Vowel Words
i
in
pin
tin
pill
tip
pit
till
pig
Tim
tic
gill
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
i
Sight Words
in
Ī
is
z
his
z
1. A big pig has a wig.
2. It bit him.
3. Kim will kiss him.
4. It is his bib.
5. Bill will fix it.
6. Did Pat dig it?
7. It is his kit.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
i
Sight Words
in
Ī
is
z
his
z
1. A cat is fat.
2. Pam is at a dam.
3. A man is in a cab.
4. It is bad.
5. Did Jim miss?
6. Kim wins.
7. A man is in a van.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
off
mom
on
moss
Ron
Ross
ox
loss
fox
lox
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
log
not
fog
hot
hog
lot
mop
rot
hop
lop
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
wok
23
Short Vowel Words
o
ox
sob
sod
Rob
nod
fob
rod
odd
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. A bat is on a mat.
2. A mad cat sat on a rat.
3. Mom will mop.
4. Moss is on a log.
5. A cat is on a mat.
6. It can hop.
7. A hat is on a cat.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
box
top
boss
tot
Bob
toss
bog
Tom
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
pod
jot
pot
jog
pop
job
pox
John
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
cot
doll
cod
dog
con
dot
cob
Don
got
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. A dot is on a pot.
2. A dog is on a log.
3. Bob has a box.
4. Bill sits on a hill top.
5. A fox got on a box.
6. Rob did his job.
7. A dog is hot.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
o
ox
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. A lid is on a pot.
2. A cat is on a box.
3. A pot is hot.
4. Tom can jog.
5. A tag is on a bag.
6. Tom has a pot.
7. A cat is on a van.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
u
up
fun
sum
sun
mum
run
muff
us
huff
fuss
hull
fuzz
hum
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
u
up
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. A man can run.
2. Mom will fuss.
3. Pam can hum.
4. Jan has a muff.
5. Jill has fun.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
u
up
up
sub
nut
rub
hut
rug
mutt
hug
mud
mug
suds
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
u
up
puff
bun
pup
buzz
putt
bus
pus
bug
bud
jug
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
but
34
Short Vowel Words
u
up
cut
gum
cup
gull
cub
Gus
cuff
tub
dug
tug
dull
tux
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
u
up
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. Gus is on a bus.
2. A pup is up.
3. A bug is on a rug.
4. A man dug up a jug.
5. It is his tux.
6. Mom cut it.
7. Mud is on a pig.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
36
Short Vowel Words
_s
run
runs
hum
hums
rub
rubs
cut
cuts
hug
hugs
1. Ross runs.
2. Mom hums.
3. Jill runs up a hill.
4. Tim tugs on it.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
37
Short Vowel Words
e
egg
fell
men
well
hen
sell
mess
yell
less
hem
yes
fez
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
e
egg
net
leg
met
Meg
set
egg
let
vet
wet
yet
web
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
e
egg
red
led
wed
Ed
fed
Ned
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
e
egg
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. Ed fell. Ed will yell.
2. Meg will sell a fan.
3. Yes, Sam will win.
4. Ned will dab it.
5. A bag fell.
6. It is red.
7. I fell in a well. I am wet.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
41
Short Vowel Words
e
egg
pen
beg
pet
bet
peg
Bess
pep
Ben
bell
bed
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
e
egg
ten
jet
tell
Jeff
Ted
get
keg
den
Ken
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Short Vowel Words
e
egg
A a as has was Ī is his
z
Sight Words
z
z
z
z
1. A web is on a bell.
2. Ed is in bed.
3. Ted fed Ned.
4. Bess will get a pet.
5. A pet is wet.
6. Ben did not get wet.
7. Jeff is on a jet.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
44
Short Vowel Words
_s
cat
cats
dog
dogs
hill
hills
fin
fins
kid
kids
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
45
Short Vowel Words
_s
kid
kids
pin
pins
pill
pills
bib
bibs
cup
cups
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
46
Short Vowel Words
_s
Sight Words
I
is
his
as
has
was
1. Ben has six cats.
2. Ten cups fell.
3. Seven dogs ran up a hill.
4. Bess has six pens.
5. Ed will pet his dogs.
6. Ten kids hid.
7. Seven pigs get wet.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
_s
run
runs
sit
sits
hop
hops
wag
wags
get
gets
fill
fills
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
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Short Vowel Words
_s
Sight Words
I
is
his
as
has
was
1. A hen sits on an egg.
2. A dog runs up a hill.
3. Ben gets a red cap.
4. A rabbit hops on a log.
5. Sam sits on his bed.
6. Bob fills up a box.
7. Ed nods at his dad.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
49
Short Vowel Words
_ ’s
Sam ’s
Sam ’s cat
Pam ’s pan
Ben ’s cap
Jill ’s doll
Tom ’s van
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
50
Short Vowel Words
____ ’s
Sight Words
I
is
Sam’s
his
as
has
was
1. Sam’s cat is on a mat.
2. Ed’s dog was on his bed.
3. Ben’s cap is red.
4. Jill’s doll is on a box.
© 2008 by Kathryn J. Davis
51
Short Vowel Words