Here is a CVC words list sorted by short vowel, plus easy ways to practice. CVC words have three sounds, consonant, vowel, consonant, like cat, pig and sun. Children say each sound from left to right, then blend the sounds into a word. Start with letters your child knows, and read a short sentence every day.
A What Works Clearinghouse practice guide on foundational reading skills suggests starting blending practice with simple CVC words that children already know, so they're a natural first step for new readers.
CVC stands for consonant, vowel, consonant. The word has three sounds: a consonant sound, a short vowel sound in the middle, and another consonant sound. For example, map is /m/ /a/ /p/ and dog is /d/ /o/ /g/.
The kindergarten Common Core State Standards ask children to hear and say the first, middle vowel and last sounds in three-sound CVC words. The standards leave out CVC words ending in /l/, /r/ or /x/, so the list below does too.
CVC is about sounds, not just letters. Box and fox look like CVC words, but the x makes two sounds, /k/ and /s/. Words like car and her aren't CVC words either, because the r changes the vowel sound.
One simple plan: practice one vowel until it feels easy, add the next, then mix them.
cat, bat, hat, mat, sat, rat, can, fan, man, pan, van, ran, cap, map, nap, tap, bag, rag, wag, ham, jam, dad, sad, had
bed, red, fed, hen, pen, ten, men, den, jet, net, pet, wet, get, set, vet, leg, peg, beg, web, yes
big, dig, fig, pig, wig, bin, pin, tin, win, fin, sit, hit, kit, pit, lip, dip, sip, zip, kid, lid
dog, fog, hog, jog, log, cot, dot, hot, lot, pot, not, mop, hop, pop, top, job, nod, rod, cob, mom
bug, hug, jug, mug, rug, tug, bun, fun, run, sun, cut, hut, nut, cup, pup, mud, tub, cub, gum, bus
Once two or more vowels are familiar, practice words that differ only in the vowel:
pin, pen
bag, big, bug
hat, hot, hut
pet, pit, pot
cap, cup
For children who struggle to tell sounds apart, the same practice guide suggests words that differ by only one sound, such as dog and dig.
Blending means reading a word from left to right, joining each letter's sound into one word. The practice guide describes two ways to do it:
Sounding out: say each sound in order, then say them all together quickly. /s/ /u/ /n/, "sun."
Chunking: join the first two sounds, then add the next one. /s/ and /u/ make /su/, then add /n/: "sun."
Tips from the same guide:
Stretch the sounds smoothly. Say /mmmaaannn/ rather than /m/, /a/, /n/ with gaps. It helps children hold the sounds together.
Start with stretchy sounds. Sounds like /f/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /s/, /v/ and /z/ can be held without changing. Words that start with stop sounds, which are quick puffs of air like /b/, /d/, /g/, /k/, /p/ and /t/, may be harder to sound out. So start with words like man, sun, fan, red and lid.
Watch for "buh." Adding a strong "uh" after stop sounds, so /b/ sounds like "buh," can make blending harder. Keep those sounds short and crisp.
Check the word. A home tips sheet based on the guide suggests asking whether the word makes sense or is a real word, and reading it again if it isn't familiar.
Example script for the word map:
Point to m. "What sound?" Your child says /mmm/.
Point to a. "Next sound?" Your child says /aaa/.
Point to p. "Last sound?" Your child says /p/.
"Say them smoothly." Your child says /mmmaaap/.
"What's the word?" "Map!"
Sound boxes: draw three boxes in a row. Say a word slowly and push a coin into one box for each sound. Then run a finger under the boxes and blend the word. The reading guide describes this activity, often called Elkonin boxes. Later, write letters in the boxes instead of using coins.
Word chains: with magnetic letters or letter cards, change one letter at a time: cat, hat, hot, hop, mop, map, mat. Read each new word. Changing the middle letter gives great vowel practice.
Missing middle: lay out f and n with a gap. Which vowels make a real word? Fan, fin and fun all work. The guide gives a similar example: adding a between f and n to make fan.
Slide the letters: space three letter cards apart, say each sound, then slide the cards together as you blend.
Robot talk: speak like a robot, "/p/ /i/ /g/," and your child says the word. This is blending by ear, with no letters at all.
Odd one out: say three words, like pin, pen and pin. Which one is different? This sharpens listening for vowels that sound alike.
Read and draw: write a short phrase like "a red bug in a cup." Your child reads it and draws it.
Reading single words is only half the job. The reading guide recommends having children read decodable words both in lists and in text, and says each child should read connected text every day. Decodable text is written so children can read it with the letter sounds and sight words they have already learned.
Here are a few example sentences built from the lists above, plus common words like "a," "the" and "is":
The cat sat on a mat.
A big pig is in the mud.
Mom got a hot pot.
The pup can dig.
The red hen sat in the sun.
Once CVC words feel easy, the guide suggests moving on to longer patterns, such as words with a silent e, like cap to cape, and words with two consonants together, like lip to slip or ten to tent. Our guide to sight words for kids covers the common words that don't sound out neatly, and reading practice at home for kids has ideas for reading together.
Cat, bed, pig, dog and sun are all CVC words. Each has a consonant sound, a short vowel sound and another consonant sound.
Under the Common Core, kindergartners learn to hear the three separate sounds in CVC words, and first graders decode regularly spelled one-syllable words. In the US, that's usually around ages 5 to 7.
Not quite. It's spelled with three letters, but the x makes two sounds, /k/ and /s/, so box has four sounds.
Usually words with consonant blends, like stop and hand, words with digraphs, like ship and chat, and silent e words, like cake. The first grade standards include blending sounds in words with consonant blends, common consonant digraphs and final -e spellings.
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Common Core State Standards: Reading Foundational Skills, Kindergarten
Common Core State Standards: Reading Foundational Skills, Grade 1
What Works Clearinghouse: Tips for Supporting Reading Skills at Home (PDF)