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1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 17

Short Vowels

a, e, i, o, u

What your child practices

Hearing the short vowel in the middle of words like cat, bed, pig, dog and sun, and filling in the missing vowel to spell the word.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 1.2(B); 1.2(C) · reading and spelling words with short vowels

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The vowels are a, e, i, o and u.
  2. Short a is in cat. Short e is in bed. Short i is in pig.
  3. Short o is in box. Short u is in sun.

Example: Which letter is missing? c _ t (a cat) Say “cat” slowly: c – a – t. The middle sound is short a. Answer: a

Short Vowels in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 2 of 17 in 1st grade English Language Arts, after Blend It and before Word Families.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which word has the short e sound, like “elephant”?

    • 🦆duck
    • 🛏️bed
    • 🦊fox

  2. Question 2

    Which letter is missing?

    🐱c_t
    • i
    • a
    • o

  3. Question 3

    Which letter is missing?

    🐶d_g
    • e
    • a
    • o

  4. Question 4

    Which word has the short i sound, like “igloo”?

    • 🛏️bed
    • 🦆duck
    • 🚢ship

  5. Question 5

    Which letter is missing?

    🗺️m_p
    • o
    • a
    • i

  6. Question 6

    Which word has the short o sound, like “octopus”?

    • 🧦sock
    • ⛺tent
    • ☀️sun

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