Teaching CVC Words in Preschool

Earlier this week I shared my thoughts on reading instruction and it’s place in the preschool classroom. One of the strategies that I’m a huge fan of is introducing CVC words. So let’s go back to basics for a minute and explore what CVC words actually are. These are words that follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern (hence the CVC abbreviation). These words fall into “word families” with words in the same family ending with the same vowel and consonant. For example, the -at family includes the words bat, cat, hat, and rat. CVC word families are generally introduced by consonant sound, with short a words first.

Before children are ready for CVC words, they should be able to produce rhyming words. This will help them focus on the beginning sound as they create different words in the same family. Children should also have a good understanding of letter sounds, and be able to produce these as they look at different letters.

Primary Paradise has amazing lists of CVC words, organized by family, that you can download for free! Check those out and pop back in on Friday to see some of my favorite activities for introducing CVC words in the classroom.