Five Short Vowel Games

I’ve always loved these games, and my students enjoyed playing them year after year. However, the look of the game boards had been bothering me, so I spent the last few days giving them a fresh update. I’m thrilled with how they turned out and excited to share the updated version with you!

I created these games to give students meaningful practice with short vowel sounds in a structured and straightforward way. Each game focuses on one short vowel sound. As students play, they take turns spinning the spinner (or rolling the newly added die), moving around the board, and then blending the sound on the game board with the sound on the card they pick to create new words.

Because of their simple setup, these games work beautifully for phonics practice both at school and at home. In my classroom, I often kept them available for fast finishers and also used them regularly during centers and small-group instruction.

What’s Included in Short Vowel Games:

Short Vowel Game Boards (5 included)

Consonant Cards

Digraphs & Blends Cards

Spinner

Die Template

 Real vs. Nonsense Words Recording Page

Directions for Use:

Choose a game. There are five games to choose from.

Shuffle the cards and place them face down.

Select playing pieces (pennies, counters, or beans work well).

Players take turns spinning the spinner or rolling the die and moving that many spaces.

The player picks a card and blends its sound with the sound on the board to create a new word.

Example: If a player lands on ‘ump’ and picks a card with ‘l,’ they read the word ‘lump’ aloud.

Optional Extension: Students can record the words they create on the Real and Nonsense Words recording sheet, placing each word in the correct column.

This UPDATED game is available for purchase!

Click the image below for more details.

Other Short Vowel Ideas from Boy Mama Teacher Mama: