Vowel Warm-Up: A-E-I-O-U Say What?!

Instructions: Think about the five vowels: A, E, I, O, U. For each vowel, quickly write down one word that uses its short sound. You have 3 minutes!

1. A:
   
   
   
2. E:
   
   
   
3. I:
   
   
   
4. O:
   
   
   
5. U:
   
   
   

Vowel Voyage! Teacher Script

Warm-Up: Vowel Brainstorm (5 minutes)

"Good morning, everyone! Today, we're embarking on a 'Vowel Voyage!' to master those tricky short vowel sounds. But first, let's get our brains warmed up with a quick activity called Vowel Warm-Up."

"On your warm-up sheet, you'll see the five vowels: A, E, I, O, U. For each vowel, I want you to quickly write down one word that uses its short sound. Remember, we're thinking short sounds! You have about three minutes to complete this. Go!"

(Allow students to complete the warm-up. Circulate and observe.)

"Alright, time's up! Let's share some of our words. Who has a word for short 'A'?" (Call on students. Write examples on the board.) "Excellent! How about short 'E'? Short 'I'? Short 'O'? And finally, short 'U'?" (Continue to call on students and list examples.)

"Fantastic job! You've already got those short vowels buzzing in your brains."

Introduction: Short Vowel Review (10 minutes)

"Now, let's dive deeper into our Vowel Voyage! Take a look at the screen as we review our Vowel Voyage! Slide Deck."

(Advance to Slide 1: "Welcome to Vowel Voyage!")

"Welcome, adventurers! We're here to conquer short vowels. Why are these little sounds so important? Because they are the building blocks of so many words we read and write every single day!"

(Advance to Slide 2: "What are Short Vowels?")

"As you know, the vowels are A, E, I, O, U. Every word needs a vowel! Today, our mission is to really understand their short sounds. When a vowel makes its short sound, it's usually because it's followed by a consonant in a one-syllable word, like in 'cat' or 'bed.'"

(Advance to Slide 3: "Short 'A' says /ă/")

"Let's start with Short 'A.' Can everyone make the /ă/ sound? Good! Think of words like 'cat,' 'bag,' 'fan.' Can anyone else give me a word where they hear the short 'A' sound?" (Encourage responses, correct if necessary.)

(Advance to Slide 4: "Short 'E' says /ĕ/")

"Next up, Short 'E.' It says /ĕ/. Like in 'pen,' 'bed,' 'wet.' What other words have the short 'E' sound?"

(Advance to Slide 5: "Short 'I' says /ĭ/")

"Now, Short 'I.' It makes the /ĭ/ sound. Think 'pig,' 'fish,' 'kid.' Any other short 'I' words?"

(Advance to Slide 6: "Short 'O' says /ŏ/")

"Moving on to Short 'O.' Hear the /ŏ/ sound in 'dog,' 'hot,' 'rock.' What are some more?"

(Advance to Slide 7: "Short 'U' says /ŭ/")

"And finally, Short 'U.' It says /ŭ/. Like in 'sun,' 'cup,' 'bug.' Who has another short 'U' word?"

(Advance to Slide 8: "Why Are Short Vowels Important?")

"So, why are we spending all this time on short vowels? Because they are super important! They help us read new words faster, spell words correctly, and truly understand what we read! It's a foundational skill for becoming an amazing reader and writer."

Activity: Vowel Sort & Say (15 minutes)

(Advance to Slide 9: "Time to Practice!")

"Now it's time to put your short vowel detective skills to the test! I'm going to hand out the Short Vowel Worksheet."

(Distribute worksheets.)

"On this worksheet, your job is to read each word, identify the short vowel sound you hear, and then write the word in the correct column. As you work, I want you to say the word aloud to yourself. Hearing the sound will really help you identify the short vowel."

"You'll have about 15 minutes to work on this. If you finish early, you can double-check your answers or try to think of two more words for each short vowel to add to the bottom of your sheet. I'll be walking around to help if you have any questions."

(Circulate, provide individual support, and remind students to say the words aloud.)

Review & Share (10 minutes)

(Advance to Slide 10: "Checking Our Work")

"Alright, let's bring it back together. Great work, everyone! Now it's time to check our work and see how you did. We'll go through the Short Vowel Answer Key together."

"Who would like to share their answer for the first word under Short 'A'? And why did you put it there?" (Go through the worksheet words, asking students to share and explain. Correct misunderstandings and reinforce correct answers.)

"Excellent job explaining your choices! It's clear you're all becoming short vowel experts."

Cool-Down: Short Vowel Challenge (5 minutes)

(Advance to Slide 11: "You're Vowel Voyage Experts!")

"For our final stop on this Vowel Voyage, let's do a quick Vowel Cool-Down."

"On your cool-down sheet, please write one new word for each short vowel sound (A, E, I, O, U) that you learned or reviewed today. Try to pick words we didn't use in the warm-up or on the worksheet if you can! When you're done, you can use this as your exit ticket."

(Collect cool-down sheets as students finish.)

"Fantastic work today, everyone! You've done an amazing job reviewing and mastering your short vowel sounds. Keep practicing, and you'll continue to become amazing readers and writers! Great job, Vowel Voyage experts!"

Short Vowel Worksheet: Vowel Sound Detective!

Instructions: Read each word in the list below. Say the word aloud to yourself to help you hear the vowel sound. Then, write the word under the correct short vowel column. If you finish early, try to add two more words for each short vowel at the bottom of the page!

Word List:

• cat
• pen
• pig
• dog
• sun
• bed
• fish
• cup
• fan
• hot
• kit
• run
• wet
• rock
• bug
• map
• hen
• sit
• cob
• mud

Short A:






Short E:






Short I:






Short O:






Short U:

Short Vowel Worksheet: Answer Key

Instructions: This answer key provides the correct categorization for each word from the worksheet. Encourage students to explain their reasoning by sounding out the words.

Short A: apple, grab, hat, sad
Short E: egg, ten, red, bell
Short I: win, lip, thin, trip
Short O: box, fog, mom, top
Short U: cut, fun, jump, duck

Vowel Cool-Down: One Last Vowel Word!

Instructions: For each short vowel sound (A, E, I, O, U), write down one new word that uses that sound. Try to think of words we haven't used yet in class today!

This will be your exit ticket!

1. Short A:
   
   
   
2. Short E:
   
   
   
3. Short I:
   
   
   
4. Short O:
   
   
   
5. Short U: