Short Vowels — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The cat sat on the mat and purred.
Cat is a CVC word with short a. Reading it in a full sentence helps Grade 1 students decode the short a sound in context, not just in isolated words.
2. I read my book before bed.
Bed has the short e sound /e/. Using it in a nighttime sentence builds meaning and helps first graders link the short e sound to familiar routines.
3. The baby frog danced on the lily pad.
Frog has the short o sound, though it begins with the blend fr-. Short o stays short because it is followed by consonants with no silent e to change it.
4. A bug flew past my window.
Bug uses short u /u/ as in umbrella. Short u words often describe small animals, making them easy for Grade 1 readers to picture and remember.
5. The pen rolled under the couch.
Pen is a CVC word with short e. The -en rime family includes pen, hen, ten, and men, all sharing the short e sound. Rime families speed up first-grade reading.
6. I wore a red hat on a sunny day.
Hat has short a in the -at rime family, including cat, bat, rat, and mat. Recognizing rime families helps Grade 1 readers decode new CVC words quickly.
7. The bun in the oven smells yummy.
Bun has short u in the -un rime family. Using food words helps first graders connect reading to real-world experiences, making learning memorable.
8. My cat is a fluffy gray kitten.
Cat reappears to reinforce short a. In Grade 1, repetition across sentences helps students automatically recognize short vowel sounds in familiar CVC words.
9. The dog dug a deep pit in the yard.
Pit has short i in the -it rime family. The short i sound is the shortest and quickest of the short vowels, so practice helps Grade 1 readers hear it clearly.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
cat
→ -at family
-og family
bed
→ -ed family
-at family
pig
→ -ig family
-ed family
dog
→ -og family
-ig family
Rime families group words by their shared ending sound. Cat belongs to -at with bat and hat; pig belongs to -ig with wig and big. Each rime family shares the same short vowel, so learning one word unlocks many more for Grade 1 readers.