I often get asked by parents and support staff “what are the cvc words?”, “what does cvc words mean?” or “what cvc words should I be using with the students?”. As a teacher I naively assume everyone knows this, but over the years I’ve learnt not to make these assumptions. So this post today I’m going to continue on from my previous post, and go over some cvc word basics.
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So firstly, what does cvc words mean?
CVC words are small single syllable 3 letter words. They begin with a consonant (c), are followed by a single vowel (v), and then end with another consonant (c). Dog is an example of a cvc word. ‘D’ is the first consonant, ‘o’ is the short vowel, and ‘g’ is the ending consonant. Each letter in the word produces a single sound, making it easier for beginning readers to sound out the word without blends (pl, tr) or diphthongs (ch, sh).
Why are they important for emergent literacy skills?
As discussed in previous posts, developing emergent literacy skills is crucial for students’ communication and overall access to the curriculum. Literature and language are everywhere, humans use basic literacy skills everyday to understand each other and our world. You can read more about what is emergent literacy here.
As a high school special education teacher, I often have students who are still learning the 6 key emergent literacy skills year after year. At some point do you say ‘there’s no point, they’ll never get it’? In my opinion no, you don’t. Literacy skills are so important so we should never stop helping our students to develop these skills, regardless of their age. But I do think these students need to be taught in new and age-appropriate ways as they get older. You can read more about my strategies for this here. And that’s where cvc words come in. They are a great tool for developing emergent literacy skills.
The benefits of for beginning readers are quite simple. Cvc words are small and common words, and offer the perfect opportunity for developing emergent reading skills such as print awareness (text have meaning), phonemic awareness (knowledge of letter-sound) and phonological awareness (blending sounds to make words). They:
- Can often be matched with an image, which is particularly important for developing the understanding that words have meaning and can relate to the students’ life experiences (print awareness).
- Are often nouns (dog, cat, jug, kit) or verbs (dig, pat, run) that are familiar to emergent literacy learners.
- Are easy to sound out as each letter represents a single sound, which is great for developing blending skills.
Additionally, you can make sure all students have access to activities for cvc words with simple differentiation. Almost every special education class I have taught in has been multi-levelled, and boy can I tell you that this whole class differentiation strategy is a game changer.
The best words for developing emergent literacy skills
When teaching cvc words to students with disabilities, not all words are effective to use. It is best to use words they can relate to, easily understand and achieve success with. When choosing words to use with your emergent readers, look for ones that are:
- Nouns (e.g. jam) or verbs (e.g. jog) as these are often familiar to students.
- Easily matched with an image (this helps students make meaning from the word if they are not yet able to read it). For students who have some phonemic awareness and are beginning to decode, the paired image helps them be able to self-check when reading.
- Familiar to the student (they can relate it to their own life experiences).
Words to avoid
Let’s look at an example that is not good for emergent literacy learners. The word ‘had’ for example is a cvc word, and although it is a verb, it is quite an abstract word for students with disabilities to decode and understand. To comprehend this word students need to understand other language concepts such as possession (e.g. he ‘had’ the ball) and tense (e.g. he doesn’t have the ball anymore, but he ‘had’ the ball). The word ‘had’ is also not easily matched with a picture. This is yet another reason it is not a good word for beginning readers.
CVC WORDS to use
So what are cvc words examples that are great for beginning readers and students with disabilities? The word ‘cat’ is one example. It is a noun, a word that most students would be familiar with, and it can very easily be paired with a photo of a cat to help with decoding and self-checking. Other examples include pot, nut, van, red, zip and bug.
For a full list of great cvc words for teaching beginning readers, click here. The free CVC Word List and Data collection tool will be sent straight to your inbox, ready to go.
I use these in all of my cvc words activities and pair each word with a high quality photo to give my students the best opportunity to engage with the activity and achieve success decoding the word. You can check out my range of cvc words activities here.
Want to know more…
Do you want additional information and strategies for teaching beginning readers? You can also find out more in these great articles…
5 Simple and effective strategies for teaching cvc words– My Special Edventures
CVC Words– Ginseng English
What are cvc words and how to teach them– Natalie Lynn Kindergarten
CVC Words- The Ultimate Guide to Teach Your Child– Kutuki
I have the perfect thing to get you started! You can get these cvc word list posters and checklist by signing up to my mailing list here. By signing up you will also, receive occasional emails from me with other ideas for teaching emergent literacy skills.
I hope this has helped you understand what are the cvc words and how they can help teach emergent literacy skills in your classroom.