When children have learned their letter sounds and are first learning to read, CVC words are one of the first things they tackle! In this article, you learn what CVC words are, and you'll get a list of CVC words for using with beginning readers.

What are CVC words?

The C's in a CVC word stands for "consonants." The V stands for "vowel." In a CVC word, a short vowel will be sandwiched between two other “non-vowels”, or consonant sounds. For example, the word ‘hat’ is a CVC word.

Teaching CVC Words

Students are first introduced to the concept of blending vowel and consonant sounds together to form CVC words early in Kindergarten.

However, you don't need to wait to begin CVC words until students have mastered all of their letters! If they know the letters s, a, and t, for example, they can blend to read the word "sat." (They will likely need lots of adult help at first - blending takes time to master.)

When you first invite children to blend to read CVC words, be sure that they:

• Are familiar and comfortable with the sounds in each of the words you present, so they can be successful.
• Understand the process for blending. You will need to model and gradually release responsibility to students. 
• Have opportunities to discuss what words mean with adults and their peers. Even in early stages of reading, students should see that the words they read have meaning. 

CVC Word List

Looking for some CVC words to use with your beginning readers? You can start with the list below. Note that some words include digraphs (two consonants joined together to make a single consonant sound, like "sh," "ch," and "th"). If you choose to use the words with digraphs on this list, make sure that students have had previous instruction on digraphs.

CVC Words with Short A:

cab, dab, lab, nab

bad, dad, had, lad, mad, pad, sad

cat, bat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat, that, chat

man, ran, can, fan, pan, tan, van, ban

ham, ram, jam, yam

cap, lap, gap, map, nap, sap, tap, zap

CVC Words with Short E:

web

red, bed, fed, led, shed

beg, leg, peg

get, let, met, net, pet, set, wet, vet, jet, yet

CVC Words with Short I:

bid, did, hid, lid, rid

him, Jim, Kim, Tim

dip, hip, lip, rip, sip, tip, zip, chip, ship

fin, pin, win, bin, thin, chin, shin

bit, fit, hit, kit, lit, pit, sit

CVC Words with Short O:

Bob, cob, job, mob, sob

hop, pop, mop, top, shop, chop

not, got, hot, lot, pot, dot

CVC Words with Short U:

bud, dud, thud

bug, dug, hug, jug, mug, rug, tug, chug

but, cut, hut, nut, shut

fun, bun, run, sun  

More Resources for CVC Words

Our From Sounds to Spelling phonics program includes extensive work on CVC words in Kindergarten, as well as a review in first grade.

The program guides you in teaching the letter sounds, blending, CVC words, and word families so that students emerge with a strong foundation of early reading skills. Teaching guides, student materials, and "how to" videos are all included in the program, so it's easy to use for teachers, tutors, and homeschooling families alike.

To learn more about how From Sounds to Spelling helps build students’ early reading skills, click here.  Look for the “free trial” button so you can download a free week of materials, plus a free diagnostic assessment and scope and sequence!