LumiraWhat is a short vowel?
Short vowel sounds are the foundation of decoding. Once a reader can hear and write the five short vowels inside simple consonant-vowel-consonant words, most of the early reading code opens up.
Short e words — word list
Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.
- bed
- feet
- get
- hen
- her
- leg
- like
- met
- pet
- red
- ten
- the
- them
- they
- wet
- yes
Free decodable book: Decodable Short E
This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.
Mia sat on the bed. Leo sat on the bed too. Mia and Leo like the bed.
Leo had a red hen. Mia had a red hen too. Mia and Leo like the red hen.
Mia can pet the hen. Leo can pet the hen too. Yes. They pet it and pet it.
Leo met Mia at ten. Mia met Leo at ten too. Yes. They met at ten.
Mia got wet. Leo got wet too. Mia and Leo did not get wet feet.
Leo hurt his leg. Mia hurt her leg too. Yes. They did not run on the wet leg.
Bed red hen ten wet pet met get leg yes. Mia and Leo like them all.
How to teach it
- Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
- Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
- Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
- Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
- Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.
Lessons that practise this pattern
Build words: short e families
Blend CVC words with short vowel e
Build words: w, j, qu, x
Read and spell CVC words with w, j, qu, and x (Literacy Hub phase 5 / UFLI lessons 28–32)