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 o 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.
- box
- cot
- dog
- dot
- fog
- fox
- got
- hog
- hop
- hot
- log
- lot
- mop
- not
- of
- on
- pop
- pot
- pots
- to
- tom
- top
- touch
Free decodable book: Decodable Short O
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.
Tom had a pot. Mom had a pot. Tom and Mom had pots.
The dog did hop on the log. The hog did hop on the log.
Tom can hop to the top. Mom can hop to the top. Hop hop hop.
A fox did hop in the box. The dog did hop on the log.
Tom got a hot pot. Mom got a hot pot. The pot is hot.
The mop is on top of the pot. Tom can mop. Mom can mop.
A dot is on the pot. Tom did dot the pot. Mom did not dot.
Tom did not hop. The dog did hop. The hog did hop on the log.
Pop the top of the pot. Tom can pop the top. Mom can pop the top.
Log dog hog fog hop top pop mop cot dot hot pot lot not got box fox.
Tom sat on a cot. Mom sat on a cot. The dog did hop past.
A lot of fog is on the log. The hog did not hop. Tom did hop.
Mom got a mop and a pot. Tom got a box. The fox did hop.
The top of the pot is hot. Tom did not touch the pot. Mom got the pot.
Hop top pop mop cot dot hot pot lot not got box fox log dog hog fog.
Tom and Mom and the dog did hop. The fox did hop in the box. Fog on the log.
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 o families
Blend CVC words with short vowel o
Word sort: short i vs short o
Sort CVC words by their short vowel sound
Sight word bridges
Read high-frequency words (the, and, is, to) in short decodable sentences.