Hello. My name is Grace, and welcome to
Learn to Read Consonant-Vowel-Consonant Words.
Learning to read is exciting.
In this video, you'll learn how to blend sounds
to read words that are consonant-vowel-consonant words.
It's important to know this because
the vowels placed between two consonants take on a specific sound.
I'll show you what I mean.
Before you watch this video, be sure that you have seen the videos called,
"Vowel Sounds," and, "Consonant Sounds."
Then, come back to this one.
You already know that the letters of the alphabet are broken into two groups called,
"vowels," and, "consonants."
You also know that each vowel and consonant letter makes different sounds on their own.
Sometimes one letter makes many sounds,
but what happens when you place a vowel between two consonants?
What sound would that make?
For example, what happens when the consonant letter, B, is placed next to the vowel letter, E,
and followed by the consonant letter, D?
What you have here is called a word.
I can read this word by blending together the sounds each letter makes.
"bed"
The word says, "bed."
But, how did I know that the E made the short /ɛ/ sound?
Didn't we learn that the letter, E, makes the short sound, /ɛ/ and the long sound, /iː/?
How did I know which was which?
I'll show you.
I will teach you a reading trick.
Whenever you see a consonant, a vowel, then another consonant in a word,
the vowel takes on the short vowel sound.
Here are some examples.
Each of these words is three letters long, and each word starts with a consonant,
has a vowel in the middle, and a consonant letter at the end.
When words are written in this way, in other words,
they are consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC words.
The vowel always makes a short vowel sound.
Since this word is made of a consonant, vowel, and a consonant,
you know that the A makes the /æ/ sound.
The E makes the /ɛ/ sound.
The I makes the /ɪ/ sound.
The O makes the /ɒ/ sound.
And, the U makes the /ʌ/ sound.
Isn't that a neat reading trick to know?
Now, let's read the words.
"Sad"
"Ten"
"Kid"
"Dog"
"Bus"
Let's look at some more.
Can you read these words?
You probably noticed that each of these words has the letter, A, in them.
What sound would the vowel letter, A, make in each word?
That's right.
The short A (ă) sound.
This is the symbol for short A (ă),
and how do you know for sure?
Yes.
Each word is a consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC word.
So, the vowel takes on a short vowel sound.
Great!
Let's read the words.
"Ran"
"Bat"
What about these words?
What sound would the vowel letter, E, make in each word?
That's right.
The short E (ĕ) sound.
This is the symbol for short E (ĕ).
And, how did you know for sure?
That's right again.
Each word is a CVC word, so the vowel makes a short sound.
Let's read this list of words.
"Red"
"Ten"
Alright, let's look at another set of words.
These words all have the letter, I, in them.
Since they are CVC words, can you guess the sound I will make?
Yes.
The short I (ĭ) sound.
This is the symbol for short I (ĭ).
Let's read the words.
"Big"
"Hit"
What about this set of words?
What do you notice about them?
If you said that they all have the vowel, O, in them, then you're right.
What sound will O make in these CVC words?
Right.
The short O (ŏ) sound.
This is the symbol for short O (ŏ).
Let's read these words.
"Log"
"Hot"
And finally, let's look at this list of words.
These words all have the letter, U, in them.
That means they will take on the short U (ŭ) sound.
This is the symbol for short U (ŭ).
Let's read the words.
"Bug"
"Sun"
You can now practice reading CVC words
because you know the sounds that vowels and consonants make.
You also know that the vowel in a CVC word will always make a short vowel sound.
Thanks for watching.
Be sure to check out our many online word games and quizzes to help you practice these skills.
Until next time, always be clever.