Short Vowel Words word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Short Vowel Words word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this short vowel words puzzle set for my 1st graders during our phonics unit. The kids could read CVC words but still mixed up the short vowel sounds, especially short e and short i. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like cat, hat, bat, rat, map, sad, bed, red, leg, pen, ten, pig, wig, sit, lid, lip, dog, log, hot, pot, top, bug, hug, cup, sun, run, nut, duck, clock, sock, and frog. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the short a, e, i, o, and u sounds finally stick.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether "clock" has a short o sound. The crossword I use for partners with picture clues. I added a couple simple apple, egg, fish, octopus, and umbrella drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for K through 2nd grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers list one short vowel word for each vowel on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.