When it comes to reading CVC words, it’s always best to make it FUN! My students love using our Read and Reveal cards because they get to reveal the hidden picture after reading the CVC word. These cards are great for struggling readers both in kindergarten and first grade and help them use their phonics strategies while reading.
Ready to try Read and Reveal Cards in your classroom? Take a look at how we use them!
Setting up Read and Reveal Cards
To make sure the cards held up in our classroom, I laminated them before setting them out. I used mini clothespins to fasten the cards, but you could also use paperclips or velcro dots if you have those on hand. Then, I stuck them in a basket so I could easily pull out the cards and set them on the table during our guided reading groups.
Since we are just working on reading short a words, I only added the short a cards to the basket. As we start to learn the other vowel sounds, I will mix in the other cards as well.
My students took turns picking a card out of the basket, reading the word, and checking to see if they read it correctly. As an incentive, I told my kiddos they can keep the card in front of them if they read it right, but they have to put it back if they didn’t blend the word correctly. This is a definite motivator!
Reading CVC Words
My students have been working really hard on mastering letter sounds, but some of them were still having trouble applying that knowledge when it was time to read the word. A lot of the time, they were using the pictures to guess the word instead of actually reading the word. So when they needed to read a word without picture support, they struggled!
I knew I needed to find a way to help them understand how to sound out a word phonetically and not rely on the picture for support. That’s how Read and Reveal cards were born!
We practice reading CVC words by touching each letter, saying each sound, and then sliding their finger along the arrow to blend the sounds together. This guided support served as a visual reminder to go through all the steps needed to sound out a word.
And then, the best part! After reading the word, they could unclip the clothespin to reveal the picture. They were so excited to see they were able to READ!
My students are absolutely rocking reading CVC words with these cards, and I am seeing so much improvement with their reading. I have also seen their confidence soar while learning this new skill.
Grab Your Own Read and Reveal Cards
Along with reading CVC words, these cards also help students work on reading words with beginning and ending blends, magic e words, vowel teams, r-controlled vowels, and diphthongs. You can find all of the Read and Reveal cards in my shop!
