Phoneme Segmentation + Short and Long Vowel Sounds  

This short and long vowel sorting activity pack is designed to help students develop their phonemic awareness by segmenting words and identifying the short or long vowel sounds in each of them. This activity is suitable for early primary students. 

This activity aims to reinforce the difference between short and long vowel sounds and help students recognise and discriminate between them. By practising this skill, students can improve their decoding, reading fluency, and spelling ability.

This download includes the following:

• Long vowel heading cards.
• Short vowel heading cards.
• Picture cards that are to be sorted.
• Cut and paste worksheets.
• Word mapping templates for extension purposes.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

This resource has been created to suit a range of ability levels. The download includes a set of picture cards and heading cards of each of the short and long vowel sounds, a cut-and-paste worksheet, and some word mapping templates. This provides many opportunities to differentiate this activity when required.

🆘 Support Struggling Students

For those students who require a little extra assistance, give them a smaller amount of cards. Perhaps you are just working on the difference between the long and short ‘a’ vowel sounds. So only provide them with these cards to sort.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Use the cut and paste as an additional activity, or have these students who need a little extra challenge use the word mapping templates to map out some of the words they have sorted into the short and long vowel sounds.

👋 Exit Ticket 

Use these cards as a formative assessment after your lesson. Pick a random assortment of cards and project them on the board for the whole class to see. Students can record their answers on a sheet of paper, sticky note or notebook. 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource.

Print on cardboard for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

To keep the task cards out of pockets or under desks, punch a hole in the corner of each to place them on a binder ring. 

Sustainability Tip: Print a few recording sheets on cardboard and slip them into write-and-wipe sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse them.  

This resource was created by Samantha Rose, a Teach Starter collaborator.