CVC Worksheets (7 Free CVC Printables)

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CVC words are the first words children learn to read. Check out this collection of CVC worksheets and grab some free CVC printables, too!

If you want to teach your child to read, you might have heard about CVC words. They are the first words children learn to read.

CVC words follow regular sound-letter patterns so they are easy for children to start with. But you need some quality resources

These CVC Worksheets are teacher-created. Plus they are approved by a dyslexia mom.

Even though I taught hundreds of students to read, helping my own daughter has been trickier. But learning to teach her has helped me support parents and teachers better.

Brain science has evolved since we were kids – and we now know a lot more about how strong readers learn to read.

Say good-bye to using CVC worksheets to memorize more words. Or to using worksheets that rely on picture clues.

Instead, your child is going to build their phoneme-grapheme knowledge. That’s just a fancy way of saying sounds-to-letters.

So read on for some tips about teaching your child to read CVC words. Then grab some free CVC worksheets.

Disclousre: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

a large pin image with five rectangles. One with a bliue background reads free CVC words worksheets is black and white font. The first picture is a CVC cut and paste worksheet with scissors and a glue stick. The second is word ladder CVC worksheet. The third is CVC word building mats with colorful alphabet beads. The fourth is a dab and dot CVC worksheet with a blue Do A Dot Marker.

Free CVC Worksheets

These free CVC worksheets are available when you sign up below. They are all samples from printable packs available in the Printable Parents Shop and on Teachers Pay Teachers.

These are the worksheets available in the free CVC words download:

  • CVC Cut and Paste Worksheets
  • CVC Hands-On Word Mats
  • CVC Word Mapping Worksheets
  • CVC Word Ladders Worksheets
  • Dot the CVC Word
  • CVC Color by Number

So check out the samples and then you can head to the shop.

These worksheets are free for email subscribers. You’re welcome to unsubscribe at any time. But I think you’ll love the free printables, deals, and tips so much, that you’ll stick around.

Just enter your information in this box, then scroll down to learn how to use each type of worksheet.

How do you teach CVC words?

Before you get in some worksheet practice, there are a few steps to teach CVC words:

  1. Learn letter sounds
  2. Practice oral blending
  3. Read two letter words

Learn Letter Sounds

First, make sure your child knows the letter sounds. This may seem obvious to some, but it’s worth repeating:

your child won’t be able to read CVC words unless they can name the most common letter sounds.

You can use this free alphabet chart to help your child learn the letter names and sounds. For example, point to the letter A and say, “A, apple, /a/.”

Practice Oral Blending

Once your child knows the letter sounds, then practice oral blending. Say things like /m/ /u/ /d/ aloud and see if your child can blend them into the word mud.

If your child cannot do that, start with orally blending onset and rime. That means say /m/ /ud/.

These are phonemic awareness skills and they are required skills to teach your child to read.

Once your child can orally blending words, you’ll know they are ready to read two-letter words.

Read Two Letter Words

Last, start with just two-letter words like am, at, in, it, and on.

All you need is some letter magnets. Just place two on a magnetic surface and show your child how to read “at.’

Once your child can read those regular two-letter words, you can try CVC words.

seven free CVC words worksheets on a brown background. They are screenshot images of worksheets with a red cover that has a white girl and latino boy reading a blue book together.

At what age should a child read CVC words?

Children should read CVC words between 5-6 years old or when they are in kindergarten.

Some children with very strong phonemic awareness might pick up CVC words at four or when they are in PreKindergarten.

But most children need frequent and clear teaching to learn to read CVC words.

If your 6-7 year old is struggling with CVC words, dedicate a few weeks to frequent and deliberate practice. Some schools use a balanced literacy approach that lacks systematic phonics instruction.

After that, it’s time to request an evaluation for a reading disability at school or find an educational psychologist for an evaluation.

And now for the CVC worksheets:

a white CVC cut and paste worksheet on a red construction paper background. There are seven little squares already cut out and scissors, a glue sticker, and a green and orange crayon.

CVC Words Cut and Paste

These CVC Words Cut and Paste Worksheets build scissor skills and reading at the same time!

How to use the CVC Words Cut and Paste Worksheets:

  1. Explain the instructions to your child.
  2. Sit with your child while they read the first CVC word.
  3. Help your child locate the picture that matches each word.
  4. Show your child how to cut the whole strip of pictures off in a horizontal line across the bottom.
  5. Then show your child how to cut off the other three sides to create a clean rectangle of 8 squares.
  6. Your child can then cut apart the squares completely on the dotted lines.
  7. Now your child can glue the picture for the first CVC word in the correct spot.
  8. Repeat with reading and locating the remaining 7 pictures.

When your child is ready to be more independent:

  1. Start by helping your child name each picture first.
  2. Use the answer key as needed.
  3. Instruct your child to read and glue independently.
  4. Give feedback in a neutral way if you find mistakes. Just say, “Let’s read this word.”

Grab these CVC Cut and Paste Worksheets in the Printable Parents Shop. You can also find them on Teachers Pay Teachers.

on a brown table, three CVC word cards sit next to a bucket of colorful plastic letter beads. The beads are one the cards and read bib, cob, and web.

CVC Hands-on Mats

The CVC Worksheets Hands-on Mats are perfect for young learners. If your child can’t write the letters yet, there’s no problem.  You just need some alphabet manipulatives.

How to use CVC Hands-on Mats:

  1. There are four to a page. Just print 1-2 pages at a time.
  2. Print on cardstock for durability.
  3. Laminate if desired.
  4. Grab some alphabet beads or alphabet magnets.
  5. Show your child how to say the picture name.
  6. Tap the three sounds in the CVC word.
  7. Have your child name each sound and choose the correct letters.
  8. Read the word your child built.

You can also use these CVC Word Mats as a more traditional worksheet:

  1. Place inside a dry-erase pouch.
  2. Use a dry erase marker to write in the letters.

Check out the CVC Hands-on Mats in the Printable Parents’ Shop or find it on Teachers Pay Teachers.

on a white background two white worksheets - one is an answer key. reads I can read and spell CVC words. There is clipart and spaces to write the words.

CVC Word Mapping Worksheets

You can help your child learn to read much faster with the CVC Word Mapping Worksheets. 

Your child will hear the words first and then write the letters to spell the sound. Connecting sounds to letters is a shortcut to learning to read.

Using the CVC Word Mapping Worksheets:

  1. Say the name of the picture for your child: “Lab.”
  2. Your child taps the dots to segment the sounds: “/l/ /a/ /b/”
  3. The child maps the letters one in each box: l a b
  4. Last your child writes the word.

Grab the CVC Word Mapping Worksheets here. Or they are also on Teachers Pay Teachers.

cvc word ladder worksheet with blue crayola marker

CVC Word Ladder Worksheets

The CVC Word Ladder Worksheets help your child develop phonemic awareness skills.

Your child listens as you say each picture name. They hear the one sound that differs and change the letter to spell that sound.

Using CVC Word Ladder Worksheets

In the worksheet pictured, you would say:

  • The first picture is log. Tap the sounds in log. /l/ /o/ /g/.
  • Now map the sounds that spell log.
  • Write log on the lines.
  • Now we’re changing the first sound. The next picture is dog.
  • Tap the sounds you hear in dog.
  • Now map the sounds that spell dog.
  • Write dog on the lines.
  • Now we’re going to change the middle sound from dog to dig.

You continue all the way until your child writes the word bin. So your child changes the word log to bin!

Grab the CVC Word Ladder Worksheets or find them on Teachers Pay Teachers.

a white dab and dot CVC worksheet on a piece of blue construction paper with a red, green, and blue Do a Dot markers.

Dot the CVC Word Worksheets

These Dot the CVC Word Worksheets are perfect if your child:

  • Guesses instead of reading each letter
  • Loves dot marker or bingo daubers

Using the Dot the CVC Word Worksheets

  1. Show your child the visual directions to look at the picture, read each word, and dot the correct word.
  2. If your child tends to rush or guess, side beside them and listen to them read each word.
  3. Give your child a dot marker and let them read!

Grab the Dot the CVC Word Worksheets in the Printable Parents’ Shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Color by CVC Worksheet Halloween bats with a mapping CVC words worksheet with pumpkins. Orange and green crayons on white background.

CVC Color by Number Worksheets

Do you remember color by number from when you were a kid? Instead of following a number code, your child colors according to CVC Words.

Using CVC Color By Number Worksheets

  1. Start by helping your child color the crayons the correct colors.
  2. Then help your child identify each picture.
  3. Explain your child will read the CVC words and color it following the code.
  4. If desired, used the CVC mapping worksheet that accompanies each worksheet. Like the Word Mapping worksheets above, this helps your child learn to read fast.

These CVC Color by Number Worksheets are available:

Grab the CVC Worksheets

Conclusion

You don’t have to have a Master’s degree in Education to teach your child the CVC words. You just need a little knowledge and some fun worksheets.

These CVC Worksheets are backed by brain science to make learning to read more efficient and effective for your child. Grab them today and get working with your little one!

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