ShortVowelWords

Free printable teaching resources

Short Vowel Picture Cards

Small words. Big discoveries.

Download 60 illustrated short vowel cards: 12 words each for short a, e, i, o and u. Choose picture-only images for listening and spelling, or picture-and-word cards for reading and matching.

Download 60 PNG cards + pictures US Letter: Picture + Word PDF A4: Picture + Word PDF US Letter: Picture Only PDF A4: Picture Only PDF

Best for beginning CVC practice with adult support. Color artwork, white backgrounds, lowercase words and highlighted middle vowels. Each PDF includes instructions, ten card sheets and a picture-name reference. Print at 100% and cut along the card borders.

Listen & sort

Introduce each picture name. Say the word and listen for its middle sound. Begin with two vowel groups before adding the others.

Read & match

Read a word before finding its picture. Cover pictures when checking independent decoding.

Say & spell

Name a picture, say its sounds, then build or write the word. Supply the picture name when needed.

Short A Picture Cards

Download these 12 cards · Hear short a words

Short E Picture Cards

Download these 12 cards · Hear short e words

Short I Picture Cards

Download these 12 cards · Hear short i words

Short O Picture Cards

Download these 12 cards · Hear short o words

Short U Picture Cards

Download these 12 cards · Hear short u words

Picture names & adult support

Some pictures can have several names. Introduce the intended words before using these cards: pin is a safety pin, peg is a clothespin, and rod is a fishing rod. Fin, lip, rib, vet, ten, hop and nod benefit from an adult naming cue. Introduce pet/pup and cup/mug explicitly. Fox has four sounds because x spells /k/ and /s/. Use a consistent regional pronunciation for short o.

These resources are for learning and practice, rather than a test of picture guessing. Pair them with our Short Vowel Word Builder and Vowel Sorting Game.

Home & classroom use

You may print and reuse these cards for your own home or classroom. Please link to ShortVowelWords.com rather than reselling or redistributing the files. Original AI-generated illustrations were prepared and reviewed for this collection.