FREE Printable Acorn Long and Short Vowels – Phonics Game for Kids

These cute fall puzzles will help your child practice reading short vowel words and long vowel words that have the magic e. You can use this Long and Short Vowel Game all together to practice sorting between long and short vowels, or simply use the short vowel puzzles with pre-k and kindergarten students and then when your first graders are ready for work on bossy e words.

Long and Short Vowels

Listening to a child read is much more than them getting practice. It can help give us an insight into where they are as readers. If you notice that you are constantly having to help with a certain sound or syllable type, this is a clue of where we could focus a lesson. As my daughter was reading a story the other day, I noticed that I was having to help her with her magic e or bossy e words. Even though this is a skill that we have worked on numerous times, it has been a while since we reviewed it.  Being that is the fall season, I decided it was time for a long and short vowel activity with cute acorn puzzles. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – this phonics practice with both long vowels and short vowels is a great way to reinforce the concept and allow students to improve reading and spelling. This magic e activity is perfect for kindergartners and grade 1 students alike.

Vowels printable

Start by scrolling to the bottom of the post, under the terms of use, and click on the text link that says >> _____ <<. The timeline printable file will open in a new window for you to save the freebie template.

Long and Short Vowel Game

This activity requires a little prep work but can be used over and over.

• First, print off the acorns on card stock paper.
• Next, cut them out.
• Finally, you can laminate them for extra durability.

long and short vowel activity

There are many ways that you could use these, and most depend on where your child or children are in reading and maturity

First, you could simply hand your little one the cutout pieces and let them find the match. I would only recommend this if they are very familiar with the bossy e or magic e rule. Also, this may overwhelm some students, so only do this if they are capable of multi-step tasks and sustaining focus.

• Short Vowel Words – cab, can, fan, van, bed, ten, vet, pet, mud, rug, sun, bug, fix, six, sit, win, top, jog, fox, hop
• Long Vowel Words – ace, game, crate, cake, bike, five, slide, kite, robe, rose, hose, stove, dune, mule, mute, tube

Secondly, lay out all the words in a straight line, and then spread the pictures out above them. This is how my daughter and I did this activity. She knows these rules, and just needed a refresh, but multi-steps can be a little challenging some days. With this level, she simply started at the end of the table, read the first word, looked for the picture, added the picture, and then moved on to the next word.

Long vowels and short vowels

Finally, if this is a new skill, I would recommend choosing 10 words out of the pile. Have five of them be short vowel words and the other five long vowel words. Once again spread out the words in a line. Then sit with your little one and have them read them to you. I would also suggest reviewing the rules as they read them.

• Does the word make a short vowel or long vowel sound
• Why does this word make a short sound? (It is a closed syllabe word. There is a consonant after the vowel.
• Why does this vowel make a long vowel sound? (It is a magic e syllable. The e at the end of the word makes the vowel say its name.)

magic e activity

Simple little practices like this are a great way to review or work on new skills. It allows our little ones to practice reading these words in a fun way, and focus just on the rules we want to master. I hlpe you enjoy these short vs long vowel puzzles as much as my little one did.