Not sure how to write a lesson plan to teach CVC words and teach it in just 15-20 minutes? I am going to walk you through a step-by-step guide of my phonics lessons from start to finish with a simple CVC words lesson plan. You can also grab the FREE sample lesson plan (plus activity!) at the end of this post.
CVC Words Lesson Plan Intro: Song
The best way to start a phonics lesson? Play a song! It's a great way to hook your learners from the very start to your lesson. Once you start using a song as an introduction, you will find that soon you are looking for songs for all your subjects and lessons!
Just push “play” and let your students watch, sing along, or even dance to the song!
Find a CVC Words playlist on YouTube here.
CVC Words Lesson Plan: Whole Group Activity
Once you play your song to practice CVC words, then you can start the lesson. First I go over the objective of the day: “We will blend CVC words fluently” and explain to my students that we are going to be doing a fun game to practice reading CVC words quickly and accurately.
For this lesson, we will play a version of the party game “Hot Potato”. I love using party games in the classroom, because they are easy to play and usually don't require a lot of effort, but the students love them!
To play hot potato, grab a basket and some CVC flashcards (you could make your own or use the printable activity at the end of this post). Put all the cards face down in the basket. Have students pass around the basket while you play some music. Once the music stops, whoever is holding the basket will pick a flashcard out and read it. Continue playing until most of your students get a turn or you run out of time.
Differentiation Ideas
In your class, all your students will most likely not be able to read fluently. You may also have some students who are reading long vowel words or words with blends already! Here are two ways to differentiate this activity, depending on your students:
Low: Instead of just having one student sound it out at a time, let your whole class sound it out. This way all your students are hearing it blended orally, even if they cannot yet decode a CVC word.
Challenge: Have the student come up with another word that rhymes. For example, they read the word “hat”, they need to think of a word like “cat” or “fat” as well.
Follow Up Activities
For more ideas on follow-up activities, here are a few of my favorites in this blog post below:
Get a Free Sample CVC Words Lesson Plan
Want to try that lesson out in your classroom? Enter your email below to grab this sample lesson plan plus the hot potato activity! Let me know how it goes in your classroom!
Let's Teach CVC Words!
Are you searching for a complete solution to teach phonics effectively? Look no further than these ready-made phonics units! Each unit comprises 25 meticulously crafted lessons, meticulously aligned with the Common Core standards. These lessons feature a diverse range of activities, including the four engaging activities mentioned in this post and much more. Additionally, each unit includes a catchy phonics song and daily phonemic awareness exercises.
With these units, you'll also gain access to comprehensive assessments, 12 interactive center activities, and an array of 80 worksheets—all designed to support your students in achieving fluency in reading CVC words. This resource equips you with everything necessary to empower YOUR students on their journey to becoming proficient readers.
These units are also available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store: Kindergarten or First Grade.
I hope that this post helped you understand how to teach CVC words to your students.