Book Introductions on Video: Playful Pals by Nora Gaydos

I've created book introductions for all ten phonics stories in my favorite phonics series for learning short vowel sounds. The phonics books are in a set called Playful Pals by Nora Gaydos. I don't show or read the inside of the books since the books are copyrighted.

Here's the video of book introductions for Playful Pals.

Book Introductions on Video: Playful Pals by Nora Gaydos

Short Vowel Sounds

Readers need to correctly hear and make short vowel sounds. Teach short vowel sounds early. Many readers I've worked with who struggle with reading at the end of first grade have problems with short vowel sounds. I'm currently tutoring a third grader who makes the short a sound when she tries to make the short e sound. There are confusions with the other short vowels at times too. 

So, teach short vowel sounds early. Check if a struggling reader needs to learn short vowel sounds and teach them. I've seen huge improvements in most children I've tutored with reading once they learned vowel sounds.

My research and experience indicates some value to focusing on short vowel word reading first. Most children benefit from over learning the short vowel sounds first through practice, reading, and writing. Many early phonics books start with short vowel words.

I think many children learn best when they are taught a few things at a time and given the opportunity to practice until it becomes automatic.

Nora Gaydos has written my favorite phonics books for early readers.

I do recommend having a child practice reading with short vowel words first, but it's good to throw in a few easy long vowel words to introduce the sounds. (no, go, he, me, we, I)


Here's some advice:

1. Wait to tell a child he or she made a mistake until he or she has finished a sentence or two. Then say, "Something didn't sound quite right. That sounded confusing." Engage the child in the story, look at the pictures, talk about what has already happened, ask a child to make a guess about something that might happen. You can take the opportunity to get a child thinking about what's happening to help, or you could just ask a child to read the page again. The goal is to have a child stop and fix his or her reading when it doesn't sound right or make sense. Follow a child's lead. Try not to frustrate or bore a child with too much talk.
2. Give a child help with words if the child asks. Read part or all of a book if a child is struggling. Let the child read the book after he or she has listened to it a few times.
3. A child practices sounding out and thinking while reading every time a book is read. Think of re-reading a book like a sports drill. Practice makes perfect. A child can and should read a good beginning reader book five or more times. Encourage a child to read early reader books many times.
4. Don't make a child struggle through a book that the child can't read more than one in ten words. Find easier books or read the books a few times out loud to a child before asking the child to read.

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Short Vowel Sounds

Teach Short Vowel Sounds with Free Online Books From Starfall

Learning short vowel sounds is an important step for beginning readers.

The most common patterns with short vowel sounds are CVC and VC.

The V stands for vowel and the C stands for consonant.

Starfall has free access to some books with animation and sound. If you move the mouse over the pictures you'll find spots to click. There will be an action that will help keep a child interested in reading the stories over and over. There are five books that focus on short vowel sounds. The free online versions allows a reader to click on a word for help if needed.

Here's one of the books I ordered from Starfall.

CVC: Zac, rat

VC: is

CVC: Zac, sat, can

VC: on

CVC: ran, jam

VC: ants

You can purchase a boxed set with Zac the Rat. The set includes 15 books.

You can find this set with short vowel sounds and some high frequency words in Starfall's online store.


My favorite resource books to teach phonic skills to children are Phonic Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling and Phonic Pathways: Simple Exercises to Improve Reading Fluency. I've used them with my own children and students I tutor from my home.

Here are some pages from Phonic Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling that teach short vowel sounds.

I copied this page onto heavy paper to make a bookmark. This is a great tool to help readers remember short vowel sounds. (a - ant, e - exercise, i - itch, o - octopus, u - umbrella)

I like how a reader is taught to blend from beginning to end. Teaching a reader to blend to the vowel instead of stopping after the first consonant sound is called body-coda blending. The hyphen between letters in this book indicate a reader pause.

Phonics Pathways Boosters includes a 35 minute CD to demonstrate the individual sounds letters and letter groups make. It is sometime difficult even for adults to hear and make separate sounds in words.

Teach Short Vowel Sounds with Free Online Books From Starfall

Magnetic Letters Can Help a Child Learn to Read and Spell Early

A child can read and spell simple words with magnetic letters . I gave my own children access to magnetic letters before they could write letters. We had so much fun, and they felt so smart.

Start slow with fun words. We were able to connect sounds to letters. It is important for children to hear and make sounds for letters and groups of letters. It felt more like play than teaching and learning. We didn't have to use terms like short vowel and long vowel. My children started to see patterns of the English language in a natural way.

no, go
mom, dad
me, he, she
dog, cat
moo, boo
moo, moon
boo, boom

Play with these words. Model making the sounds for the letters as you make words. Have the child make the sounds for letters as he/she makes words.
After a child knows these words well. Try mixing up the letters for two or three words and have only those letters available on a table, floor, or magnetic surface. Example: n, g, o, o, e, m  Ask the child to make the words: no, go, and me.  Another example: n, g, d, o, o, o, g  Ask the child to make the words: no, go, and dog.

When working with a very young child explain rules only if the child asks. This allows children to discover patterns for themselves. If the child starts to ask he/she is ready for the information you will give.

Here are some of the rules and patterns a child may learn from these words:
A vowel at the end of a word will make a long sound or say its own name.
A vowel trapped between two consonants will make a special short sound.
Sometimes two letters work together to make a new sound. (sh and oo)

Magnetic Letters Can Help a Child Learn to Read and Spell Early

Teaching Short Vowel Sounds

Show the importance of vowel sounds by showing how one vowel change will make a new word. Write or make the first word with magnetic letters. The adult or teacher will separate the sounds and then blend the sounds together. (h - i - t, hit) Say the vowel sound. (i, i, i) Have the child or student say the vowel sound, separate the sounds, and blend the sounds with you a few times and point to the letters as sounds are made. Keep the first word visible and do the same with the second word. (h - a - t, hat) (a,a,a) Ask the child or student which letter is different in the words hit and hat? Ask the child to point to each vowel and make the sounds. If the child cannot, the adult or teacher should say the sound and have the child or student repeat the sound while pointing to the letter.

(i, a)    hit, hat     sit, sat      lap, lip      him, ham

(a, o)  hat, hot     black, block      sack, sock

(a, e)  man, men    bat, bet

(a, u)  cap, cup     ran, run     fan, fun

(i, o)   hit, hot     ship, shop     lost, list

(i, e)   big, beg     sit, set     spell, spill

(i, u)  dig, dug     hit, hut     stiff, stuff     punch, pinch

(o, e)  net, not     pet, pot     blond, blend     loss, less

(o, u)  hog, hug     rob, rub     lock, luck

(u, e)  duck, deck     hum, hem     nut, net     flush, flesh

Practice one or two groups of words a day and watch short vowel sound knowledge increase.

Teaching Short Vowel Sounds