Create flashcards with pictures of simple objects and the word for that object spelled out without the middle vowel. Have students quiz one another by asking what the middle vowel should be. For example, a flashcard with a picture of a cat would have “c_t” written on it. The student would say the word “cat” to determine the sound the missing vowel makes, then explain that the word needs an “a.” Play a game of Go Fish with the flashcards where instead of asking if students have a certain number, players ask if their opponent has a card needing a specific middle vowel sound to make matches with words such as “dog” and “log” or “hat” and “bat.”
Provide students with groups of short words on index cards. Have students look at the words and sound them out to determine the middle vowel sound of each word, then create groups of words that have the same middle vowel sound. Turn the index cards into a different game by mixing the cards up and dealing them out evenly to two students. Each student will lay down one card at the same time. If the words on the cards have the same middle vowel sound, the first student to slap the cards wins the pair.
Starfall (starfall.com), an online reading resource, provides interactive storybooks to help students learn about middle vowel sounds. In the “Learn to Read” section, stories such as “Zac the Rat” and “Gus the Duck” encourage students to listen for specific middle vowel sounds as they go through the online story. Each word in the story is clickable so students will be able to hear the middle vowel sounds clearly. Teachers and parents may subscribe to the website to give students access to games from Starfall, such as “Word Machines” that help them practice identifying middle vowel sounds.
Educational publisher, Scholastic, offers a wealth of online games and activities for students, including games and interactive storybooks featuring Clifford the Big Red Dog. The “Make a Word” game requires students to place the appropriate vowel in the middle of a word so it will be pronounced correctly. With the “Concentration” game, students must identify objects with the same middle sound, clicking on two cards at a time to see whether they are a match.