Rhyming games are fun and improve children's phonemic awareness. When teachers are targeting a specific short vowel, they can say a word like "can" then select a student to produce a rhyming word. That student will then select someone, and the game continues until everybody has a chance to say a word. If a student cannot produce a rhyming word, the teacher can help by suggesting a nonsense word like "zan" or "yan."
Young children enjoy hands-on activities especially when they get to work with classmates. The teacher puts the students in groups of three or four. She gives each group a magazine or some grocery store sales papers, scissors, glue and a piece of construction paper. Each team gets 20 minutes to find pictures that either begin or contain a short vowel sound. The team with the most pictures wins, but each team's work can be displayed. The teacher may need to allow more time if the students are having difficulty.
Children will improve their ability to focus as well as reinforce knowledge of short vowel sounds by playing matching games with phonics cards. Teachers may find packs of these cards at educator supply stores, or they can download sets of alphabet cards from resource sites like Sparkle or ABC Teach. Students take turns picking two cards that match. When a student finds a vowel card, he has to say the sound as well as the picture word that is on the card. The student with the most matches is the winner.
This game improves children's listening skills which helps them differentiate sounds in words. The teacher gives clues, and the children guess the word, which will contain a targeted short vowel. For example, when teaching the short "o" sound, the teacher says, "I am an animal with a tail" or "I like to play fetch." Hopefully, the children will say "dog." The teacher then demonstrates how to say the word slowly, emphasizing each sound so the children will hear the short "o" in the word.