Short A CVC Words

Free printable short a phonics worksheets. Four practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, and rapid naming chart.

Grade: K Phase 1: Foundations Pattern: CVC with short a
cat bat hat mat sat tap cap nap map van can ran

1 Decodable Reading Passage

A short, decodable story embedding short a words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.

The Cat and the Map
Skill: Short A  •  Sight Words: the, is, a, and, to, was
Sam had a fat cat. The cat ran and hid in a bag. Sam was sad. He ran to the van and got a map. Sam set jam and ham on a mat by the fan. The cat ran to the mat and sat! Dad had a hat and a cap. He sat and had jam with Sam and the fat cat. The cat had a nap on the mat. Sam gave the cat a pat. "You can not run off," said Sam. And the cat did not. He sat on the mat and had a nap with Dad.
Circle or highlight all the short A words in the story above. How many did you find?
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2 Word Sort

Cut out the word cards and sort them into the correct columns: Real Words vs Nonsense Words.

Real Words
Nonsense Words
cat
bat
hat
mat
sat
tap
cap
nap
map
van
zat
bap
han
nal
dap
tat
fam
rab
vad
gat
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3 Phrasing Practice Cards

Practice reading these phrases for fluency. Cut out the cards and read them quickly and smoothly.

the fat cat
sat on a mat
had a map
ran to the van
a hat and a cap
dad had jam
nap on the mat
sat in a bag
Sam and his cat
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4 RAN Chart (Rapid Naming)

Read each word in the grid as quickly as you can. Time yourself and try to beat your best time!

Decodable RAN Chart — Short A
sat
sat
hat
cat
cat
hat
sat
bat
bat
cat
cat
mat
mat
bat
hat
mat
Target words: cat, bat, hat, mat, sat
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Free Printable Short A CVC Words

Short A CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words are typically one of the first phonics patterns children learn in kindergarten. Words like cat, bat, hat, and mat follow a simple and predictable pattern that helps beginning readers understand how letters map to sounds. These free short A worksheets provide four types of practice: a decodable reading passage that embeds target words in a simple story, a word sort activity that builds phonemic awareness by distinguishing real words from nonsense words, phrasing practice cards for building reading fluency, and a RAN (Rapid Automaticity Naming) chart for speed and automaticity drills.

For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.