1 Decodable Reading Passage
A short, decodable story embedding short a words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.
Max's Hiding Cat
Max had a pet cat. He ran to play with his cat. The cat was on the mat. No, the cat was under the mat! Max could not get the cat. He had to get the cat fast.
Max said, "My cat is under the mat!"
He had to get the cat. Max must pull the mat. He gave the mat a tug. He did tug, tug, tug on the mat. Then Max bent down. He had to get the cat fast. Max’s dad would call him. Dad would tell him, “Nap time!”
Max had the cat! Dad said, "Max, nap time!"
Max ran to his bed. He had his cat. Max had a nap.
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
bat
hat
cat
hat
bat
mat
hat
sat
bat
cat
cat
sat
sat
mat
mat
cat
Target words: cat, bat, hat, mat, sat
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📖 Decodable Readers
Printable mini-books for Short A practice. Each reader includes a story + coloring page illustration.
