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PSPKK12325 Comments

Sorting mats for short and long vowels

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Today I’m shorting a set of free sorting mats! They’re perfect for helping kids learn the sounds of short and long vowels.

vowel-sorting-mats

Have you seen our popular consonant sound sorting mats?  I use those to review beginning sounds. When I created the set, I didn’t include vowels because there are very few words that start with vowels… at least, very few words that can be represented with pictures.

But due to popular demand, I’m now sharing a set of mats that will help your students distinguish between short and long vowels. These mats will help them listen to the vowel sounds within the words.

short and long vowel mats 1

The set includes ten mats and a set of nine pictures for each one.

I started by having my Four do an easy sort: he sorted pictures for short a and short o. He already knew the sounds of these letters, but if your child needs help you can put down the first picture for each mat as a clue.

short-and-long-vowel-mats-2

We moved on with a harder sort: short e and short i. Those sounds are always harder to distinguish.

short-and-long-vowel-mats-3

He needed a fair amount of help with this sort.

short-and-long-vowel-mats-4

Finally, I had my Four sort short i and long i. You can see that he put the “nine” on the short i mat. I had him say the word “chick” and listen to hear if “nine” had the same sound.

To make the activity more challenging, give your child more than two mats at a time. Maybe your child is ready to sort pictures for all five short or long vowels.

There are so many possibilities with this set! I hope you get a lot of use out of them!

To prepare:

    • Print the mats and cards. Laminate for durability. (We love this laminator!)
    • If desired, put clear Velcro dots on the backs of the cards and on the mats. If you’re going to get a lot of use out of the mats, I think it’s worth the expense. Kids love them!
    • Store the mats and cards in a gallon plastic bag.

Enjoy!

Check out our other sets of free sorting mats!

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Filed Under: Letter sounds, Alphabet, Reading Tagged With: first grade, kindergarten, short vowels, long vowels

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Reader Interactions

25 Comments

  1. Angela Sullivan

    December 17, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    These are so helpful for my students elementary school with special needs who are still learning early phonics skills. They love them! Thanks for sharing these for free with us!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      December 27, 2018 at 8:16 am

      You’re very welcome, Angela!

      Reply to this comment
  2. Deci

    September 14, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    Hi Anna,

    Thank u so much for sharing this method n give the resources for free.
    I was thinking of making this kind of material for teaching my k1 studends, but i cant draw the pictures…..
    I know God knows my difficulties and He let me found u.

    Bless u . Thanks again.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      September 27, 2017 at 1:09 pm

      I’m so glad He helped you find my site, Deci!

      Reply to this comment
  3. Susan Mann

    June 2, 2017 at 2:27 pm

    Thank you, this will be a great resource for my EIP firsties at BOY.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      June 7, 2017 at 7:28 am

      You’re very welcome, Susan!

      Reply to this comment
  4. Pat

    February 26, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    I LOVE your sorting mats for vowels. I really needed these for my tutoring kiddos.
    Thanks so much!
    Pat Allen

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      February 27, 2017 at 9:34 am

      Yay – so glad you can use these, Pat!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Annalise Schickowski

    November 3, 2016 at 10:00 am

    I love these, and so do my kids! I was curious if you have anything like these mats for letter blends? I thought i saw it before, butcan’t seem to find it.
    Thank you in advance and for all the great resources you share!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      November 4, 2016 at 9:16 am

      No, not yet – but I will file that away for a future project!

      Reply to this comment
  6. Janine

    October 17, 2016 at 9:24 pm

    Thank you so much Anna. These are just what I need for some of my students.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 21, 2016 at 11:14 am

      Yay! So glad you can use these, Janine!

      Reply to this comment
  7. Jeanna

    October 10, 2016 at 7:21 am

    Thank you so much for all your high quality, easy-to-prep, free (everyone loves FREE!) activities!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 14, 2016 at 9:34 am

      You’re very welcome, Jeanna! :))

      Reply to this comment
  8. Elena

    October 3, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Thanks a lot. It’s marvelous and useful for my kids.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 3, 2016 at 7:56 pm

      I’m so glad you like them, Elena!

      Reply to this comment
  9. Homeschoolingmommie

    October 3, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    Love these! Thank you

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 3, 2016 at 7:55 pm

      I hope you get a chance to use them!

      Reply to this comment
  10. NIRVA Vernet

    October 3, 2016 at 11:01 am

    Thank you! Only a teacher can know what an other needs for students to learn.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 3, 2016 at 7:55 pm

      You’re very welcome, Nirva! 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  11. Amanda

    October 2, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    Thank you so much! This is a great resource to use in small groups!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 3, 2016 at 7:55 pm

      I hope you get a chance to use them, Amanda!

      Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Consonant sounds sorting mats - The Measured Mom says:
    September 19, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    […] P.S. If you’re looking for some great short vowel activities, check out This Reading Mama’s short vowel pack. It’s amazing! Also grab our short and long vowel sorting mats. […]

    Reply to this comment
  2. Long Vowels – The Way Mothers Are says:
    July 28, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    […] can use this Long and Short Vowel Sorting Activity from The Measured […]

    Reply to this comment
  3. FREE Vowel Sorting Mats | Free Homeschool Deals © says:
    October 12, 2016 at 11:01 pm

    […] These FREE Vowel Sorting Mats are just what your child needs to learn about vowels. Use them to play games and learn! […]

    Reply to this comment

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