10 CVC Word Games to Play in Kindergarten and First Grade Plus a Free CVC Center Activity!

Fun CVC Word Games for the Classroom

CVC word games are the perfect way to practice CVC words in kindergarten and first grade. Let me show you some fun ways to have students practice new words while having a great time.

You will also find a free download for CVC words at the end of this blog post.

What are CVC words?

CVC words are some of the first words kindergarten students learn to blend. These are some of the simplest words they encounter was they learn to read. The “C” parts of the word stands for consonant. The “V” part of the words stands for the vowel sounds.

When should you begin to teach CVC words?

In your kindergarten classroom, your new readers should begin blending sounds as soon as they have learned 4-6 sounds. Sight words like, “at, am, an” would be part of your daily phonemic awareness lessons. As students learn more sounds, they can add those initial sounds to word chucks and read: hat, cat, ham, can… and so forth.

Experts agree that it is a great idea to teach your sight words as part of your phonics and phonemic awareness instruction. I will add a few links towards the end of this blog post so you can read more.

CVC word games are the perfect way to practice CVC words in kindergarten and first grade. Here are ten of my favorite CVC games that can be used in literacy centers or as a small group activity.

How can I make CVC words fun?

The best way to make CVC word master fun is by playing an engaging game! (You knew I was going to say that!)

What are some easy CVC games I can play in the classroom?

Memory CVC Word Game

This predictable game is available in multiple different themes so you can easily use these CVC word cards throughout the school year. I love telling students that there is a “new game” in our literacy centers when in fact it is exactly the same! Predictable center activities are a life-saver!

Another amazing thing about this set of cards is your students can play more than one card game. These short vowel words have a few play options.

The bundle includes 20 different themes! Check it out here:

CVC Word Game Bundle

Race to Build a CVC Word

This fun and interactive game helps get your students engaged in CVC word practice! Students spin the spinner and race to write the individual phonemes for each CVC picture on their game card. You can also use magnetic letters or simple letter tiles. This game is perfect for practicing phoneme isolation!

The top spinner provides the beginning sound. The middle sound provides the vowel sounds. The spinner at the bottom is for the last sounds. These boards are designed so there won’t be any fake words. You can see the examples of CVC words this particular board can create. Young readers also like the different ways they can build simple words. Using manipulatives for the individual sounds of the CVC word really helps make this a true hands-on game!

This CVC game is included in a bundle of race games where students practice a variety of ELA skills – beginning sounds, blends, digraphs, CVC, and CVCe words. Click on this link:

Kindergarten Phonics Race Games

CVC Gameboard Word Game

Science of Reading board games are a great way for students to practice blending sounds and decoding real words and nonsense words all while having fun with classmates. These engaging activities are non-seasonal and can be used throughout the year.

I love this Class Pet theme! It makes me miss my class guinea pig, Theodora. I had to rehome her when our school district said we could no longer have class pets with dander. She crossed the rainbow bridge soon after. Don’t mind me while I go ugly cry.

As you can see, this game has players moving forward and back on the game board. The first player to make it to the hamster wheel is the winner. After the end of the game, they just start again!

You can find this fun CVC word game by clicking this link:

Class Pet CVC Board Game

Here are some additional themes that include CVC word cards:

CVC Clean Sweep Board Game

Students practice blending letter sounds in this short vowel CVC word game. Gather some playing pieces and let students play this fun game.

You can play a specific short vowel word family game or use a version that is a review ofall the word families. As you can see, the first sounds are already printed on this game board. Students just need to add the ending sound or sounds.

There are 5 CVC board games in this set:

Literacy Board Games CVC Words

Bingo CVC Word Game

These BINGO games are perfect for intervention time or as a small-group warm-up activity. Students work on their blending skills with onset and rime practice. Each student in the group gets a game board (printable color sheet) and colors their picture as the CVC word card is read.

CVC Domino Activity

This domino game provides lots of practice with finding the middle sounds of the CVC words.

The CVC set of domino cards is in the November set, along with CVCe words. You can find it here:

Domino Games | Math and Literacy Center for November

BUMP! CVC Word Game

Bump games are a whole class favorite! I introduce Bump games at the beginning of the year and switch out the skills and themes for year-long fun. I like to teach it together on the rug and use a friend to help show the class how the game works. You really only need to show students once to get them excited and they are ready to be sent into stations to play with a partner. Students have so much fun learning and practicing various phonics skills throughout the year.

The above CVC game is included in this set of Math and Literacy Bump Games:

Bump Games Math and Literacy Set

CVC Hide and Seek Word Game

I sort of LOVE this pocket chart game! It really works best as a whole group activity. This game can be played any time during your day. It is especially great when you have just a few minutes here or there between activities and you don’t want your classroom to get chaotic. The objective is to find the special cards hidden behind the game cards.

So for this CVC game, a student would come up and point to card, read the cvc word, and then pull out the game card to see if they reveal a special card.

Young children get SO EXCITED! You can even add a sound effect when students find the hidden picture.

Typically students write the words as with their dry erase markers on their lap desks as we are reading words (or the pictures.)

Check out the bundle for an entire set of pocket chart games for the year.

Hide and Seek Games for Math and Literacy

Spin and Find CVC Word Game

Games 9 and 10 are digital CVC word activities. Practicing CVC words in a different way such as using technology can keep students engaged. This set of printable and digital activities comes with 21 books to practice CVC word families. There is a short video included for each word family that guides students in completing their own book.

Check out this interactive way of practicing CVC words:

CVC Word Library

Digital Learning Boom CVC Word Activity

Boom Cards are super fun for students! They can be played on interactive whiteboards or on individual devices.

You do need a Boom Learning free account but your students do not need to have Boom Learning accounts to play Boom decks. You can share a “Fast Play” link with them through Google Classroom or Seesaw.

Boom cards are self-correcting so it is a helpful way to give immediate feedback to students as they practice CVC words.

To learn more about Boom Cards in the classroom, check out this blog post:

Boom Cards for Kindergarten

Kindergarten and first grade students need lots of practice with engaging, fun activities to master the skill of blending and building CVC words. I hope you can use some of these fun ideas in your classroom!

CVC Word Free Printable File

As students master CVC words we can find lots of ways to help them practice in a fun way that don’t involve CVC word flashcards. With this free CVC printable file, students will match the CVC pictures each fo the simple sentences! EASY!

Here is a set of free decodable sentences that feature CVC words. Simply add your email to the box below and you will get this file sent to your inbox.

These CVC decodable sentences are great for centers! Add your name and email address to the box below to snag this free sample. Check out more of these center activities here:

Science of Reading Decodable Sentences

Want to learn more about phonics in the classroom?

Here are few other blog posts you may be interested in:

Pin for Later

English Language Arts – ELA, Literacy Centers, phonics, Centers, Blog Post

Deedee Wills

My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!