Short A Words for Kids: Cat, Hat, Map and More (Kindergarten and Grade 1 English)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Today we are learning the short a sound. Open your mouth wide and say a, a, a. It is the sound you hear at the start of apple. Let's find it in lots of words!

Listen to the word cat. C, a, t. The short a sound is right in the middle. Many short words have a vowel in the middle, with one sound before it and one sound after it.

Let's blend sounds together. Say each sound, then push them together fast. H, a, t makes hat. M, a, p makes map. B, a, g makes bag. You are reading!

Short a words often come in families. Cat, hat, bat and mat all end with a, t. Can, fan, man and pan all end with a, n. Change the first sound to make a new word.

Here are more short a words to try. Jam, ham, cap, nap, van and dad. Point to each word and read it slowly, then read it again a little faster.

Now listen carefully. Not every word has short a. Cat has short a. Dog does not, because dog has an o sound in the middle. Sun does not either. Listen for that wide a sound.

Now it's your turn. Which word has the short a sound: pig, fan or bus? Say each word out loud. Pause and try. The answer is fan. F, a, n has short a in the middle.

Great job! You heard the short a sound in the middle of words, blended sounds to read cat, map and bag, and found word families. Practice short a words in the English Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!