English · Kindergarten–Grade 2
Free phonics worksheets
Eight phonics sheets for K to grade 2: word families (-at, -an, -ig, -op, -ug, -en), a sh/ch/th/wh digraph sort, a short or long vowel sort, circle sh or ch, color the correct CVC word, missing vowels and 24 beginning sounds.
Phonics: circle sh or ch for each picture
Circle the correct digraph, sh or ch, under nine pictures: chicken, shark, cheese, chalk, chair, shell, shoe, chain and ship.
Phonics: color the word for car, sun, cat, pen, jam, six
Look at six pictures (car, sun, cat, pen, jam jar, number 6) and color the correct CVC word from a pair such as cat/car or pin/pen.
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Phonics: color the word for hot, net, dog, bed, cot, saw
Look at six pictures (steaming cup, net, dog, bed, cot, saw) and color the matching short-vowel word from pairs such as hot/hat.
Phonics: write the missing vowel in 12 words
Write the missing vowel to finish twelve picture words: fish, dog, sun, egg, van, ten, duck, frog, grass, rain, chick and tulip.
Phonics: circle the beginning sound, 24 pictures
Circle the correct first letter from three choices for 24 small pictures, including candy, donut, car, bicycle, bus, cat, ball, apple and book.
Word families: -at, -an, -ig, -op, -ug, -en
Six word-family boxes: add the beginning sound to the ending (c + at = cat) and write 36 CVC words, then read them aloud. Answer key on page 2. Free printable PDF.
Digraph sort: sh, ch, th and wh
Twenty-four words in a word bank to sort into sh, ch, th and wh columns (ship, chin, moth, whale ...). Answer key on page 2. Free printable PDF.
Short or long vowel? Sort a, i and o words
Twenty-four words to sort into short a / long a, short i / long i and short o / long o (cat, cake, pin, pine, hop, hope ...). Answer key on page 2. Free printable PDF.
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These eight phonics worksheets move between whole words and single sounds. The first is a digraph sheet: circle sh or ch under nine pictures (chicken, shark, cheese, chalk, chair, shell, shoe, chain and ship). The second and third are color-the-word sheets. Each shows six pictures with a pair of CVC words underneath, such as cat/car or hot/hat, and the child colors the word that matches the picture: car, sun, cat, pen, jam and six on one sheet, and hot, net, dog, bed, cot and saw on the other. The fourth asks for the missing vowel in twelve picture words, from fish, dog and sun to grass, rain, chick and tulip. The fifth is a beginning sounds sheet with 24 small pictures, each with three letter choices to circle.
Together the set covers the decoding steps early readers need: hearing the first sound in a word, choosing the short vowel in the middle, and recognizing that sh and ch are two letters making one sound.
Three more sheets (added 2026)
- Word families. Six boxes (-at, -an, -ig, -op, -ug, -en): add the beginning sound to the ending and write 36 CVC words.
- Digraph sort. Twenty-four words to sort into sh, ch, th and wh columns.
- Short or long vowel? Twenty-four words to sort into short a / long a, short i / long i, short o / long o.
What Students Will Practice
- Hearing and spelling the sh and ch digraphs in nine picture words, including near pairs like chair and shark
- Reading two similar CVC words and choosing the one that matches the picture, for example pin or pen
- Identifying the short vowel sound in the middle of a word and writing the missing letter (f_sh, d_g, s_n)
- Isolating the first sound of a word and matching it to a letter, across 24 pictures such as ball, apple, donut and bus
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Flashcard makerVocabulary, math fact or sight word cards, 2-8 a page, two-sided or fold-over. Free to print.
Word wall cards makerDolch, Fry or your own words as big-print cards, colour-coded, with A-Z headers. Free to print.
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Complete pack · $1.99
All 8 sheets above, plus 5 bonus sheets you will not find on this page
8 free sheets + 5 bonus sheets in one print-ready PDF with a contents page. Instant, no ads, no account; the link is emailed to you so it works on any device. The 8 sheets above stay free.
- BonusRead and write: short a and short i words
- BonusRead and write: short e and short o words
- BonusCVC picture and word cards, set 2
- BonusShort or long? Sort a and e words
- BonusShort or long? Sort i, o and u words
One-time payment of $1.99. Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. For home and classroom use.
- Bonus
Read and write: short a and short i words - Bonus
Read and write: short e and short o words - Bonus
CVC picture and word cards, set 2 - Bonus
Short or long? Sort a and e words - Bonus
Short or long? Sort i, o and u words
How to use these worksheets
Print at 100% on A4 or US Letter so the small pictures stay clear. Three sheets carry an answer key on page 2: word families, the sh, ch, th and wh sort, and the short or long vowel sort, so print page 1 alone if you would rather the child not see it. The five picture sheets have no key, so have every answer read aloud.
- Circle sh or ch. Say each of the nine picture words slowly and stretch the first sound: shhhark, chhhicken. The near pairs, chair and shark, shell and cheese, are where children guess, so do those four together.
- Color the word, car and sun set. Cover the picture, read both words, then uncover and check. Looking first skips the decoding.
- Color the word, hot and net set. Every pair here turns on one vowel, such as hot and hat or cot and cat. Have your child say both words aloud so the ear does the sorting.
- Write the missing vowel. Four of the twelve words (grass, rain, chick, tulip) run longer than three letters. Have your child hum the word and stop on the middle sound.
- Circle the beginning sound. Fold the page and do twelve of the 24 pictures at a time, naming each picture aloud before reading the three letter choices.
- Word families. Six boxes build 36 words. Read each finished box down the column so your child hears that only the first sound changed.
- Digraph and vowel sorts. Both use a 24-word bank, so cross off each word as it is placed. Sorting cat against cake is the first taste of the silent e rule.
Common mistakes to watch for
- Naming letters instead of sounds. A child who says "s, h" for ship has not heard the digraph. Ask for the sound, not the letter names.
- Answering from the picture. On the color the word sheets the answer can be spotted without reading. Cover, read, uncover.
- Short i and short e. Pin and pen sound close to young ears. Overstress the vowel and use a mirror so your child sees the mouth change.
- Treating long vowels as a new letter. On the vowel sort, remind your child that a long vowel says its own name, and that the e on the end of cake and pine is doing the work.
Frequently asked questions
What grades are these phonics worksheets for?
Kindergarten to grade 2. Beginning sounds and the missing vowel sheet suit kindergarten. The digraph and long vowel sorts fit grade 1 and grade 2 readers who can already read simple CVC words.
Do they come with answer keys?
Three do: the word families sheet, the sh, ch, th and wh sort and the short or long vowel sort each have an answer key on page 2. The five picture based sheets have no key, since the answers are read aloud.
What order should we do them in?
Beginning sounds first, then the missing vowel sheet, then the two color the word sheets, then word families, then the sh or ch sheet and the two sorts. That moves from single sounds to whole words to spelling patterns.
Will these print in black and white?
Yes. The pictures are line drawings and the color the word sheets only ask the child to color a word, so a black and white printer is all you need.
Can I use these in class or in a reading group?
Yes, they are free to print for a class, a small group or home use. The sorts also work as a center activity if you cut the word bank into cards.
More practice
For the letters behind these sounds, use letter worksheets for all 26 letters. Move on to consonant blends with cl blend worksheets, turn decoding into spelling with spelling worksheets, and practice forming the letters with handwriting worksheets.
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