CVC words are the basic building blocks that help your child learn to read as they represent some of the first words that they learn after they master their phonics. Good CVC word lists can help you take this next step in your child’s reading journey by giving you all the words that they can learn.
Below, we have collected some of the best CVC word resources you can find on the internet. Each one has its own pros and cons, so feel free to mix and match.
What is a CVC word?
A CVC word is a word that follows the pattern Consonant-Vowel-Consonant. CVC words are some of the first ones we teach to children because they are simple and generally follow basic phonics rules.
What is a CVC word list?
A CVC word list is a collection of CVC words usually sorted by vowel type. We use CVC word lists to help teach kids their basic words and to make sure that they can pair each of the vowel sounds with different consonant pairings.
These groupings, sometimes called families, can look like this.
-at: bat, cat, fat, hat, pat, rat, sat, vat,
In this example, your child would become familiar with the “at” sound and all the CVC words that use it.
Our Favorite Free CVC Word Lists
For our favorite CVC word lists available on the internet, we are looking for a few things.
- CVC List Quality
- Explanation
- Activity Ideas
- Resources
- Accessibility
The best sites on our list didn’t just hand you a list of CVC words. They also made that list printable and fun for children. Another thing we looked for was explanations of CVC words and why they are important. Also, we appreciated websites that went the extra mile and gave parents activity ideas and resources to help them practice CVC words with their child.
Finally, we took into account how accessible they were. Did you have to sign up to get them? Click on another page? Buy them?
We have not looked at paid content for this review. We wanted to see what you could get for free for your child. Maybe in the future, we will look at the paid offerings. For now, we made note of paid offerings in case you wanted to explore these resources as well.
Our Top Three
These three are our three favorite posts on CVC word lists that we could find. They are in no particular order, and each one is a great resource for your child.
1. Mrs. V’s Chickadees
Mrs. V’s Chickadees does everything we want it to do. It has explanations, it has games, and it has resources. The resources are a mix of freebies and premiums, which means that you only buy if you like what is being offered. Our only complaint is about the layout of the information. It can be easy to get lost among all the colors, pictures, and blog posts.
What We Love
- Basic explanations of what CVC words are and how to teach them
- A large number of activity ideas
- Free downloadables including lists and a CVC Starter Kit
- Paid content if you like what you see
What Could Be Better
- There is so much content spread across three blog posts that it can be difficult to find what you want
2. Mom Loves Best
This post on Mom Loves Best feels like a post written by an expert. It is clear that the author knows what they are talking about and have taught CVC words to children before. The lists are sorted by vowel type and by endings, super useful for teachers. As well, all of the games and explanations are clear and easy to understand.
Our one issue is the lack of printables. This post is clearly very informative, but it would be nice to be able to easily download the lists and maybe some flashcards to use with the games.
What We Love
- Word Lists sorted by vowels and by ending
- Very clear explanations
- Easy to do games and activities that anyone could do at home
What Could Be Better
- There are no downloadables
3. The Printable Princess
One of the best online resources for CVC words. The post includes a primer on what CVC words are, why we should teach them, and how to teach them. All of it is worth reading. As well, there is a long list of ideas for activities and games.
The post does lack an actual CVC list, but those are easily findable on other websites. There are some freebies on other posts about CVC words, as well as some really affordable premium options for sale.
What We Love
- Some of the best explanations that I’ve seen of CVC and why we teach it
- A full list of activity ideas
- Some freebies and premium offerings
What Could Be Better
- It would be nice to have some CVC word lists
- Freebies can be difficult to find (they are in another post)
Other Great Resources
Each of these websites also usually did a great job with their CVC word list post. However, they usually lacked one or more of the facets we were looking for. But, that doesn’t make them any less useful as English teaching resources.
4. The Measured Mom
What We Love
- Great downloadable CVC word list
What Could Be Better
- Not a lot else as far as explanations or activity ideas
5. Miss Kindergarten
What We Love
- Explains what CVC words are and why we teach them
- Has some ideas on how to practice CVC words
- Premium content is available for you to use with your children
What Could Be Better
- Games usually require things that you may not have
- No CVC lists
6. Ginseng English
What We Love
- Most complete word lists available for CVC
- Fantastic explanations of CVC words and their uses
What Could Be Better
- No activity ideas
- No downloadable content
7. Primary Learning
What We Love
- Very complete CVC word list, though it could be organized better
- Lots of premium content
What Could Be Better
- Not a lot of explanations about CVC
- Not a lot of value for non-paying visitors
8. 123Homeschool4Me
What We Love
- Tons of free printables, activities, and games
What Could Be Better
- Would love to see a list or CVC explanations
9. The Moffat Girls
What We Love
- Great-looking premium content bundles
- Lots of ideas on how to practice CVC words
What Could Be Better
- Would love more CVC word lists and explanations
Final Thoughts
CVC words are one of the first steps your child will take to when learning how to read English. Luckily, the intent is filled with great content for you to use. So, if your child is starting his reading journey, we would suggest that you take a look at all of these wonderful resources.
Although we did our best to find the best online resources available for CVC words, we may have missed a few. If you think we should have a website on our list, feel free to contact us by clicking on the image below or commenting on this post.
