Short A CVC Word Sort: Real and Nonsense Words

Provide students with word study practice using this cut-and-paste short A word sorting activity! Geared toward kindergarten and first-grade learners, this grammar worksheet gives students hands-on practice decoding short A CVC words such as wag and ham. Learners will need to determine which of the 12 given words are real words and which are nonsense words, sorting them into the correct category.

Early readers will need to rely on decoding skills when reading new words, using their knowledge of phoneme-grapheme relationships to help them. Nonsense words, such as paz and zaf, are a great way to expose learners to different sound combinations. A student's ability to decode both real and nonsense words is an indicator that they understand that letters represent sound. For related phonics practice, check out the set of real and nonsense CVC word sort worksheets!