Short e and Short u Families

Story Brief #3

Short e and short u are the vowels readers mix up most, so they get their own lesson.

🎯 Your mission

Match the sound to the letters.

⚡ The twist

Some letters are sneaky. Watch for the silent ones.

What you'll learn · 1 of 3

Short e and short u are the vowels readers mix up most, so they get their own lesson. Short e says /e/ as in 'egg'. Short u says /u/ as in 'up'.

What you'll learn · 2 of 3

Practice the families: -et in 'net', 'wet', 'pet'; -en in 'hen', 'ten', 'when'; -ug in 'bug', 'hug', 'plug'; -un in 'sun', 'run', 'fun'. Try pairs: 'bed' and 'bud', 'net' and 'nut', 'ten' and 'ton'. One vowel changes the word.

What you'll learn · 3 of 3

Read: 'Ten red hens run in the sun. '

Key points

1Short e says /e/; short u says /u/.
2These two are easy to mix up.
3Compare pairs like net and nut.

Question 1

1 of 3

Which word has short u?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

Question 2

2 of 3

Which word belongs to the -en family?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

Question 3

3 of 3

Change the vowel in 'bed' to u. What word do you get?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: Closed In: Why the Vowel Stays Short All lessons

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Short e and Short u Families

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