Phonics ยท lesson 9 of 24 ยท free

CVC words with short e and i โ€” Phonics for kids

Short e (hen, bed, net) and short i (pig, pin, six) sound close, so children mix them up. Listening carefully to the middle sound fixes it.

โ–ถ Watch how it works

Got it? Practise โ†“

How the sounds work

Sound it out, then blend โ€” โ€œsay each letterโ€™s sound, then push the sounds together into one wordโ€

  1. Say the word slowly: h โ€“ e โ€“ n.
  2. Short e is the sound in โ€œbedโ€; short i is the sound in โ€œpigโ€.
  3. Blend the three sounds and check against the picture.

Use it for: Reading and spelling words like pen and pin, bed and bid without mixing them up.

Worked example: ๐Ÿ” h _ n โ€” which letter is missing? โ†’ e

  1. Look at the picture: ๐Ÿ” is โ€œhenโ€. Say it slowly: h โ€“ e โ€“ n.
  2. The middle sound is e. Only โ€œeโ€ spells โ€œhenโ€: h-e-n.

Check: h-e-n reads โ€œhenโ€ โœ“

โ–ถ Watch it animated

โœ“ Written and checked by the TalentJR team ยท Updated 13 Oct 2026 ยท How we make our lessons

โœ๏ธ Practice

Listen (๐Ÿ”Š), look at the pictures, then tap the answer. Grown-ups: read the question together.

Right: 0 ยท Tried: 0

๐Ÿ Lesson 9 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

๐Ÿ… Sign in with Google to earn the ๐Ÿท Short E-I Reader badge when you pass โ€” and a certificate when you finish all 8 lessons of Part 2 ยท Blending and words. You can still take the test without signing in.

๐Ÿ–จ๏ธ CVC Words Worksheet โ€“ Short e and i

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