Short U Sound (/ŭ/)

The letter 'u' represents the short /ʌ/ vowel sound in closed syllables.

Print Word List (10 Words) →Jump to Sound Boxes

Practice Words with Sound Boxes

Each word below features explicit Elkonin sound boxes. Have the child tap each sound box while saying the individual sound, then blend them together.

sun-un

3 letters • 3 sounds

s/s/

u/ʌ/

n/n/

cup-up

3 letters • 3 sounds

c/k/

u/ʌ/

p/p/

bus-us

3 letters • 3 sounds

b/b/

u/ʌ/

s/s/

nut-ut

3 letters • 3 sounds

n/n/

u/ʌ/

t/t/

mug-ug

3 letters • 3 sounds

m/m/

u/ʌ/

g/ɡ/

bug-ug

3 letters • 3 sounds

b/b/

u/ʌ/

g/ɡ/

tub-ub

3 letters • 3 sounds

t/t/

u/ʌ/

b/b/

rug-ug

3 letters • 3 sounds

r/r/

u/ʌ/

g/ɡ/

run-un

3 letters • 3 sounds

r/r/

u/ʌ/

n/n/

bun-un

3 letters • 3 sounds

b/b/

u/ʌ/

n/n/

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Short U Worksheets

Practice the short u sound with a print-ready worksheet. Each worksheet is built from the same verified word data as this skill guide.

Short U Missing Vowel

6 illustrated CVC words — students fill in the missing u.

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Short U Sound Boxes

6 illustrated CVC words — students stretch sounds and map to Elkonin boxes.

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Short U Picture Match

6 illustrated CVC words — students draw lines to match pictures to words.

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