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Free printable · Sound: short o

Short o CVC Decodable Story – Bob and the Frog (Free Printable)

A short decodable story that practises the short o sound, plus a matching handwriting sheet. Every word can be sounded out by a child who has learned first sounds, apart from a few common tricky words.

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Download the free PDF (2 pages, A4)Prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use.
Page 1: Bob and the Frog, a decodable story with the short o words underlined, a read-it-three-times star chart and boxes to write short o words
Page 1: the story and activities
Page 2: SA Beginners tracing sheet with the words frog, log, hop, pond, plop, top
Page 2: tracing sheet

For parents

  • Read the story together three times this week. Your child colours a star each time.
  • Point to each word as they read. Short o says o as in octopus. Make a round mouth for o.
  • Hunt for the short o words and write six of them in the boxes.
  • Finish with the tracing sheet: trace the grey words, then write each one on its own.

For teachers

  • Fits a systematic synthetic phonics sequence at Set 1 · First sounds, after teaching the short o sound. Suits Foundation.
  • Tracing sheet uses the SA Beginners handwriting style.
  • 51 words, 10 different short o words, short sentences.
  • Use for small-group reading, repeated reading for fluency, or homework.
  • Photocopy freely for your class.

short o words in this story

  • on
  • log
  • frog
  • hops
  • plop
  • pond
  • off
  • not
  • rock
  • cross

Tricky words used

  • is
  • a
  • the

Common words that can't be fully sounded out yet. Practise them by sight.

More First sounds printables

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Practise short o with Digby

In Wombat Words, your child reads stories like this one aloud and Digby follows along, then they trace the tricky words in their school's handwriting style. You get a report showing which sounds they've mastered.

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