Short u words
Free practice for short u words. It loads instantly, there is nothing to sign up for, and it stops after eight questions.
What this skill is
Blending is the act of pushing separate sounds together into a word, and it is the single skill that turns letter knowledge into reading. Words at this rung: up, us, cut, but, nut, and 24 more.
Three ways to teach it at home
- Point under each letter as you say its sound, then sweep your finger under the whole word as you say it fast.
- If they blend the first two sounds and lose the third, try continuous blending: hold each sound into the next with no gap. "mmmaaat".
- Then reverse it: say a word and have them tap out the sounds on their fingers. Segmenting and blending are the same skill in two directions.
The full word list
Every word here uses only spellings taught at or before this rung, so nothing needs guessing. Print it, or read it down the column together.
up · us · cut · but · nut · hut · gut · bug · hug · mug · rug · tug · jug · dug · sun · fun · run · bun · gun · cup · pup · cub · tub · rub · sub · mud · bud · duck · luck
Where this sits in the ladder
Questions people actually ask
What grade is "short u words"?
It sits in kindergarten in most sequences, and it is aligned to RF.K.2d. In Ladderbug it opens once c g u is solid — grade labels are a rough guide, and readiness is what actually matters.
Is this game free?
Yes. This page needs no account, no email and no card, and there are no advertisements. It saves progress in your own browser.
This is one rung of 82.
Open the whole ladder — free