Short vowels are little marks on a letter. They tell you how to say it. Fatha is a small line on top. It says a. Ba with a fatha says ba.
بِ
Kasra says i
Now move the line under the letter. That is a kasra. It says i, like in sit. Ba with a kasra says bi.
بُ
Damma says u
Damma is a small curl on top. It looks like a tiny waw. It says u, like in put. Ba with a damma says bu.
بَfatha: baبِkasra: biبُdamma: bu
Top or bottom?
Fatha and kasra are both small lines, so look where the line sits. On top means a. Below means i. The curl on top is always damma, u.
سَsaسِsiسُsu
Every letter can take a mark
The marks work on every letter. Seen with a fatha says sa. With a kasra, it says si. With a damma, it says su.
1كَ1 ka
2تَ2 ta
3بَ3 ba
Make a word
Put marked letters together to make a word. Ka, ta, ba makes kataba. It means he wrote. Start on the right.
For parents
Goal: Your child learns the three short vowel marks, fatha, kasra and damma, and reads a letter with each one.
Look for the small mark. A line on top says a. A line below says i. A small curl on top says u.
First name the letter, then add the vowel: ba plus fatha says ba, ba plus kasra says bi.
Ask: is the line on top or below? That one question solves most of these.
Away from the screen: Write one letter big on paper. Use a cotton swab or a short piece of yarn as the vowel mark. Move it on top or below and ask your child to read the sound each time.