Vowels Teaching Resources

Explore printable vowel worksheets, games and more to help elementary students build their understanding of these letters and their place in the English language.

Aligned with both TEKS and Common Core, these teacher-created resources help students define a vowel, distinguish vowels from consonants, and learn and apply different vowel rules and patterns to improve their reading accuracy.

Download printable and digital resources for your reading centers, to use as a whole class or for independent activities.

Has it been quite a while since you've taught individual phonics skills in your classroom? Our teacher team knows what it’s like to suddenly teach a new grade level after years away, so we’ve put together a quick refresher on vowels! Read on for a quick primer on what a vowel is and how they are used to build and formulate words.

What Is a Vowel? A Kid-Friendly Definition

Let's start with a kid-friendly definition: Vowels are special letters in the alphabet that make a sound when you say them out loud. The letters A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y are all vowels. Vowels are different from the other letters of the alphabet (i.e., B, C, D, F, etc.), which are known as consonants. These special letters are important because every word must have at least one vowel. How the vowel sounds in a word depends on whether there is a short or long vowel.

Short Vowel Sounds

Let's take a look at the meaning of a short vowel sound. These sounds are typically introduced first when students begin to read CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words.  If you think of the word "cat" and "sip," the vowels "A" and "I" are spoken with a short vowel sound. The vowel is surrounded by a consonant before and after the vowel.

Long Vowel Sounds

So what is a long vowel sound? On the contrary, long vowel sounds sound exactly like how you would say the letter name in the alphabet. These vowels are accompanied with a "Magic E" at the end of a word or a combination of vowels (also known as vowel teams). The words "cake" and "boat" are words that have long vowel sounds.

How Many Vowels Are in the Alphabet?

In the alphabet, there are five vowels: A, E, I, O and U. Sometimes, the letter Y can also act as a vowel and make a vowel sound, such as in the words "cry" and "myth." Let's dive a little more into how the letter Y is used in English.

Is Y a Vowel?

This is a question that always seems to come up for debate. Y is a special letter because it actually has 3 different sounds it can make! When the letter Y is used at the beginning of a word, such as yellow or yarn, it acts as a consonant. When it is in the middle or end of a word it can act as a vowel and sound like "I" or "E". Some words where the letter "Y" functions as a vowel include "try," "type," and "lucky."

Is W a Vowel?

This may be a question that is not as popular as the preceding question with Y, but it is a question that may pop up from inquisitive students. In most cases, the letter "W" acts as a consonant. In some rare cases, this letter does act as a vowel. The words "cwm," pronounced as /coom/ and "crwth," pronounced as /crooth/are pronounced with the letter "W" as a vowel. While these words are in the English dictionary, these words originated from the Celtic language of the Welsh.

So while this is not something you will probably integrate into your standard reading instruction, it may be a fun fact for your students!

What 5 Letter Word Has the Most Vowels?

If your students are into word and letter play, this may be a fun question to ask your students. Encouraging them to come up with words that use a specific number or letters is a great way to foster their critical thinking and spelling skills. So where are some 5 letter words that are filled with vowels?

• audio
• queue
• Louie
• adieu
• aurei

Challenge your students to see if they can come up with any of these words that use 4 different vowels!