• Vowels

    Knowing the different sounds of vowels and the various vowel rules is necessary for decoding unfamiliar words.

    Vowel Sounds

    Vowel Short Sound Examples Long Sound Examples

    a

    apple, can

    ate, cake, pain

    e

    egg, bed

    Pete, sheep, neat

    i

    igloo, pin

    ice, bike, fight

    o

    octopus, hot

    rose, go, open, boat

    u

    umbrella, cup

    cute, unicorn, fruit

    Vowel Rules

    • "One lonely vowel squished in the middle makes its special short sound just a little."    Short Vowel Rule

    • Vowels make a short sound when in the first position followed immediately by a consonant (examples: "apple" and "igloo")

    • The bossy or silent e makes the previous vowel say its own name.                        Long Vowel Rule (examples: "cake" and "cute")

    • "When two vowels go walking, usually the first one does the talking and says it own name." Long Vowel Rule (examples: "pain" and "boat")