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Syllable Series Part Four: Vowel Teams

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Welcome back! This is part four in my six-part syllable series. In this part, we; ‘ll explore vowel teams syllable! I am having so much fun sharing this information about syllables with you!

Featured image for a blog post about voewl teams.

A few quick reminders:

  • If you are new to this series: Please read part one by clicking here. Read part two by clicking here. Read part three by clicking here.
  • To follow along with this series, please download a chart I created on the six syllable types by clicking here. It spells out CLOVER. Each letter in CLOVER stands for a syllable type but is NOT taught in that order. I am blogging in the order the syllable types should be taught, so just follow along and you’ll see how I do it. 

What is a vowel team syllable?

A syllable is a word or a part of a word with one vowel pattern. To help your students remember this, you can chant or sing this sentence with your students until they know it by heart.

“Every syllable has to have a vowel!” 

A vowel team syllable is a syllable with two vowels side by side, working together to make a sound. Since the vowels are working as a team, you do not divide between them.

What are the vowel teams?

  • Long A vowel teams: ai (rain), ay (play), ea (steak), eigh (eight), ey (hey)
  • Long E vowel teams: ea (eat), ee (meet), ey (key), ie (piece),  ei (ceiling)
  • Long I vowel teams: ie (pie), igh (light)
  • Long U vowel teams: ew (few)  or ew (chew), ue (rescue), or ue (true), eu (feud) 
  • Long O vowel teams: ow (snow) oe (toe) 

Other vowel teams:

  • vowel diphthongs: oi (join) and oy (boy)
  • vowel diphthongs: ou (out) and ow (how)
  • au (vault) and aw (draw)
  • oo (food) and oo (book)

How To Teach the Vowel Team Syllable

Vowel teams can present a challenge when making spelling choices. Students need to decide whether to use ai or ay. But how do you decide which one to use? Teaching spelling generalizations is one of the best strategies for students to learn. When they know ai comes at the beginning or middle of a word, but never the end, while ay is used at the end of a word, they will know what to choose when spelling a word like stay. They will listen to hear s,t, and long a when they tap out the sounds. Then use ay instead of ai because the last sound heard is the long a. 

Teaching with spelling generalizations means students are thinking more critically about how to spell words, and not relying on an unreliable strategy: spelling by sight.

Resources for Spelling Generalizations

When teaching spelling generalizations, teach each one in isolation, not altogether, and practice it a whole lot. Have children test out the generalization to see if it holds up to each word they encounter.

  • Click here for a list of spelling generalizations. What’s nice about this resource is there is a table with frequency to see how often that spelling occurs in the English language.
  • Click here to view my Orton Gillingham materials, which contain spelling generalization mini posters to display in your classroom or at-home setting.

Multisensory Practice

In keeping with the integrity of Orton-Gillingham, I must remind everyone that one of the reasons why OG is so effective is because it is multi-sensory. So please keep your activities multisensory. This means engaging at least three senses within an activity to build a strong connection in the brain. Aim for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. A bonus is tactile. Tapping out sounds, sliding plastic counters into Elkonin boxes, tracing in sand, skywriting, and magnetic letters are all ways you can create a multi-sensory learning experience. Just be sure children are vocalizing sounds and letters during all of these activities. They are seeing it, hearing it, touching it, and/or writing it, every time.

Vowel Teams Syllable Activities

Use this syllable type resource to teach vowel team syllables and vowel diphthong syllables.

This syllabication resource was created to teach an introduction to vowel team and vowel diphthong syllables with one-syllable practice. It is compatible with the Orton-Gillingham approach, dyslexia intervention, and other reading interventions. This resource may be used in a 1:1 setting, small group, or even whole class instruction, depending on your needs. 

Grab this resource in my TpT store!

Do you have a fun way to teach vowel team syllables? Id love to hear about it in the comments below!

Are you looking for a list of words to use in your Orton-Gillingham lessons? Word List Builder has got you covered!

Save time searching for words to use in your lessons! Create customized and meaningful review, build your folder of words, create templates and games, and much more in Word List Builder.

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2 Comments

  1. What is the best way to teach the spelling generalizations of vowel controlled R? My kiddos typically discriminate the OR and AR sounds, but the ER,IR,UR are difficult! I teach them order of frequency, but is there something else I am missing? These are learning disabled kiddos, and it is frustrating to them. I am frustrated because I want to help them better. I do have O-G cards, but I need something specific to explain to them. Thank you for any help you can give. eaglepride1984@gmail.com

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