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Sound of the Vowels

Short • Long • Schwa • Bossy R • Bossy Y

Watch the Video

What Sound Is the Vowel Making?

Look at the highlighted vowel in the word. What sound is it making?

Word 1 of 20

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What sound is the highlighted vowel making?

The Rule

THE SOUND OF THE VOWELS

A vowel can make many different sounds depending on the syllable type it is in and the letters around it. There are five main vowel sounds to know:

Short
ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ

Vowel in a closed syllable. A consonant traps it, making it short.

cat · bed · pig · hot · sun
Long
ā ē ī ō ū

Vowel in an open syllable. Nothing traps it — it says its name.

table · fever · tiger · robot
Schwa
ə

Vowel in an unstressed syllable. Lazy vowel makes the /uh/ sound.

sofa · pencil · lemon · circus
Bossy R
AR ER IR OR UR

The letter R controls the vowel before it, changing its sound.

star · bird · fern · corn · fur
Bossy Y
y → ē / ī

The letter Y acts as a vowel: long E at the end of a long word, long I in a short word.

baby · candy · fly · sky

Lesson Slides

Key overview slides from the PowerPoint presentation — one for each vowel sound type.

Short Vowels slide
Short Vowels
Long Vowels slide
Long Vowels
Schwa (Lazy Vowels) slide
Schwa (Lazy Vowels)
R-Controlled Vowels (Bossy R) slide
R-Controlled (Bossy R)
Letter Y Vowel Sounds slide
Bossy Y

Downloads

Download the PowerPoint and printable spelling list for classroom use.

PowerPoint

▶ Vowel Sounds Overview

Spelling List

📄 Word Document 📄 PDF

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Song Lyrics

Let's review the vowel sounds in this song.
Vowels can be short and vowels can be long.
Vowels can be lazy, that's called the schwa.
Vowels can be controlled by R.
Let's review the vowel sounds in this song.
Vowels can be short and vowels can be long.
Vowels can be lazy, that's called the schwa.
Vowels can be controlled by R.

Short Vowels

ă   ĕ   ĭ   ŏ   ŭ

Long Vowels

ā   ē   ī   ō   ū   / yo͚o

Let's review the vowel sounds in this song.
Vowels can be short and vowels can be long.
Vowels can be lazy, that's called the schwa.
Vowels can be controlled by R.
Let's review the vowel sounds in this song.
Vowels can be short and vowels can be long.
Vowels can be lazy, that's called the schwa.
Vowels can be controlled by R.

Lazy Vowels (Schwa)

ə   ə   ə   ə   ə

R-Controlled Vowels

AR   ER   IR   OR   UR

Let's review the vowel sounds in this song.
Vowels can be short and vowels can be long.
Vowels can be lazy, that's called the schwa.
Vowels can be controlled by R.
Let's review the vowel sounds in this song.
Vowels can be short and vowels can be long.
Vowels can be lazy, that's called the schwa.
Vowels can be controlled by R.