Navigation
Learning the five short vowel sounds and how they sound in the middle of words.
Did you know that five special letters are the 'glue' that holds almost every word together? Without them, a 'cat' would just be 'ct'—and we wouldn't know how to say it!
In English, we have 26 letters, but five of them are extra special. These are the vowels: a, e, i, o, and u. Every word needs at least one vowel to make a sound! When a vowel is in the middle of a short word, it usually makes its short sound. To make these sounds, your mouth stays open and your tongue stays relaxed. Think of them as the 'musical' part of the word that lets you stretch the sound out.
Quick Check
Can you name the five special letters that are called vowels?
Answer
The five vowels are a, e, i, o, and u.
The short a sound is like the start of the word apple. You open your mouth wide! The short e sound is like the start of egg. Your mouth is open, but not as wide as the 'a'. We often find these in words, which stands for Consonant-Vowel-Consonant. This is a pattern where a vowel is squeezed between two other letters.
Let's look at how these sounds work in words: 1. Cat: . Open your mouth wide for the 'a' sound! 2. Bed: . Make the 'e' sound like you are starting to say 'egg'. 3. Hat: . This sounds just like 'cat' but with an 'h' at the start.
Quick Check
Which word has the same middle sound as 'apple': Net or Bat?
Answer
Bat has the same middle sound as apple (short 'a').
The short i sound is like igloo or itch. The short o sound is like octopus—your mouth makes a round shape! Finally, the short u sound is like up. These sounds can be tricky because they sound a little bit alike, so we have to listen very closely to the middle of the word.
Let's compare words that look almost the same but have different vowels: 1. Pig: (Short 'i' like igloo). 2. Pot: (Short 'o' like octopus). 3. Pug: (Short 'u' like up). Notice how only the middle sound changes the whole word!
Now that you know all five, you can read almost any word! The secret is to look at the middle letter first. That letter tells you what shape your mouth should make. If you see an o, get ready to make a circle with your lips. If you see an i, make a small smile!
Try to say these words in a row to hear how the 'glue' changes: 1. Bat (a) 2. Bet (e) 3. Bit (i) 4. Bot (o) 5. But (u)
Which vowel do you hear in the middle of the word 'DOG'?
Which of these words has the short 'i' sound (like igloo)?
The word 'Cup' has a short 'u' sound.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, look around your room and try to find three things that have a short 'a' sound (like 'bag' or 'mat').
Practice Activity
Play 'Vowel Swap': Take the word 'hot' and change the 'o' to an 'i'. What new word did you make?