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You have met letter teams before, like sh in shop and ch in chip. Those were teams of consonants. Now Sam is reading a book about a rainy day, and he stops at the word rain.
Sam sees a and i sitting together in rain. What are a and i?
Vowel Digraphs
Read and spell words containing common vowel digraphs (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, oe, oo, oi, oy) including where a digraph can represent more than one sound
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read words with vowel digraphs (e.g. 'tree', 'boat', 'rain', 'coin')
- Distinguish between different sounds for the same digraph (e.g. 'oo' in 'book' vs 'moon')
- Spell words using common vowel digraph patterns
1 · Read
Sometimes two vowels sit side by side. Together they make just one sound. We call this a vowel digraph.
Try it together
Sam reads the word 'rain'. The letters a and i sit together. They make one long a sound.
Good to know
Ai usually goes in the middle of a word, like 'rain'. Ay usually goes at the end, like 'day'.
Good to know
The same letters can sound different in different words. Book has a short oo. Moon has a long oo.
Some more vowel teams to know. Ee says one long e sound, like in 'feet'. Oi and oy make the same sound. Oi usually goes in the middle, like in 'coin'. Oy usually goes at the end, like in 'toy'.
Vowel digraphs are two vowels making one sound. Find the pair, say the sound, read the word.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
Then practise
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.