Vowels

A consonant is a sound formed by a closed position of the articulating organs as you hear, for example, with letters B, D, or T. In forming a consonant the voice is compressed or stopped. Most letters in the English alphabet form consonant sounds. Listen:

A vowel is a clear sound made through an open position of the mouth-channel, which molds or shapes the voice without obstructing its utterance. Vowels sounds are formed using these letters, alone or in combination with other letters; A, E, I, O, U, sometimes Y, W.

Note: For more information about using your mouth to form sounds, search the internet using terms like — articulation mouth pictures.

Vowel sounds are short, long, or occasional. With some exceptions:

1. Short vowel sounds are formed when a single vowel is used in one syllable.

Short a as in cat

Short e as in bed

Short i as in kit

Short o as in hot

Short u as in bun



2. Long vowels sounds are formed with two vowels working together.

Long a as in bake

Long e as in weed

Long i as in kite

Long o as in boat

Long u as in hue



3. Occasional vowel sounds are formed when single vowels blend with certain consonants like r, w and l.

a as in car

e as in her

i as in bird

o as in book

u as in rural

The English language is heterogeneous and often different combinations of letters produce the same sound. Study the examples in the table below to see all the ways vowels work together to form the long vowel sounds;

When the consonant Y and W work with vowels to produce long or occasional vowel sounds, such that only a vowel sound is produced (the consonant sound disappears), we consider Y and W to be acting like vowels as in pay, bow, key, new. So we say Y and W are sometimes vowels.

Don’t worry — every reader improves with practice!

The Word Sandwich 🥪

Think of a word or syllable like a sandwich: vowels are the core filling (the meat or cheese) that gives the word its sound and flavor, and consonants are the bread holding it together.

• Standard Sandwich (cat, bed, kit): Bread on both sides (consonant - vowel - consonant).
• Open-Faced Sandwich (egg, go): Bread on just one side—but still packed with that essential vowel filling!
• Bunless Sandwich (I, a): Just the filling!

No matter how you slice it, you can't have a sandwich without the filling—and you can't have a word without a vowel sound!

Sample Lesson

Objective

Help the learner distinguish between open (vowel) and closed/shaped (consonant) sounds using mouth awareness and audio cues.

Preparation

Open the interactive story Chasing Chase or use a printed copy. Have paper, a pencil, or a index card ready.

Learn

Read through the foundational rules together

• Vowels (A,E,I,O,U, and sometimes Y,W) are made with an open mouth-channel.
• Consonants are formed when the voice is compressed, shaped, or stopped by the mouth.
• Remember: Every word needs a vowel center—the "ham and cheese" of the word!

Do Together

• Read the first paragraph of Chasing Chase together.
• Choose two simple words from the story (e.g., "bed" and "Dad").
• Click the audio buttons on the page to hear the letter sounds pronounced clearly.
• Have the learner place two fingers on their jaw or chin while saying the word: Feel how the mouth closes/shapes for the consonants (b, d), and drops wide open for the short vowel (e, a).

Practice

• Ask the learner to write down 3 or 4 short words on their index card (or simple words about their day).
• Have them underline the consonants ("the bread") and draw a circle around the vowels ("the filling").
• Praise every correctly identified vowel and consonant sound. Don't worry about minor spelling mistakes—focus entirely on sound recognition.

Wrap-up

Finish by asking the learner to summarize the lesson in their own words: What does your mouth do during a vowel sound versus a consonant sound? Which two letters are "sometimes" vowels? What happens to a word if you take away all the vowels?

Coach's Notes

• Audio Button Utility: Encourage the learner to click the on-page audio buttons as many times as needed. Hearing a clean, isolated sound helps bridge the gap between sight-reading and phonetic articulation.
• Physical Feedback: Adult learners often find physical cues grounding. Prompting them to notice their jaw dropping on open vowels ("cat", "hot") makes abstract phonetic concepts tangible.
• Revisiting Text: Using Chasing Chase again keeps the narrative background familiar. The learner isn't struggling to decode new plot lines—they are applying a new grammar lens to comfort text.
• Managing "Y" and "W": If the rules around Y and W seem overwhelming, focus strictly on A,E,I,O,U first. Return to Y and W once the basic short/long distinction feels secure.

Continue Learning

• Go to the drill dashboard to explore short and long vowel sound patterns.
• Open the Vowel Explorer pop-up to test letter combinations.
• Reference Guided Reading Journey's Grammar Primer.