Often, the same digraph will represent two different sounds, based on the word. Vowel digraphs are much more challenging for students to learn because there are so many vowel digraphs for each vowel sound. Vowel digraphs can be made of vowels and consonants, as in the word “way.” The -ay vowel team creates the long A sound. A digraph is two letters that make one sound.ĭigraphs can be made of vowel teams or consonant teams. Vowel teams can be split into two types: digraphs and diphthongs. Several vowel teams can often represent a specific sound, so kids need explicit instruction to help them learn all of the combinations.

Learning vowel teams is essential for helping students become better readers and spellers. Take the time to give your students a strong foundation. There are no tricks that work for every case, so it’s best to take things slowly and be explicit in your teaching. Students need to be taught vowel teams systematically. Vowel teams don’t always act in the manner in every context. Vowel teams are challenging because the rules can be tricky. Words like main, treat, and dread all use vowel teams. In a word, a vowel team works together to make one sound. Vowel teams are one of the seven types of syllables. We’ll cover everything you and your students need to know about vowel teams along with giving you some strategies for teaching and some helpful free worksheets. You’ll need to spend a lot of time on vowel teams to help your students build strong foundations. It seems simple enough, but there are multiple spellings and exceptions. In a vowel team (also called a vowel digraph), two letters combine to make one vowel sound.

Vowels teams are one of the most common phonemes but also one of the most challenging when it comes to reading and spelling, especially for younger students.

What are vowel teams