To understand why Vowel Teams are so hard for so many early readers, let’s first think about what we learn about letters and sounds.
1. Letters make sounds. In the word MAD, there are 3 sounds - one for each letter.
2. Each letter makes ONE sound. A is for Apple - it makes the short A sound.
3. Words are sounded out from LEFT to RIGHT. You sound out the letters in MAD from left to right: mmm, aeh, d.
Now let’s look at Vowel Teams. It breaks (well, changes) two of these rules! I’ll use the example word MAID.
1. Letters make sounds. There are 4 letters in MADE, but only 3 sounds.
2. Each letter makes ONE sound. Before, A was for Apple (Short A). Now, A is chunked with I to form the Vowel Team AI. AI makes the Long-A sound.
3. Words are sounded out from LEFT to RIGHT. This one’s still true! (This is part of why some kids find Vowel Teams easier than silent e.)
But wait! That’s written for adults. That’s a super useful way for some adults (particularly those who can already read) to understand why Vowel Teams are hard. But it is NOT a useful way for emerging readers to learn this hard concept. In fact, one of the most important core principles of ScribbleUp apps is that descriptions of rules aren’t good pedagogy. Our goal is to thoughtfully design the learning process around making the rules discoverable.
So if that’s the case – how can we use critical thinking, observation, and inquiry-based learning to introduce Vowel Teams? The best ways to teach Vowel Teams are by using audio and visual cues to help the reader start chunking together the two vowels.
My favorite way to do it with is with the app that I designed for this (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vowel-teams/id1377467104) – but there are other great ways to do it if you don’t have the tech available. For instance, by printing manipulatives where the Vowel Teams are chunked together (free printouts coming soon!).