Consonant & Vowel Facts

  • student thinking

    Consonants & Vowels Are Sounds

    Many of us were taught that vowels are the letters A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y, but did you know that consonants and vowels are not letters? They are sounds.

  • singing vowels

    Vowel Sounds

    Vowels are sounds that can be sung; sounds that can be made louder and softer. Vowels are sounds that are produced with an open mouth. The sound is not blocked by the tongue, lips, or teeth.

  • practicing consonants and vowels

    Consonant Sounds

    Consonants are sounds that cannot be sung and that cannot be made louder and softer. Consonants are sounds that are blocked by the tongue, lips, or teeth.

  • child shrugging

    What About Y?

    The phonogram Y makes three vowel sounds: /ĭ/ as in gym, /ī/ as in type, and /ē/ as in happy. It also makes a consonant sound /y/ as in yes. Some phonograms represent both consonant and vowel sounds.

Discover if a sound is a consonant or a vowel sound.

Rather than memorizing a list of vowels, learn three tests to discover if a sound is a vowel or a consonant sound.

phonemic awareness practice

Can you sing it?

Try to sing the sound /t/. Be careful not to add a short /ū/ sound to the end. Try to sing the sound /p/. These are consonant sounds because you cannot sing them.

Consonants are sounds that cannot be sung.

Sing the short /ŏ/ sound. Sing the long /ī/ sound. Did you know, when we sing songs, we are actually singing the vowels!

Vowels are sounds you can sing.
phonemic awareness

Is the sound unblocked?

Say the sound /m/. Feel how your lips are blocking the sound. Say the sound /th/. Feel how your teeth are blocking the sound.

Consonants are sounds that are blocked by the tongue, lips, or teeth.

Say the short /ă/ sound. Feel how the mouth opens and how nothing is blocking the air. Say the long /ō/ sound. Feel how the mouth is open.

Vowels sounds are not blocked by the tongue, lips, or teeth.
kinesthetic awareness of sounds

Can you make it louder and softer?

Say the sound /k/ and try to make it louder and softer. Be careful not to add a vowel sound. Now try the sound /n/.

Consonant sounds cannot be made louder and softer.

Say the short /ŏ/ sound, then make it louder and softer. Say the long /ū/ sound, then make it louder and softer.

Vowel sounds can be made louder and softer.

Tips for Teaching Consonants & Vowels

  • Teach the three tests.

    When students learn to test if sounds can be made louder and softer, if they can be sung, and if the sound is blocked or unblocked, students can identify all the consonants and vowels without memorizing a list.

  • Test all of the sounds.

    When a phonogram has more than one sound, test all of the sounds. For example, Y says /ĭ-ī-ē-y/. By applying the three tests, students will learn that /ĭ/, /ī/, and /ē/ are vowel sounds and /y/ is a consonant sound. Y can be either a consonant or a vowel, depending on which sound it is saying!

  • Test the multi-letter phonograms.

    In addition to A-Z, ask students to test sounds of multi-letter phonograms such as oy, which says /oi/. The sound /oi/ can be made louder and softer. It can be sung. The mouth is unblocked. The sound /oi/ is a vowel sound!
surprised student pointing to onion image

Did you know?

The phonogram i has a consonant sound?

Its consonant sound, /y/, is found in words like junior, onion, and familiar.

By teaching how English really works, we empower students to further unlock the code.

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