Vowel Teams are the sixth syllable type we will discuss.
Vowel Teams are letter combinations that include at least one vowel. For example, the /ay/ in the first syllable, and the /ea/ in the second syllable of the word “daydream” each make a vowel team.
There are some distinctions among vowel teams. They are:
- Vowel Digraphs are two vowels together that make one sound, such as ee in beet.
- Vowel Diphthongs occur when one vowel sound glides into another, such as oi in toil.
- Vowel Teams can consist of different letter combinations/not all vowels, such as igh in light or ow in cow.
For simplicity, I teach two vowels side by side using the phrase, “Vowel Teams,” rather than the more technical terms above. Teaching vowel teams is fundamental in teaching reading. I will discuss more in next post.
