Vowel sounds should first be taught using key words that incorporate the target sounds. Introduce the long and short vowel sounds and sounds of /oi/ and /ou/ to beginning students in kindergarten through second grade. Teach /oo/ and alternate sounds of /ou/ to middle elementary students and clusters of two and three vowels to upper elementary students. Have students practice by matching pictures with the same vowel sounds, key word pictures to letters or clusters and key word pictures to words.
Begin by having students discriminate whether words have the same or different vowel sounds. Have them generate words that have the same vowel sound as the word provided. Choose a target vowel sound and make a list of words that contain that sound. Younger children can use pictures and more experienced students can use words. Challenge the students to sort words based on sounds, such as long and short vowel sounds, or based on spelling patterns of the same sound, such as the "ou" and "ow" spellings of the /ou/ sound. Sort words based on the placement of the vowel sound as well, sorting into groups with the vowels in the beginning, medial and final positions.
Vowel behavior can be predicted or at least narrowed down based on letter proximity. For example, if a "w" follows an "a," the sound will be similar to a short "o." Teach these rules to children with systematic and thorough strategies, using many examples and providing opportunities to see the patterns in print and to spell words using the patterns. Students must recognize these patterns automatically, so use flashcards showing words with common spelling patterns to build speed of recognition. Put word families, groups of words with the same sounds represented by identical spelling patterns, onto flashcards and play matching card games.
Syllable patterns determine many vowel sounds. There are six types of syllables to teach students: the closed syllable (consonant-vowel-consonant pattern), the vowel-consonant-E syllable, the open syllable (consonant followed by long vowel), the consonant-LE syllable, the R-controlled syllable, and the double vowel syllable (a syllable containing a vowel digraph or diphthong). Unaccented syllables may also contain vowel with the "schwa" sound. Teach students to recognize the six types of syllables and the behavior of the single or double vowels in them. Teach them to divide long words correctly between syllables. Have students assemble longer words using syllable cards. Sort syllable cards by syllable type.