How to Teach Kids Vowels

Video Transcript

After we go through the alphabet sounds chart, the next thing to do is to isolate the five vowels because vowels are very very difficult to distinguish for young children. As easy as it is for us because we've been doing it for years and years, a lot of children, they hear the aa, the ee and the ii, especially of the first three and they smush them up and aa, just eh, sounds like the same thing to them, especially when they're reading so we're going to teach them to isolate the finite distinct differences between these five letter sounds and so we'll start by having them repeat after you, say a, aaa, like in aaapple, eh like in eeelephant, ii, like in ii, ohh, like in octopus, uh, like in umbrella. Now be very very strict with this, don't allow them to go uh if they mean oh, don't allow them to, if you hear the slightest sound that doesn't quite sound like the vowel you want, make them do it over, say it again, make them do it over, drill it into them. The more you do in the very beginning, the more it won't be an issue down the road and they won't be reading the word r e d as rad or rid, they'll read it as red. So what I do, I have them say each one and I have them do each one perfectly and then I go back and I say, now what is this sound say? Aa, if I get a good aa, like in apple, I like it. Eh, if I get a good eh is good, eh like you're at the dentist office, eh, keep your mouth open, you can even draw a face there where that's the open mouth. And then ii, sometimes I say pretend you're hitting the stomach and then I jump around and I say tell me this one, aa, eh, ii, and I go a little faster and faster if they can keep up with it until they get it like that and they see the letter and they know the sound and they don't have to think and they don't mush it.