Vowels are important for kids to learn early on in their speech and learning journeys. Kids learn how to say vowels as early as toddler age, and as they get older, they learn how to spell and use vowels to make different sounds. The activities below will help toddlers and elementary students develop phonemic awareness of vowel sounds and spellings. Kids will love the vowel-focused games, crafts, worksheets, and songs in our collection!
1. Closed Syllable Houses
This activity helps kids learn about CVC words. Kids will make a house with a door that opens and shuts. Then, they will write CVC words on the house to show how the consonant closes into the vowel. You can even laminate the house to reuse it!
Learn More: Learning With Heart
2. Gamified Vowels
Students love any type of gamified lesson. This website is great for kids to practice learning vowels, understanding vowel contrasts, and exploring pairs of vowels. There are tons of games for kids to play and stations for them to enjoy.
Learn More: Splash Learn
3. Middle Vowel Activity Sheets
These activity sheets are great for station work, class work, or small group work. Learners will review CVC word cards and then fill in the blank letter, which is a vowel.
Learn More: Playdough to Plato
4. Vowel Cup Game
This vowel activity teaches kids through the use of a fun game. A student hides a marble under one of the cups labeled with a vowel. The partner student then guesses which cup is hiding the marble by making words using that vowel sound.
Learn More: Elementary Nest
5. Short Vowels Song
Kids learn a lot through music and fun songs. There are lots of free songs available on Youtube that help them remember the vowels. This short vowel song helps kids practice successful vowel articulation, plus it’s fun to sing!
Learn More: YouTube
6. Roll a Vowel
This game is so easy and fun for kids of all ages. All you need is a die and one of the printouts. The website includes 26 different game boards. The game helps kids practice hearing short vowel sounds. Every time a child rolls the die, they have to practice saying a word with a short vowel sound.
Learn More: The Measured Mom
7. Phonics Dominoes
This game uses the concept of the classic game of dominoes to teach kids vowels. They have to find the picture and the matching spelling in order to play a domino. Learners can play by themselves or with a friend.
Learn More: Molly Lynch
8. Memory
Memory is a classic card game for elementary kids and it can be adapted to help them practice using vowel sounds. In this version of the game, kids have to match picture cards with letter cards that use the same vowel sound.
Learn More: Molly Lynch
9. Long Vowel Flowers
This crafty vowel activity helps kids identify words with long vowels. Learners will write a long vowel in the middle of the flower and then fill in the flower petals with words that demonstrate that long vowel sound.
Learn More: Leaping Into Learning
10. Long Vowel vs. Short Vowel
This is an activity that compares long vowels to short vowels. Students will use a t-chart and post-it notes to compare words that use a long vowel and words that use the same letter as a short vowel.
Learn More: Leaping Into Learning
11. Fish Sort Vowel Activity
This is an easy coloring activity that helps kids practice identifying isolated vowels. Teachers print the worksheet and students color in each fish according to the type of vowel used. This activity is perfect for developing vowel recognition.
Learn More: The Kindergarten Connection
12. Remember the Vowel Sounds
One of the best ways to help kids remember letters and sounds is to associate sounds with a movement. For each vowel, kids will learn a hand movement. Every time a student says a word with the sound, they will make a hand movement. This approach is so important for tactile learners!
Learn More: Empowering Parents
13. Vowel Quick Draw
This activity is a super simple one for introducing vowel recognition. Print out these free worksheets and let your kiddos match up with vowel sounds with the correct pictures. Fast finishers will then love coloring the cute pictures!
Learn More: Kidzone
14. Poems and Tongue Twisters
Poems and tongue twisters are effective ways to introduce vowel teams to kids. Practicing the sounds in a fun and rhythmic way helps kids to memorize the sounds and spellings. As the students repeat the vowel sounds, they then mark them using a highlighter.
Learn More: Happy Teacher Mama
15. Beachball Bounce
This is a fun and easy kinesthetic activity that engages learners using movement. The teacher will write vowel teams on a beach ball, and then the ball will get passed around the classroom. When a student catches the ball, they have to say the vowel team correctly.
Learn More: Happy Teacher Mama
10 Enjoyable Emotion Wheel Activities For Young Learners