How to Teach Vowel Sounds to Kindergarteners

Begin with aural skills. Rhyming word families are a great way to see if children can hear the short vowel sounds. Start with words that use the short "a" sound, like "hat," "mat" and "bat." See if the children can think of more words that use this same sound. Talk about why the words sound the same and isolate the sound. Do this with all of the vowel sounds.

2

Establish the connection between the sound and the printed letters. It is often helpful to create a visual connection between the letter and its sound by drawing the letter as a picture. For instance, the lower case letter "a" may be drawn to look like an apple. These types of visual connections often help children remember the sound that the letter makes.

3

Use objects or pictures that begin with short vowel sounds. See if the children can group them according to their initial sound and then assign them the correct letter. Doing this helps solidify the connection between the phonetic sound, the printed letter, and objects themselves.

4

Read out loud and see if children can recognize the short vowel sounds in the words. Any book will do, or you may use books that specifically teach the alphabet.

5

Use flashcards, games, songs and worksheets to help students learn the vowel sounds. Using varied approaches will help reinforce the concepts with little risk of children becoming tired of repetition.

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