Six “semi-vowels” and 13 ways to spell them
/ow/
This is the vowel sound heard in cow and house. The sound is usually spelled ow at the end of a word and ou elsewhere in the word.
/oi/
This is the vowel sound heard in boy and soil. The sound is usually spelled oy at the end of a word and oi elsewhere in the word.
/aw/
This is the vowel sound heard in the words law and fault. The sound is usually spelled aw at the end of words and au elsewhere in the word.
/ar/
This is the sound heard in car. The sound is always spelled ar. You can teach the letter combination ar to your beginning reader as “ar the/ ar/ of car.”
/or/
This is the sound heard in the words or, for, and core. The sound is always spelled or.
