These vowel team read and draw pages are the perfect fit for kids who love to draw. My 1st grader draws on everything. Any printable activity I create for her ends up with drawings all over it.
So, I knew that I needed to create some pages for her that allowed her to get it all out…and sneak in some vowel team phonics work, too!
*This post contains affiliate links.
**The free printable can be found at the END of this post. Just click on the teal download button.
Vowel Team Read and Draw Pages
Included in this free pack are 8 different read and draw pages for ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow (two sounds), ou, and oo (two sounds).
Learners read the sentences, underline or highlight the words that have the featured pattern, then draw a picture to match each sentence. Such a fun way to let kids express their artistic ability, while sneaking in reading and vowel team patterns!
More about Teaching Vowel Teams
You often hear the rhyme, “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” And while it’s fun to say, it isn’t true for most vowel teams. When we teach rules like this to learners, we spend more time undoing the cute, little rule we’ve taught with all the exceptions we face (like ou, aw, oi, oy, au…just to mention a few in this case).
Instead of teaching phonics rules, I prefer to teach phonics by patterns.
Instead of teaching the cute, rhyming rule, I say, “When you see ai in a 1-syllable rule, it will almost always make the long a sound.” And while you’ll have exceptions even doing this (I think plaid and said are the only single-syllable exceptions), you’ll have far fewer this way.
And when you teach by vowel team patterns, you’re working WITH the brain, as our brain is wired to search for patterns, according to the research done by Pat Cunningham in Phonics They Use.
The absolute best way to show learners these patterns is to collect lists of words that share a similar pattern. Words their Way does this. So does All About Spelling. I highly recommend BOTH of these spelling programs for both classroom teachers and homeschoolers, as I mention in my post about teaching spelling.
When learners look at lists of words that share a common pattern, it makes it easier for them to make their own phonics generalizations {which are different than rules}. When students notice how these patterns work, it can transfer better into reading and spelling! Woohoo!
Vowel Team Resources
{Keep scrolling for the new freebie.}
Vowel Team WorksheetsVowel Team Charts
Vowel Team Clip Cards
Long Vowel Word Study App
Enjoy!
~Becky
Do you have read and draw activities for short vowels?
No, I don’t. It’s on my list. 🙂
again is an exception, too, to the long a sound for ai
Yes, it is. I was referring mostly to single syllable words, but you’re right!
Thanks for sharing these!
I love the idea to draw pictures to match vowel sound sentences.
Desiree
Reading with Mrs. D
So does my daughter! 🙂
Hi!
Thank you for this great resource! My students really enjoy decoding these sentences and then drawing a picture to match. I often use these at the end of the year for some enrichment. To extend the activity, I have students write their own sentences and then switch with a partner to draw a picture to match!
Great idea!!