Okay, Mia. Your name starts with the letter M. It makes a "m" sound. "m." "m." Mia!
Hey, I'm Caroline! We're reviewing our consonant sounds. We know our letters of the alphabet (A,
B, C, D, E... you know the rest!) And we know that a lot of those letters are consonants.
Do you remember what a consonant is? When our lips, teeth, or tongue block some of the air
coming out of our mouth, we get a consonant sound. Like at the start of: "m." "m." Mia!
I'm going to put the consonants in blue to help us see them better. But wait,
what about the other letters in Mia's name? If not all letters are consonants, what are
the other letters? They're called vowels. Every single letter is either a vowel or a consonant.
I will put the consonants in blue and the vowels in red to help us see them better.
Today, we're going to learn which letters are the vowels!
How do we know if a letter is a consonant or a vowel? It just depends on whether or not our lips,
teeth, or tongue are used when we make the sound. So if consonant sounds are made with the lips,
teeth, or tongue, where are vowel sounds made? Vowel sounds are made in the middle of our mouths.
Vowels are made without the lips, teeth, or tongue, so their sounds come out
freely. Your mouth can move and the vowel sound is still made. Each vowel can make more than
one sound. Let's think about the vowel sound we make when we say the name of this letter: A. "A."
My mouth is wide open. Nothing is blocking it. That's a vowel! That's pretty different
compared to a consonant sound like "M." My lips are completely blocking that sound.
That's a consonant for sure!
Let's think about the sound we make when we say the name of this letter: E.
"E." Nothing's blocking that sound either. Vowel. Vowels are really important.
Because their sounds come out so freely, they are the sounds we use to yell and sing. Imagine trying
to yell with a consonant. "B." "B." That's hard! But what about yelling with a vowel? "A." "A."
Wow, that sound comes out free and clear. Let me try singing with a consonant. "P." "P." "P."
Let's get a vowel in here so I can really sing! "O." "O." "O."
Vowels are so important that every single word has to have a vowel sound. In fact,
every single syllable has to have a vowel sound.
So, wait a second, how many vowels are there? The vowels are A, E,
I, O, and U. Why do we say that Y is sometimes a vowel?
We know Y makes a consonant sound at the start of words like yellow, yes, and yum.
"Y." "Y." "Y." My teeth are helping make this sound so Y is a consonant in these words.
But Y can also make vowel sounds at the end of words like cry. Cry.
And at the end of words like baby. Baby. This time my mouth is wide open to make these sounds.
So Y is making a vowel sound in these words. That's one of the tricky things about English.
Some letters make more than one sound. In English, we use these five vowels to make nineteen sounds.
That can make spelling and reading vowels harder than consonants because when we see a vowel,
we might not know which sound to make right away.
But don't worry about reading and spelling yet, we'll get there. Right now, we're just listening
to the sounds. Let's play a consonant and vowel game. I'll show you a letter and make a sound.
You should make the sound too. Then, you'll tell me if it's a consonant or a vowel. We can
do the first couple together. "S." Hmm, is that being blocked by my lips, teeth, or tongue? "S."
Oh yeah, it's being blocked by my teeth. That means it's a consonant. Let's say the
name of this letter. "I." "I." Is that being blocked by my lips, teeth, or tongue? "I."
Nothing's blocking that one. That must make it a vowel. Let's do a couple more!
"L." "L." Consonant or vowel? That's a consonant!
"O." "O." That's a vowel! "T." "T." Consonant!
"E." "E." Vowel. "A." "A." That's a vowel! "M." "M."
Consonant. "K." "K."
Consonant. "I." "I." That's a vowel! "R." "R."
Consonant! "U." "U." That's a vowel!
"Z." "Z." Consonant! There you have it! If your lips, teeth, or tongue are helping out,
the sound you're making is a consonant. If the sound is coming from the middle of your mouth
loud, clear, and free, it's a vowel. Now, when you practice looking at letters and making their
sounds, you can also tell if each letter is a consonant or a vowel.
Hey again, Mia!
What's that? You've already started practicing consonants and vowels in your name?
Nice job! And remember, always be clever!