The English alphabet has 26 letters in it. These letters are divided into two parts based on the way they sound. They are Vowels and Consonants.
Vowels and Consonants Definition
Vowels are the letters that sound when the air is allowed to flow out of the mouth without blocking it.
Consonants are the letters that sound when the air is blocked to flow out of the mouth with lips, teeth or tongue.
Examples for Vowels and Consonants
The example for a Vowel is the letter ‘u’. This letter is sounded without blocking airflow with the mouth.
The example for a Consonant is the letter ‘f’. This letter is sounded by blocking the airflow with the lips.
Vowels and Consonants in English
There are a total of 5 vowels and 21 consonants in the English alphabet. A, E, I, O and U are considered vowels. The remaining 21 are considered as consonants. They are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, and Z.
The letter ‘y’ is considered as a vowel because it sounds differently based on its position in the word. It makes a consonant sound when it is at the beginning of a word (‘yesterday’, ‘yarn’) and makes a vowel sound when it is at the end of a word (‘thirsty’, ‘party’).
Vowels and Consonants for Kids
Kids learn the alphabet at a very early stage, using the visuals from books. But, at later stages they need to interpret the words formed by the letters based on sound not by visual. For example, if the parents or teachers ask kids to write the word cat, they should be able to write it based on the sound.
To do this, parents need to teach the children the way to identify the vowel and consonant sounds from the word. The first step is CVC pattern ie. consonant, vowel and consonant. Teach kids the words that follow this pattern. The words such as cat, pot, cap are a few among many examples that follow CVC method.
When children get familiarised with these words, then increase the level using CCVC and CVCC patterns. The words that fall under CCVC pattern such as flat, step, rain are good examples. Milk, find, kind are a few examples that follow CVCC pattern.
The next level includes two consonants or vowels to appear together in a single word. This pattern is termed as Digraph. The words like Lion, soul, good, are examples of Vowel digraphs that have io, ou, oo in them. The consonant digraphs like ch, nd, lp can be found in words like child, hand, help.
Teachers might not always teach vocabulary words to kids as mentioned above. It may not be important for them to memorise those words. But becoming good at reading and writing letters and words confidently by doing phonics activities step by step matters.
Children who are moving up in school might start to realise some interesting things about vowels and consonants. For instance, in English, it’s rare to have three or more vowels in a row; words like beautiful, queue, liaise, quail, quiet, and squeal are some examples of this spelling pattern.
Another thing kids might pick up on is that most of the English word has a vowel in it. But going further they might also notice words without a single vowel in them. Dry, shy, fly are few among the words that follow this pattern.
Fun Fact
‘Twyndyllyngs’ is the longest word in English without a single vowel.
Vowels and Consonants Easy Recognition
Parents can practise saying vowel and consonant sounds with their children to help them get better at it. Try doing phonics activities, singing rhymes, and listening to songs to remember the sounds of vowels and consonants. Reading out loud to your child often can also make them more comfortable with all the different sounds.
Parents can also teach their children about vowels and consonants by playing fun word games, using flashcards, and reading books together. Help them find vowels and consonants in words they see in books, signs, and things around them.
Struggling to Recognise Vowels and Consonants
If kids are struggling to tell apart vowels and consonants, it is easier to break the words into smaller pieces. Different ways can be adopted to teach the kid. Exercises like looking at pictures, listening to sounds, and doing hands-on activities can help greatly. If they do not improve, talking to the child’s teacher or a reading expert will be helpful.
It is important to teach vowels and consonants to kids as they enhance the reading skills of children, help children to spell the words right, and help children to identify and learn new words. It is a foundation of reading, writing and understanding the English language.
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