A free 3-minute check that shows where the trouble with vowel teams starts
A child can be new to the first teams (ay, ea, ow), steady on those but stuck on the bossy r and the later teams (star, bird, coin, cloud), or not yet steady on silent e. Each one starts in a different place. Do the check together; about three minutes.
Already sure this is the problem? Skip the check and see the 10-day plan: Stars and Clouds
How to do it: do not teach and do not correct. Just listen, and tap what your child could do. Nothing you tap is sent anywhere.
Show your child this screen. They read each word. Tap each word your child reads correctly, however slowly.
Your child reads each word. Tap each word read correctly. If the two letters of the team are read apart, it is not correct.
Your child reads each word. Tap each word read correctly.
When your child meets a word like star, what happens most often?
In these words two letters work together. Sometimes the team is a new spelling of a sound the child knows: ay sounds like ai in rain. Sometimes it is a new sound: ar in star, oi in coin, ou in cloud. And an r after a vowel changes the vowel. A child who reads one letter at a time gets these words wrong. It is common, and these teams are usually taught in first and second grade, after silent e.
It does not diagnose anything. Trouble with vowel teams alone does not point to dyslexia. If your child is eight or older, or reading is hard in other ways too, tell the teacher what you noticed.
More help: How to help a child with vowel sounds: the guide · Free vowel team worksheets · Free r controlled vowels worksheets
