Garden Growth Slides Vowel Team Garden
Growing Our Reading Skills
"When two vowels stand together, they work as a team!"
What is a Vowel Team?
Two vowels working together to make one sound.
The team usually makes a Long Vowel Sound.
a
i
/ā/
as in r-ai-n
Sound Mapping
rain
3 sounds: /r/ /ā/ /n/
r
ai
n
ai = one box!
The Garden Teams
ai / ay
Long A
rain, play
ee / ea
Long E
tree, leaf
oa / oe
Long O
boat, toe
ie
Long I
pie, tie
Let's Grow!
Listen
Map
Write
Rain Train Worksheet Rain Train Words
Vowel Team: ai (Long A)
Name: __________________________
Mapping Practice
Say the word. Map each sound. Remember: ai stays in the colored box !
rain
sail
train
tail
paint
rain
sail
tail
train
paint
Write a sentence with an "ai" word:
Play Day Worksheet Sunny Play Words
Vowel Team: ay (Long A)
Name: __________________________
Mapping Practice
Say the word. Map each sound. Remember: ay comes at the end!
day
play
tray
stay
clay
day
play
tray
stay
clay
Complete the Sentence:
I like to
in the sun!
Dream Team Worksheet Sweet Treat Words
Vowel Team: ea (Long E)
Name: __________________________
Mapping Practice
Say the word. Map each sound. Remember: ea stays in the colored box !
eat
leaf
team
dream
beach
eat
leaf
team
dream
beach
Bonus: Think of one more "ea" word and write it below.
Bee Tree Worksheet Busy Bee Words
Vowel Team: ee (Long E)
Name: __________________________
Mapping Practice
Say the word. Map each sound. Remember: ee stays in the colored box !
bee
tree
seed
green
sleep
bee
tree
seed
sleep
green
Word Hunt: Circle the "ee" words
bed keep red deep set feet
Boat Float Worksheet Slow Boat Words
Vowel Team: oa (Long O)
Name: __________________________
Mapping Practice
Say the word. Map each sound. Remember: oa stays in the colored box !
boat
coat
soap
road
toast
boat
coat
soap
road
toast
Draw a "boat" on a "road":
Pie and Toe Worksheet Tiptoe & Pie Words
Vowel Teams: oe / ie
Name: __________________________
Mapping Practice
Say the word. Map each sound. Remember: oe and ie stay in the colored box !
toe
doe
pie
tie
fries
toe
doe
pie
tie
fries
Self Check:
Mapped all sounds
Wrote the full word
Garden Guide Teacher Notes Garden Guide
Teaching Notes: Vowel Team Garden
Learning Objective
Students will segment and spell words with common vowel teams by mapping phonemes to graphemes in Elkonin boxes.
Requested Teams
ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, oe, ie
Phonics Focus
Long Vowel Digraphs (Sound Mapping)
Instructional Steps
1. INTRO
Use slides to define vowel teams as "digraphs" (one sound).
2. MODEL
Model /t/ /r/ /ai/ /n/. Highlight that 'ai' takes box 3.
3. PRACTICE
Assign worksheets. Ensure vowel teams are in colored boxes.
Differentiation
Support
Pre-place vowel teams in boxes
Provide letter tiles to physically move
Focus on one team (e.g. 'ee') per session
Enrich
Find "oddballs" like 'bread' or 'steak'
Write story sentences for every mapped word
Map unseen 5-sound words like 'screens'
Ensure students tap sounds before writing to confirm phoneme count.
Garden Keys Answer Key Answer Keys: Vowel Team Garden
For Teacher Reference Only
Rain Train (ai)
1. rain: [r] [ai] [n]
2. sail: [s] [ai] [l]
3. tail: [t] [ai] [l]
4. train: [t] [r] [ai] [n]
5. paint: [p] [ai] [n] [t]
Play Day (ay)
1. day: [d] [ay]
2. play: [p] [l] [ay]
3. tray: [t] [r] [ay]
4. stay: [s] [t] [ay]
5. clay: [c] [l] [ay]
Dream Team (ea)
1. eat: [ea] [t]
2. leaf: [l] [ea] [f]
3. team: [t] [ea] [m]
4. dream: [d] [r] [ea] [m]
5. beach: [b] [ea] [ch]
Bee Tree (ee)
1. bee: [b] [ee]
2. tree: [t] [r] [ee]
3. seed: [s] [ee] [d]
4. sleep: [s] [l] [ee] [p]
5. green: [g] [r] [ee] [n]
Boat Float (oa)
1. boat: [b] [oa] [t]
2. coat: [c] [oa] [t]
3. soap: [s] [oa] [p]
4. road: [r] [oa] [d]
5. toast: [t] [oa] [s] [t]
Pie/Toe (ie/oe)
1. toe: [t] [oe]
2. doe: [d] [oe]
3. pie: [p] [ie]
4. tie: [t] [ie]
5. fries: [f] [r] [ie] [s]