One of the foundational skills in reading and spelling is recognizing when two words have the same vowel sound. This is a particularly important skill for students who are learning English as a second language, as the English language has many words with different spellings but the same vowel sounds.

Here are some engaging and fun activities to teach students how to identify when two words have the same vowel sound:

Vowel Sound Hunt

Give your students a list of words and ask them to find the words that have the same vowel sound. For example, you might give them a list of words like “cat,” “hat,” “mat,” and “bad.” Ask your students to circle the words that have the same vowel sound, and then have them share their answers with the class.

Vowel Sound Bingo

Create bingo cards with words that have the same vowel sound but different spellings. For example, you might create a bingo card with words like “eight,” “rain,” “weight,” and “great.” Read out the words one by one, and have the students cross out the words on their cards that have the same vowel sound as the word you just read out. The first student to cross out a row of words with the same vowel sound wins.

Vowel Sound Memory

Create a set of cards with pairs of words that have the same vowel sound but different spellings. For example, you might create a set of cards with pairs like “eight” and “great” or “rain” and “gate.” Shuffle the cards and lay them face down on the table. Students take turns flipping over two cards at a time, trying to find pairs that have the same vowel sound. When a student finds a pair, they keep the cards and get another turn.

Vowel Sound Word Sort

Give your students a set of words on pieces of paper or cards, and ask them to sort the words into groups based on their vowel sounds. For example, you might give them a set of words like “meet,” “seat,” “meat,” and “heat.” Students should sort the words into two groups based on their vowel sound (i.e., “ea” words and “ee” words).

By using these activities, students can learn how to identify which two words have the same vowel sound. These engaging and interactive activities can help students improve their reading and spelling skills, and ultimately lead to better communication and language proficiency.