Vowel Teams: ai, ee, oa
Learn vowel teams ai, ee and oa, where two vowels make one long sound, as in rain, bee and boat. A phonics lesson for ages 5-7 with games.
Key takeaways
- Two vowels can team up to make one sound
- ai says long a, ee says long e, oa says long o
- When two vowels walk, the first one talks
Vowels that work as a team
Sometimes two vowels stand side by side and team up to make one long sound. We call these vowel teams. A handy rhyme is: when two vowels walk, the first one talks!
Today we meet ai, ee and oa.
The ai team — says long a
The vowels a and i team up to say the long a sound.
- rain = rain 🌧️
- snail = snail 🐌
- tail = tail 🐕
The ee team — says long e
The two es team up to say the long e sound.
- tree = tree 🌳
- bee = bee 🐝
- feet = feet 🦶
The oa team — says long o
The vowels o and a team up to say the long o sound.
- boat = boat ⛵
- goat = goat 🐐
- soap = soap 🧼
A little word list
Read these vowel team words out loud:
- rain 🌧️
- snail 🐌
- tree 🌳
- feet 🦶
- boat ⛵
- goat 🐐
Try the games below to build vowel team words!
Vowel teams make long vowel sounds. It also helps to know how word families share the same ending sounds.
Quick quiz
Test yourself and earn XP
What sound does ai make in 'rain'?
The vowel team ai makes the long a sound, like in rain.
Which word has the ee vowel team?
Tree has the ee team, which says long e.
In 'boat', which vowel do you hear?
The oa team says long o, so you hear the o say its name.
Play & learn
Vowel team cards +5 XP
Completed ✓ +5 XP
Build the vowel team words +10 XP
Completed ✓ +10 XP
FAQ
A vowel team is two vowels together that make one sound, like ai in rain or ee in tree.
It is a phonics rhyme. In teams like ai and oa, you often hear the first vowel say its name and the second stays quiet.
Keep exploring
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