Free printable · 2nd grade phonics

Vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow

Two vowels working as a team to make one long sound. Your child fills in six picture words, sorts nine by sound, and finds the teams in a silly sentence.

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How to use this in 5 minutes

Meet the teams. Say, “Two vowels can team up and say one long sound. The team ai says a long A, like rain, ee says a long E, like bee, and oa says a long O, like boat.”
Fill in the team. Say, “Name the picture. Which team is missing? Use the word bank, and say the word as you write it.”
Sort by sound. Say, “Read each word. Do you hear a long A, a long E or a long O? Write it in that column.”

Tip. The teams ai and oa usually sit inside a word, and ay and ow often come at the end: rain but day, boat but snow. Point it out when you spot one.

The sheet and its answer key

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2nd grade · Phonics

Vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow

For youHow to use this in 5 minutes

Meet the teams. Say: “Two vowels can team up and say one long sound. The team ai says a long A, like rain, ee says a long E, like bee, and oa says a long O, like boat.”
Fill in the team. Say: “Name the picture. Which team is missing? Use the word bank, and say the word as you write it.”
Sort by sound. Say: “Read each word. Do you hear a long A, a long E or a long O? Write it in that column.”

Tip. The teams ai and oa usually sit inside a word, and ay and ow often come at the end: rain but day, boat but snow. Point it out when you spot one.

Write the missing vowel team

Word bankaieeeaoaow

rn

snl

b

lf

bt

bl

Read each word. Write it under its long vowel sound.

Word bankplayteamroadwaitseedgrowtraycleancoat

long a as in rain

long e as in bee

long o as in boat

Circle the 5 words with a vowel team

The goat eats oats on the road in the rain.

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2nd grade · Phonics

Answer key

Vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow

Write the missing vowel team

rain (ai)
snail (ai)
bee (ee)
leaf (ea)
boat (oa)
bowl (ow)

Read each word. Write it under its long vowel sound.

long a: play, wait, tray
long e: team, seed, clean
long o: road, grow, coat

Circle the 5 words with a vowel team

goat, eats, oats, road, rain

If it’s hard

If your child reads boat as “bo-at,” cover the second letter and remind them the team makes one sound.
Spelling these is harder than reading them. Lean on the word bank; knowing which team to pick comes with lots of reading.

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