← Home

Diphthongs and complex vowels

PROCEDURAL
English›Phonics & Word Reading|Ages 5—6|ID: mt_fMd7v87IiI

Read and spell words containing diphthongs and complex vowel patterns (ow, ou, ew, ue, ie, aw, au) and words ending in -y as a vowel sound

Mastery Evidence

  • Read words with variable vowel sounds (e.g. 'ow' in 'cow' vs 'snow')
  • Decode words with diphthongs (e.g. 'cloud', 'blue', 'pie')
  • Read words ending in -y pronounced as /ee/ or /igh/ (e.g. 'happy', 'my')

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] read words like 'town', 'cloud', 'flew', 'claw', or 'pie' — spotting the special vowel combinations and saying the right sound for each one?”

Curriculum Standards10 alignments

Eng_App1_Y1_34The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: ou

Vowel digraph: ou.

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_35The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraphs: ow (/aʊ/)

Vowel digraphs: ow (/aʊ/).

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_36The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraphs: ow (/əʊ/)

Vowel digraphs: ow (/əʊ/).

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_37The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: ue

Vowel digraph: ue.

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_38The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: ew

Vowel digraph: ew.

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_39The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: ie (/aɪ/)

Vowel digraph: ie (/aɪ/).

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_40The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: ie (/i:/)

Vowel digraph: ie (/i:/).

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_44The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: aw

Vowel digraph: aw.

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_45The national curriculum in England
Vowel digraph: au

Vowel digraph: au.

English · Key Stage 1
Eng_App1_Y1_50The national curriculum in England
Words ending –y

Words ending –y (/i:/ or /ɪ/).

English · Key Stage 1

Prerequisites1

Show full prerequisite tree

Unlocks0

No topics build on this one.