Back to LessonsPhase 4: Vowel Teams
Phase 4 introduces vowel team spellings — pairs of letters that make one vowel sound together.What to Expect
By the end of Phase 4, the learner can read most simple English words including vowel team words. Independent reading starts to feel natural.
Sounds Introduced
| Sound | Type | As In | Lesson |
|---|
| ea | vowel team | eat, read | 79 |
| ee | vowel team | see, feet (same sound as ea) | 80 |
| oa | vowel team | boat, road | 82 |
| ay | vowel team | day, play (same sound as ai) | 84 |
| ai | vowel team | rain, tail | 88 |
Skills Learned
- Reading vowel teams (ea, ee, oa, ay, ai)
- Understanding multiple spellings of the same sound
- Distinguishing similar vowel sounds
- Reading multi-sentence passages
- Building reading speed
Words Learned in This Phase
dugL77 thinkL78 beadL79 beakL79 beamL79 beanL79 beastL79 beatL79 beaverL79 cheapL79 cheatL79 dealL79 deanL79 deepL79 deerL79 earL79 easeL79 eastL79 fearL79 feastL79 feelL79 gearL79 gleamL79 healL79 heapL79 heatL79 heelL79 keenL79 leadL79 leafL79 leakL79 leanL79 leapL79 leastL79 leaveL79 mealL79 measleL79 nearL79 neatL79 peaL79 peachL79 peakL79 pealL79 reachL79 readL79 reapL79 rearL79 reasonL79 seaL79 sealL79 seamL79 seasonL79 seekL79 seemL79 seenL79 shearL79 squealL79 teaL79 teachL79 tealL79 teamL79 teaseL79 vealL79 weakL79 weanL79 weaveL79 weedL79 weekL79 wheatL79 wheelL79 yearL79 yeastL79 zealL79 seeL80 seedL80 goodL81 boatL82 roadL82 hisL83 dayL84 meatL84 wayL84 homeL86 aidL88 ailL88 aimL88 baitL88 bareL88 careL88 chainL88 chairL88 failL88 faintL88 fairL88 faithL88 fellL88 gainL88 hailL88 hairL88 jailL88 laidL88 lainL88 maidL88 mailL88 nailL88 paidL88 pailL88 painL88 paintL88 pairL88 raidL88 railL88 rainL88 raiseL88 sailL88 saintL88 shareL88 tailL88 vainL88 wailL88 waistL88
121 words · View full word list
Stories for This Phase
The Rain A story using ai words.a L3 seat L91 the L17 road L82 to L26 on L24 ran L23 for L68 of L94 sun L98 ate L92 came L90 had L39 pal L100 we L94 i L34 time L59 book L97 good L81 my L72 meal L79 read L79 real L144 rain L88 tail L88 waited L100 end L100
The Team A story about a team using ea words.a L3 team L79 is L15 the L17 do L26 can L24 far L49 dean L79 lean L79 leap L79 read L79 meat L79 meal L79 rain L88 wait L88
Mail for Me A story using ai and ea words.a L3 me L141 see L80 at L7 sat L8 dear L12 is L15 it L28 the L17 to L26 on L24 for L68 all L118 came L90 name L37 had L39 pal L100 i L34 letter L150 noon L65 my L72 read L79 aim L88 mail L88 said L22 you L30
Tips for This Phase
The learner now encounters multiple ways to spell the same sound. Point out the patterns: ee and ea both say ēēē, ay and ai both say āāā.