Is Y a Vowel? Or Is it a Consonant? Maybe It’s Both! 

While the letter “y” is technically a consonant, it can sometimes function as a vowel. This list of 50 words containing the letter “y” acting as a vowel sound has been compiled to assist you in implementing your phonics program in your classroom. The letter “y” acts as a vowel in the following ways in the list words:

• as a long “e” sound (as in lady)
• as a short “i” sound (as in system)
• as a long “i” sound (as in shy)

Multiple Applications for List of  Y as a Vowel Words

This literacy resource can be used in numerous ways to support the diverse needs of your learners. Here are some of our suggestions:

Whole-class instruction

Project the word list on your interactive whiteboard. As a class, color-code the words according to the vowel sounds the letter “y” is making. Challenge the students to identify more words that contain the letter “y” acting as a vowel.

Individual practice

Send the lists home so your students can revise decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) the words on the list. Be sure to include only words containing letter-sound correspondences you have already addressed in class. 

Formative assessment

Use the word list as a progress monitoring tool to keep track of your student’s phonemic awareness and to identify the variations of the letter “y” acting as a vowel that require further review. 

Easily Download This Resource for Your Students

Use the Download button to access the PDF or editable Google Slides version of this resource.