long o /ō/

long o is the /ō/ sound like in ‘home’, or when the vowel says its name'.

  1. /ō/ can be spelled oa, like boat
    2. /ō/ can be spelled ow, like slow
    3. when the silent e uses its magic, like in ‘home’ (see magic e lesson: part 2, lesson 9)
    4. /ō/ can be spelled oe, like in toe

ow oa slow boat

This is the long o sound /ō/

oa can be in the start of a word or syllable (oat), but it’s usually in the middle (boat, float, goat).

ow can be in the start, middle or end of a word or syllable (own, grown, slow), but it’s most frequently at the end (grow, snow, flow, blow).

oa and ow are called vowel teams, because, yes, they are two vowels that together make only one sound — /ō/ — they are a team.

ow oa row boat

This is the long o sound /ō/

oa can be in the start of a word or syllable (oat), but it’s usually in the middle (boat, float, goat).

ow can be in the start, middle or end of a word or syllable (own, grown, slow), but it’s most frequently at the end (grow, snow, flow, blow).

oa and ow are called vowel teams, because, yes, they are two vowels that together make only one sound — /ō/ — they are a team.