Start a free trial

Your current location:

Unit 6, Part 2: Spelling the short vowel sounds

Page 5 of 10

Unit 6: Short vowels, Part 2: o and u

Unit StartPage 12: Short vowel /o/: o, wa, quaCourse Test: Spelling test for /o/: o, wa, quaPage 14: Spelling test for /o/: o, wa, quaPage 15: Homophones and rule breakers for /o/Page 16: Short vowel /u/: u, o or ou?Page 17: When to use o to spell the /u/ sound.Course Test: Spelling test for /u/: u, o or ou?Page 19: Spelling test for /u/: u, o or ou?Page 20: Homophones for /u/Page 21: The schwa soundUnit End

Page 5 of 10

Spelling the short vowel sound /ŭ/ : u, o or ou

 /ŭ/ as in umbrella. Spelling Umbrella

Teaching point Most of the time the sound /ŭ/ is spelled with just the letter u.
BUT: sometimes the sound /ŭ/ is spelled with o or ou.


Some examples:
short u sound

u as in umbrella

Some examples:

under
ugly
umpire
uncle
until
utter
button
drunk
hungry
lunch
puppy
sudden
Learn the Words
Learn the Words: Short /u/ spelled u
short o as in oven

o as in oven

Some examples:

love
glove
some
done
come
month
wonder
among
cover
dozen
brother
worry
Learn the Words
Learn the Words: Short /u/ spelled o
ou spelling couple

ou as in couple

Some examples:

touch
young
double
trouble
country
cousin
courage
flourish
nourish
rough
tough
enough
Learn the Words
Learn the Words: Short /u/ spelled ou

You have not completed Learn the Words activities for each word list on this page.

next part of the spelling course
Go to next page:
Some help in remembering when to use o to spell the /ŭ/ sound.

X
X ⬊ ⬉
Please turn your screen to landscape to play this game.
X

The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.

Start a free trial

"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students!  I'm sure Spellzone will be invaluable in helping them to improve their spellings and therefore improve the quality of their writing in all subject areas!"

Teacher, High School, UK