OW Sounds: Free Printables

Two Sounds of OW

OW is a grapheme that can represent two different phonemes (sounds) – /ow/ like cow AND /ō/ like snow.

❄ OW spells /ō/ like snow.
When the letters OW represent the /ō/ sound, it is categorized as a vowel team or vowel digraph. The two letters come together and create the long o sound.

🐄 OW spells /ow/ like cow.
When OW represents the /ow/ sound, it is categorized as a diphthong.

👉 Learn more about the Vowel Team/Diphthong Syllable Type, which is only one of the six syllable types.

OW Words

Check out these two charts with OW words, organized them by sound. Each chart below includes 20 words, for a total of 40 OW words!

OW words with /ō/ sound:

OW words with /ow/ sound:

👩🏾‍🏫 Did you know? The grapheme OU can also represent the /ow/ sound, like in cloud, shout, or hound. So how do you know when to use the OW spelling vs. OU spelling? It’s pretty simple.

• OW will be used at the end of the word or syllable UNLESS it is followed by the letter l or n. Take a look at the word list above!
• OU is always used within a syllable. This is because words of English origin don’t end in the letter u. (Learn more about the spelling rules you should know!)

Teaching Tips

We’re sharing engaging, effective ideas for introducing the OW sounds to kids.

Use a Memory Hook

Using memory hooks create strong associations between the sound or spelling pattern and something familiar, making it easier for students to recall the information.

👉 The memory hook for the two sounds of OW is, “The cow has a bow.”

I love making up little jingles for my students, so I add the sounds to this memory hook and I teach it this way: “/ou/, /ō/ – the cow has a bow.” Kids really love this!

Correct Sound Wall Placement

Add the grapheme OW to the vowel valley of your classroom sound wall!

Since it can represent two sounds, add OW below the diphthong /ou/ and below the /ō/ on your classroom sound wall.

Use Grapheme Cards

As with all scope and sequences that are aligned with structured literacy, you should introduce one sound at a time for each grapheme.

Once that sound has been mastered, you introduce the next sound. Use our phonogram cards for this!

Do some of the terms we’ve used sound unfamiliar? Dive deeper and learn more about phonemes and graphemes.

Printable Resources

We’re giving you two free resources (yay!) to help teach OW to your students. These resources are designed to use after each sound has been explicitly taught individually.

1. Sound Wort Worksheet: This no-prep printable has kids reading OW words and sorting them according to the sounds. They must rely on their knowledge of vocabulary to correctly pronounce and sort the words.
2. Memory Hook Graphic: Using this simple graphic, kids can remember the memory hook used for teaching the two sounds of OW. Just print and use it in your child’s interactive phonics notebooks. Then, they can continue referencing it, as needed.

🖨 Download & Print

We’d love to hear about your experience using this resource and value your feedback!
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'OW' Memory Hook Graphic

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'OW' Sound Sort Worksheet

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👉 Get more freebies: Oi/oy worksheet, ai/ay worksheet.