The Vowel Y (Multisyllabic Words)

Dee and Kala are going to an alphabet costume party hosted by the Y twins. When they get there, they see the first Y dressed as an I. But, when the second one comes over to say hi, it's dressed as an E! Dee and Kala are very confused! They thought Y could only say /y/ and /i/! Let's get to the bottom of this by exploring "The Vowel Y, Multisyllabic Words." You may already know that the letter Y is a consonant and says /y/ as in yawn, yellow, or yo-yo! You may also know that the letter Y can be a vowel too, that says at the end of one syllable words like sky, fly, or cry. But, did you know that Y is a special letter that can also make another vowel sound? This happens when Y follows a consonant at the end of a word with two or more syllables! Now it says E like in the words puppy, pony, or candy. Let’s say one together now, Y puppy /ē/ ! Now that we know when Y can say E, let's try sorting some words into Y /y/ and Y /ē/ groups! The first word is happy. What sound does Y make in happy? Y makes the long /ē/ sound! It follows the consonant P at the end of a two syllable word! Let's try the word yoga now. What sound does Y make in yoga? Y makes the short /y/ sound! It is a consonant in the beginning of the first syllable. Plus, the vowel O is in the first syllable too! How about the word lucky? What sound does Y make here? Y makes the long /ē/ sound! It follows the consonant K at the end of a two syllable word! Now that Dee and Kala understand the Y's costume choices, let's remember! Today we learned that the letter Y can say when it follows a consonant at the end of a multisyllabic word like puppy or in others words such as pony, or candy. " Kala, the only question I have left is: why are YOU dressed as a ?" "Well, catching Zzs and sheep have a long history, but the real question is why aren’t you dressed up as a letter?" "Silly, Kala. I'M Dee!"