Meet and Make the Super-Friend Vowels

📝 This post, Super-Friend Vowels, was originally published in 2014 and has been updated with new information and resources.

Sometimes when I am teaching, ideas come to me at the last minute or even as I am talking with my students. This happened to me just the other day.  I was teaching my students about the differences between consonants and vowels.  I was explaining that consonants make one sound, but vowels make more than one sound. As I spoke, this tale of how vowels are like superheroes evolved.  I told my students that vowels are so powerful that they can change their own sound and the sounds of other letters! I compared it to Clark Kent going into the phone booth and coming out as Superman – thank goodness kids still know who Superman is these days!!

  The reaction from my students was incredible!! Lightbulbs were going on all over the place. And, for the first time in all my years of teaching first grade, EVERY student understood the difference between the two types of letters and could name the 5 vowels or “Super-Friend letters” as they are now known in our classroom.

I shared this experience with my teaching partner, and what happened in her classroom couldn’t have been more perfect. One of her students brought up the letter “y” and how it can be both a vowel and a consonant.  Another student added, “Y is a villain!” It can be a super-friend letter and consonant, so it is the “villain letter!”

The kids took off with this idea, as did we.  I went home that night and created some Super-Friend characters out of all things toilet paper rolls and some fabric I had lying around the house.  I took them to school the next day, and my students immediately wanted to make their own. So, we did…

Super-Friend Vowels

Materials Needed

✔️toilet paper rolls – lots of them!
✔️construction paper
✔️fabric scraps (solid colors)
✔️scissors
✔️glue
✔️optional: hot glue 

Making our Super-Friend Vowels

Before the students dove in, I modeled how to make a Super-Friend Vowel. I did not provide any templates. I am a strong believer in the problem-solving skills that go along with “figuring it out.” 

✏️Students begin by deciding which vowel they want to make. They may choose to make the other vowels or even the villain later!
✏️ They then cover their toilet paper tube with construction paper.
✏️ They then add a mask, the costume, and the belt with the letter on it.
✏️ For the eyes, we punched holes in white paper, added a dot, and glued them onto the mask.
✏️ The final steps were using the fabric to make the capes and the vowel for the capes. 

From creativity and cooperation to peer-teaching and fine motor skills, this experience was packed with learning — including one of the most important lessons of all: learning from mistakes!

Graphing the Super-Friend Vowels in Our Names

I decided to take this activity one step further and return to the reason we started – learning the differences between vowels and consonants.  We were going to find the Super-Friend letters in our names then create a class graph. Here’s how we did it.

Looking for Vowels in our Names

Materials Needed

✔️Super-Friend Vowels recording page (download here)
✔️ pencil
✔️ prepared graph (see image)

Completing the Super-Friends Recording Page

✏️ Print out the recording page template, then cut it apart. Make enough for each student.
✏️ Have students write their name on the line.
✏️ They then circle the vowels that appear in their name.
✏️ Finally, they answer the question, “How many Super-Friend letters are in your name?”

Graphing the Results

✏️ Hang the prepared graph on the board.
✏️ Have students place their recording pages in the correct column.
✏️ Discuss the results.

💡What is the most common number of Super-Friend Letters in our names?
💡What is the least common number of Super-Friend Letters in our names?
💡Why are there no names with no Super-Friend letters?
💡How many more names have ___ Super-Friend Letters than ____?
💡How many fewer names have ___ Super-Friend Letters than ____?

Optional Extension: Graphing Consonants

Repeat the same steps as above, only use the consonants recording sheet and the matching graph.

The Super-Friend Vowels activity is one of those magical teaching moments that I will never forget — and neither will my students! If you try this with your class, I would love to hear how it goes! Drop a comment below and share your experience! 💚

 Looking for More Ideas?

Vowels and Consonants Sorting Game