Vowels and Consonants Graphing

We recently shared a post titled Vowels and Consonants Made Easy with Sorting Game, in which we discussed the importance of understanding the differences between vowels and consonants for students learning to read. We explained that vowels and consonants are the building blocks of words, and that students need to recognize their differences to learn to read and read fluently.

I wanted to help students recognize these differences in a fun and personal way – so I created the following Vowel and Consonant activities to further their  understanding of vowels and consonants. And, for this activity, we used something very personal to them, their names!!!

Note: For these activities, the following are true:

 📝The five vowels are a, e, i, o, u
 📝The consonants are all the other letters in the alphabet
 📝The letter y is considered a consonant in this game
 📝Every word in the English language contains at least one vowel!

Preparing the Activity

✔️Download and print out the recording pages. You can download the free templates here. Cut the templates apart.
✔️Create a “How Many Vowels in Your Name” graph for the group. See photo.
✔️Optional:  Create a “How Many Consonants in Your Name” graph for the group.
✔️ Have some tape or glue ready for the graphing activity.

Reviewing Vowels and Consonants

Before diving into our names, I wanted to be sure we were all on the same page about which letters are vowels and which are consonants. I used the letters from the Vowels and Consonants Made Easy with Sorting Game, and we worked together to sort the letters into groups. I left the letters on the board for our next activity, for students to refer to when they worked independently later. We did discuss how ‘y’ can be both a vowel and a consonant, but labeled it as a consonant for this activity.

Sorting Vowels and Consonants in Our Names

Then it was time to make the activity personal by using our names to sort vowels and consonants! I gave each student a “How Many Vowels are in my Name” recording paper and modeled how to fill it out using my name.  

✏️ Write your name where it says name. Try to write as neatly as possible!
✏️ Circle the vowel in your name.
✏️  Then circle the vowels in the list you found in your name.
✏️  Count how many times vowels appear in your name, then write the number in the box!

Tips for Success

 💡 Remind students to use the letters sorted earlier for reference if needed.
💡 If a student is still having trouble, use the letter cards or tiles to spell their name, then have them physically remove the vowels from their name and fill out the recording page.
💡 Challenge students by asking them how many times vowels appear in their name and how many of the 5 vowels are in their name.

Creating a How Many Vowels in Our Names Graph

Hang the “How Many Vowels in Your Name” graph on the board. Explain to students that they will place their recording paper in the correct column on the graph. For example, if they have 3 vowels in their name, their paper goes in the ‘3’ column. 

After all students have hung up their papers, discuss what they see on the graph and ask some of the following questions. 

❓How many people have 1 vowel in their name? 2 vowels? 3 vowels? etc.
❓ Does anyone have 0 vowels in their name? This is a great time to remind them that all words in the English language have at least one vowel!
❓Which number of vowels in our names is the most common? Which is least?
❓How many more students have __ (number of vowels) in their name than ____ (number of vowels)?
❓How many fewer students have __ (number of vowels) in their name than ____ (number of vowels)?
❓How many students have the same number of vowels in their name?

How Many Consonants are in Your Name?

You can repeat the same steps using the “How Many Consonants are in my Name” recording page and group graph! We completed the vowel graph one day, then the next day we did the consonant graph, but not before making some predictions based on what we had seen with the vowel graph.  And, they were very proud when their predictions were right!

“There would be more slips of paper in the bigger number columns.” 
“ The zero column would be empty again since every word has at least one consonant.”

This activity covers so many skills at once — vowels and consonants, writing, counting, graphing, and data analysis. All while making it personal and meaningful for every student!

How would you use these ideas? Share in the comments below!

 Looking for more ideas?

Vowels and Consonants Made Easy with Sorting Game

Meet and Make the Superfriend Vowels FREE Printable Included