How to Teach the Letter Y
The letter Y is one of the most confusing letters in the English language.
Sometimes it's a consonant.
Sometimes it’s a vowel.
And when it’s a vowel? It might say /ē/, /ī/, or even /ĭ/ depending on the word.
If we don’t teach students when and why Y makes different sounds, they’ll resort to guessing and they’ll start to think all the “rules” they learned about letters in Kindergarten don’t actually work.
But when we teach Y explicitly, it will start to make a lot more sense for our students!
What does the letter Y say?
Here’s how we break it down for students:
Y as a consonant
Says /y/ like in yo-yo
Found at the beginning of a syllable or word
Consonant sound (not a vowel)
Y as a vowel
We use the phrase: “Cry Baby at the Gym” 🍼😢🏋️♀️
It captures all the long vowel sounds Y can make at the end of a word.
Cry → Y says /ī/ at the end of a one-syllable word
Baby → Y says /ē/ at the end of a multi-syllable word
Gym → Y says /ĭ/ in the middle of a closed syllable
These visuals help students remember when Y acts like a vowel and what sound it makes.
How we teach the letter Y for reading & spelling
We follow the same structured sequence to teach the Y rule, whether for decoding or encoding.
1. Teach the Sound in Isolation
We introduce all 4 common sounds of Y:
/y/ – consonant (yo-yo)
/ī/ – cry
/ē/ – baby
/ĭ/ – gym
We say each sound and give clear examples. Then we practice writing the letter Y while saying:
“Y says /ī/ in cry. Y says /ē/ in baby. Y says /ĭ/ in gym. Y says /y/ in yo-yo.”
2. Connect to Syllable Structure
We teach students to look at the position of Y in the word to determine its role:
Beginning of word/syllable = consonant
End of 1-syllable word = /ī/ (Open syllable)
End of multi-syllable word = /ē/ (Open syllable)
Middle of closed syllable = /ĭ/ (Closed syllable)
This allows students to analyze, not memorize.
3. Practice at the Word & Multisyllable Level
We guide students through decoding and spelling:
One-syllable Y words: cry, fly, try
Multi-syllable Y words: baby, bunny, jelly
Closed-syllable Y words: gym, myth
Consonant Y: yes, yellow, yawn
In spelling, we have students practice:
Sorting words by sound and syllable structure
Building words with Y in different positions
Talking about why a word ends in Y instead of another vowel spelling
4. Practice in Sentences
We apply the rule through sentence work:
Sentence Building: Students use 2–3 Y words in a sentence
Sentence Combining: Merge ideas using words with different Y sounds
Sentence Dictation: Spell and write a sentence with attention to capitalization, punctuation, and the Y pattern
This helps solidify visual memory and context cues.
5. Extend to Paragraphs & Real Texts
Older students write short paragraphs using a mix of Y words. We also have them highlight or circle words with Y in passages or authentic books.
This builds:
Pattern recognition
Transfer of skills to authentic texts across contexts
What if my students get stuck?
Well, that’s a thing for sure! Some students will make errors like
Use Y as a vowel when it should be a consonant
Mix up /ī/ and /ē/ based on word length
Forget that gym has a short vowel sound from Y
To support them:
Revisit the “Cry Baby at the Gym” phrase
Use anchor charts or color-coding
Provide side-by-side comparisons (cry vs. baby, yo-yo vs. yellow)
Ready to teach the letter Y explicitly yourself?
We’ve got you covered.
Just getting started?
Grab our free Phonics Rule Posters that cover the rule and keyword for each pattern we teach (including the letter Y).
And if you’re ready to go deeper…
Join us for one of our FREE on-demand PD trainings to learn more about our exact process for supporting students who need extra support.
If you work in the elementary setting - Check out our training, “Delivering Effective Elementary Literacy Intervention: The 5-Step Framework for Grades K-6.” To learn more and get free resources you can use to support your instruction! ➡️ Click here to sign up!
If you work in the secondary setting - Check out “Delivering Effective Secondary Literacy Intervention: The 5-Step Framework for Grades 6–12.” To learn more and get free resources you can use to support your instruction! ➡️ Click here to sign up!
