AU and AW words – Free Printable Clip Card Activities

As you are studing the phonics vowel teams, you will come accross au and aw words. Come learn the rules for au aw words as well as words lists to practice reading and spelling these words. FInally, grab our free printable clip cards for a fun au and aw activities for first graders.

au and aw words

This week we are reviewing when and how to use the vowel sound au and aw. This is a fun phonics English activity for grade 1 students who are working on vowel teams. I decided to make up these clip cards so that we are hitting different ways of learning, which can help her remember and understand better. These hands-on tools give her a fun way to practice finding, spelling, and writing words with that special vowel team. Whether you are a parent, teacher or homeschooler you will appreciate that we will review the rules for au aw words. Plus we will go through words lists for the au sound in English and the aw sound in English. Finally grab our words with au aw printable activity to make practicing fun in your phonics lessons, at literacy centers, and more!

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Rules for the Vowel Team “au” and “aw”

“Aw” and “au” both represent the same vowel sound in many words. This sound is similar to the “aw” in “saw” or the “au” in “caught.”

In English, it can be challenging to distinguish between vowel sounds, and the “aw” and “au” pair exemplifies this. When coming across these letter combinations, it’s crucial to pay attention to where they are typically used. For instance, words like “draw” and “raw” both feature the letters “aw”, whereas words like “haul” and “fault” showcase the “au” letters.

I’m totally into digging into how we spell stuff and when we use those vowel pairs. Take “aw” and “au” for instance, they’re like a cool part of the crazy English spelling tapestry and have their own set of generalizations that help us know when and where to use them.

The vowel team “au” is like a chameleon, blending into different syllable positions depending on its mood. Sometimes it’s hanging out at the beginning, other times it’s chilling in the middle, and occasionally it’s just lounging at the end. It’s like the vowel team that’s always looking for the best spot in the syllable party! Can you blame “au” for wanting to mix things up and keep us on our toes?

AU sound in english

Here are some important rules to remember when it comes to au phonics words:

• The au digraph is often pronounced as ‘aw’ as in the word ‘saw’ or ‘law’.
• However, there are exceptions where au can be pronounced as ‘oh’ as in words like ‘taught’ or ‘daughter’.
• Sometimes, au can even be pronounced as ‘uh’ as in the word ‘launch’ or ’cause’.
• When the first syllable only has the /aw/ sound in it, generally the “au” will be used. Examples include: Au-thor, Au-tumn, and Au-thor-i-ty

AU sound words list: augment, autumn, audience, authentic, author, automatic, Austarlia, auction, audio, audit, auburn, applause, astronaut, audition, automobile, because, cause, clause, caution, exhaust, fraud, faucet, gauze, haul, launch, laundry, jaunt, pause, sauce, sauna, saucer, trauma

AW sound in english

• The vowel team “aw” can generally be found at the end of the syllable. This pattern is commonly observed in words such as “saw,” “draw,” “flaw,” and “paw.”
• When the “k” sound follows “aw”, it is commonly written as “awk”. An example of this is the word “hawk”.
• Generally, when you hear the ‘au’ sound followed by ‘n’, it’s usually spelled as ‘awn’. So, words like fawn or dawn would be good examples of that.
• Did you know that when you hear “aw” followed by the “l” sound, it’s usually written as “awl”? For example, you can see this in the words “shawl” and “crawl”.

AW sound words list: awe, awesome, awful, bawl, brawl, claw, crawfish, crawl, dawn, draw, drawn, fawn, flaw, gnaw, hawk, jaw, jigsaw, law, lawn, outlaw, paw, pawn, raw, rawhide, saw, sawdust, scrawl, scrawny, seesaw, spawn, straw, thaw, withdraw, yawn

au and aw Activities

First, print the clip cards on card stock paper. Cut them out. Laminate them. Finally, gather clothes pins and dry-erase markers.

When instructing kids on how to use clip cards, consider the following directions

• Look at the picture: Carefully look at the picture and say that word out loud. If you are not sure of the picture, use the word below the picture to help you say the word. Where there are blanks, make the “aw” sound
• Examine the choices: Look at the two ways to spell the “aw” sound. Think about the generalizations for the vowel teams.
• Select an answer: Choose the correct answer to the question on the card. You can do this by clipping a clothespin onto the correct answer.
• Write: Now use your dry-erase marker to correctly spell the word on the lines.
• Repeat: Now grab another card, and follow the same steps.
• Review: After completing all the cards, review your answers with an adult or teacher. Discuss any questions you found challenging and understand why certain answers are correct.

Remember, clip cards are a fun way to practice different skills, so enjoy the process and learn as you go!

Words with au aw

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Rachel is a homeschool mom to four little ones, ages 2 to 6. She is a former public elementary teacher, and has recently began blogging at her page You’ve Got This.