What are Vowel Teams? A vowel team is when two vowels work together to make one sound in a word. For example, in the word “boat,” the vowels o and a team up to make the long /o/ sound.

How Do Vowel Teams Work? When you see two vowels next to each other, they often form a vowel team. The first vowel usually says its name (a long vowel sound), and the second vowel is silent. For example, in the word “rain,” the vowel team ai makes the long /a/ sound.