Vowels and Consonants Worksheet

Practise vowels and consonants

Knowing the difference between vowels and consonants is one of the earliest building blocks of phonics and spelling. This generator builds a printable worksheet from a curated list of simple, familiar words — cat, sun, apple, banana and more. For each word the pupil counts how many vowels (a, e, i, o, u) it contains and how many consonants, then writes each total in its own box. Because the counts are calculated directly from each word, the answer key is always correct and marking takes seconds.

Every sheet is freshly shuffled from the word bank, so you can print a different worksheet for each child or each lesson without repeating the same words.

Vowels and consonants explained

The English alphabet has five main vowels — a, e, i, o and u — and the remaining twenty-one letters are consonants. Vowels are the open sounds that form the core of most syllables, while consonants are the sounds we make by partly or fully blocking the airflow. Counting them in short words helps children see how words are built and prepares them for blending, segmenting and syllable work later on. Pointing out that every word needs at least one vowel is a useful first generalisation.

What you can customise

• Number of words — from a short warm-up to a full page.
• Answer key — include a marked copy showing both counts for every word.
• Worksheet title — keep the default or add your own heading.
• Name & date — add fields for classroom use.
• Paper size — print on A4 or US Letter.

How to use it

1. Set how many words you want on the sheet.
2. Toggle the answer key and the Name/Date fields as needed.
3. Preview the live PDF and press Generate New to reshuffle the words.
4. Download or print — the branded worksheet is ready to hand out.

Teaching ideas

Use the worksheet as a quick phonics warm-up, then extend it: ask pupils to circle the vowels in one colour and the consonants in another before they count, or challenge them to find the word with the most vowels on the page. Pair it with letter-sorting activities or a wall display of vowels versus consonants. For older pupils, link the counts to syllable work by noting how the number of vowel sounds hints at the number of syllables. The fresh word list each time keeps the activity varied across a week of lessons.