Consonant or Vowel?

Sort the letters of the alphabet into two groups: consonants and vowels.

a b c d e f g h i jk l mn
o p q r s t u vwxy z
Consonants Vowels

bc d f ghjklm a e i o u
npq rs t vwxyz
 Sort the Words!
Words starting with a consonant Words starting with a vowel

teacher egg
jumper apple
laptop otter
book umbrella
yoghurt icicle
 ‘a’ or ‘an’?

an orange a house

a pencil an envelope

a rabbit an apple

Usually, we put ‘a’ before words that start with a

consonant and ‘an’ before words that start with a vowel.
 ‘a’ or ‘an’?
Try these sentences – should it be ‘a’ or ‘an’?
Tomorrow, I am going to a party.

Humpty Dumpty was an egg.

I always have an umbrella in my bag in
case it rains.

The dog was on a lead.

You can make a house out of snow,

which is called an igloo.
 ‘a’ or ‘an’?
Which sounds correct?

I want to ride a unicorn.

I want to ride an unicorn.

Although ‘unicorn’ starts with a vowel, the letter ‘u’ makes the ‘y’
sound, so ‘a’ is used instead of ‘an’.
 ‘a’ or ‘an’?
Which sounds correct?

I waited for a hour.

I waited for an hour.

Although ‘hour’ starts with a consonant, the letter ‘h’ makes the
short ‘o’ sound, so ‘an’ is used instead of ‘a’.
 Can you decide whether ‘a’ or ‘an’ should go before these words?
Click on the hotspots to see whether you are correct.

×
10
a light

×1
an avocado
a lemon
×
9
×
2
an onion
×
3 ×
8
a tomato a pear

a nut
×
5 ×
4 ×
7
an apple an orange
a paper bag
×
6
 The Great Kapok Tree
A snake lived in the Kapok tree. He slithered over to the
sleeping man and hissed in his ear: “Senhor, this tree is my
home, where my ancestors lived. Do not chop it down!”
A jaguar padded silently over to the sleeping man. He
growled in his ear: “Senhor, the Kapok tree is home to many
birds and animals. If you cut it down, what will I eat?”
An anteater slid down the Kapok tree. She said to the
sleeping man: “Senhor, you must know that what happens
tomorrow depends on what happens today. Do you want your
children to have a future without trees?”
A sloth plodded over to the sleeping man. She spoke in
her deep and lazy voice: “Senhor, can you live without beauty?
If you destroy the beautiful rainforest, what will you have to
look at?”
 ‘a’ or ‘an’ Word Search
How many words can you think of in two minutes that word need ‘a’ or
‘an’ before them?

‘a’ ‘an’

Complete the
table on your
whiteboard.

Start
Time’s up!