OI and OY phonics worksheets
oi and oy both spell the /oi/ sound — coin, boy. And here's the good news for anyone who's done our ai/ay pack: it's the same rule. oy ends a word; oi sits in the middle. This free five-page pack teaches the sound, reuses the rule, and finishes with a maze.
One 5-page activity pack: find-and-circle, word sort, missing letters, a decodable story and a phonics maze.
What's in the pack
Page 1 — Find and circle. Sixteen words; circle the ones with oi or oy. The others are there on purpose.
Page 2 — Word sort. oi (middle) or oy (end) — the same rule as ai and ay.
Page 3 — Write the missing team. Eight words with oi or oy missing; the first is completed as an example. Say the word out loud, then decide.
Page 4 — Read the story. Roy, his lost toy, and a coin in the soil — with the read-three-times star tracker.
Page 5 — Maze time. Draw the path from the coin to the boy, stepping only on stones with the /oi/ sound. Wrong-sound stones are dead ends. (You'll need: a pencil — that's it.)
How to teach oi and oy
Start from what they know — if your child met ai/ay, say so out loud: "same rule, new sound."
Position does the work: sound at the end → oy (boy, toy, joy); sound inside → oi (coin, soil, point).
The maze at the end is the payoff: it can only be solved by ear.
When this is the right level
Use this if:
- Your child reads CVC, digraph and magic-e words confidently
- Ages 6–8
Skip this if:
- They're still working on short vowels or digraphs — start with the short vowel worksheets or digraph worksheets
- They're already reading multi-syllable words fluently
Related resources
- Vowel team worksheets hub — all the vowel team packs in one place
- AI and AY phonics worksheets — the same rule, one team earlier
- OO phonics worksheets — one spelling, two sounds
- AU and AW phonics worksheets — the /aw/ sound in sauce and saw
- Magic-e worksheets — the first way English spells the long vowels
Common questions
What's the rule for oi vs oy?
The ai/ay rule again: oy ends a word (boy, toy); oi sits in the middle (coin, soil).
We did the ai/ay pack — will this feel familiar?
Deliberately so. Reusing a rule your child already owns turns a new team into a quick win.
What do I need for the maze?
Just a pencil. Say each word out loud — the ears find the path.
Are these worksheets free?
Yes — free for personal, classroom and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need.
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