OO phonics worksheets

oo is the team with a twist: one spelling, two sounds — /oo/ as in moon and /oo/ as in book. There's no rule for which is which; listening is the skill. This free five-page pack builds that ear — and hides a picture that only appears when your child colours each word by its sound.

One 5-page activity pack: word sort, finish-the-sentence, a colour-by-sound picture reveal, a decodable story and a roll-and-read game.

Click to enlarge

What's in the pack

Page 1 — Word sort. Twelve oo words sorted into "oo as in moon" and "oo as in book" columns. Say the word, then listen.

Page 2 — Finish the sentence. Six sentences, each with a choice of two oo words; circle or write the right one. The first is completed as an example.

Page 3 — Colour by sound. A hidden-picture reveal. Colour the moon-sound spaces blue and the book-sound spaces brown — done right, a crescent moon and stars appear above an open book. The legend shows the real colours with the colour names in big letters.

Page 4 — Read the story. A short decodable story using the pack's words, with a "read it three times — colour a star each time" tracker.

Page 5 — Roll and read. The dice game — roll, read a word from that column, cross it out. Two players: first to clear a column wins. (You'll need one die.)

How to teach the two oo sounds

There's no rule — so don't invent one. Teach by contrast: say moon and book together, stretch the vowels, let your child hear the difference.

Then it's exposure: the pack's five activities are five meetings with the same words. The colouring page turns the discrimination into something visible — if the picture looks right, the listening was right.

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
• OI and OY phonics worksheets — the /oi/ sound in coin and boy
• AU and AW phonics worksheets — the /aw/ sound in sauce and saw
• OA and OW phonics worksheets — the long o teams in boat and snow
• Long vowel worksheets — single sheets across all the long vowel spellings

Common questions

Why does oo sound different in moon and book?

oo spells two sounds — the long /oo/ (moon, food, zoo) and the short /oo/ (book, look, good). Which sound a word takes is learned by listening, not by rule.

Is there a rule for which oo sound a word uses?

No reliable one — and that's fine. Children pick it up through hearing the words often, which is exactly what this pack is built for.

What picture does the colouring reveal?

A crescent moon and stars above an open book — the two sounds, literally. If the picture comes out right, every word was sorted correctly.

Are these worksheets free?

Yes — free for personal, classroom and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need.