The Schwa Sound

Be Aware – Notice Schwa:

Schwa is a light vowel sound that can be made by any vowel. It is the most common sound in the English language. It is often very similar to a short u “uh”, but is softer and weaker. The symbol for schwa is an upside down e: ə.

• a: was, atlas
• e: camel, seven
• i: cabin, denim
• o: from, button
• u: focus, upon

In words with more than one syllable, one syllable is stressed or given more emphasis. Other syllables are unstressed, or unaccented. The schwa sound can occur in an unaccented syllable, so it is heard more often in words with more than one syllable.

One Syllable Schwa

Since the Schwa sound is more often found in words with more than one syllable, it is included at the end of the Phonics Pow Toolkit. (V.c) However, it is a good idea to introduce it earlier as Schwa can be found in some one syllable words like: a, was, the, from, does, and of.

Ā or /uh/? Either is okay! It was a/uh/ long way. It took ā long time.
Thē or Th/uh/? Generally, if the word following begins with:
• Consonant sound – Thə/uh/ flowers bloomed.
• Vowel sound – It was thē end of the story. Practice Thē or Th/uh/ at Grammar Monster.

The sled was a lot of fun.

Hear the Schwa sound in these one syllable words with the letter o: My son won a ton of money a month from the lottery. At the end of the Silent e section (III.a) there are activities with words that have the Schwa sound (some love gloves).

Two Syllable Schwa

WATCH

Tigers and Robins and Camels, oh my! In two syllable words with one middle consonant, the first syllable can sometimes be open and long (as in tiger) or short (as in robin and camel). The second syllable of these words can often have the schwa sound.

Extra Attention to A Schwa

Any vowel can make the Schwa sound: zebra, open, pencil, lemon, and butter. But let’s give a little extra attention to the letter A, which can make the Schwa sound at the beginning (aware) and end (ninja) of some words. Play an online word search game with words where the letter a makes the Schwa sound at the beginning.

The letter a can make the Schwa sound at the end of some words like extra.

The letter a can also sometimes make the Schwa sound in the middle of words like: alphabet, amazon, elephant.

Practice words that have an A Schwa with a set of resources available at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers that includes a handout, worksheet, and nice dice practice. There is also a free Schwa Word Treasure game. Try an online word sort.

The Consonant -le syllable type ends with a Schwa sound: /uh-l/. See also /ul/ variations: An eagle is a symbol, a squirrel is a mammal.

More Resources

PLAY A Schwa maze at English-Zone.com. Pizza! Pizza! printable schwa game from the literacy nest. Online Quiz at purposegames.

Read about short U & the schwa sound from challengeoflearningUSEnglish.