Learning Worksheets Phonics Letter U sound
Free printable PDF · beginning sounds · ages 3–5
Letter U Sound Worksheet: Beginning Sound /u/ (Free PDF)
Umbrella, up, upside down and underpants: the short u sound is a relaxed grunt, the vowel in early words like sun, cup and bus.
What’s on the letter U worksheet
- Trace: a big dotted U and u, then a row of Uu pairs, next to the key picture (umbrella).
- Circle: 12 pictures to say aloud. 4 of them start with /u/: up, upside down, underpants and unhappy.
- Match: draw a line from 4 pictures to their first sounds.
- Page 2: the answer key, with the name of every picture and tips for grown-ups.
How to say the /u/ sound
Relax your mouth, open it a little and make a short “uh” sound, as if someone just asked you a puzzling question: /u/.
How to teach the letter u sound
Hold an umbrella or point to the umbrella picture and say u-u-umbrella. Then play “up and under”: when you say a word that starts with /u/, your child points up; for other words they point down. Underpants usually causes giggles, which helps the sound stick.
More /u/ words to say together
Up, us, under, umpire, uncle, until, umbrella, upset.
Watch out for
The letter u also says its name, as in unicorn and uniform. Those start with a /y-oo/ sound, so they are left off this page. If your child thinks of unicorn, praise the letter knowledge and explain that u has two sounds.
Game: Umbrella shelter
Open an umbrella (or pretend). Say a word. If it starts with /u/, your child jumps under the umbrella. If not, they step out into the pretend rain.
Everyday practice
Up the stairs, under the table and “uh-oh!”: these happen every day and all start with the short u sound.
Tongue twister
Uncle Ugg is upset under his umbrella.
Trace and write the letter u
Practise writing the letter too: uppercase U tracing, lowercase u tracing and cursive u. Then read short u words like bus and sun on the short u CVC words page.
Practise next
Next, try letter v and letter w. Once most letter sounds are secure, blend them into CVC words.
Letter U sound questions
Why is unicorn not a short u word?
Unicorn starts with the long u, which sounds like the word you. This page practises the short /u/ of umbrella.
Why do short vowel pages have fewer pictures?
Fewer easy-to-picture nouns start with short vowel sounds. We use a smaller number of clear pictures instead of confusing ones.
More answers in the phonics FAQ.
More Letter Sound Worksheets
Also try: CVC words · sight words · alphabet tracing