Decodable Books for UFLI Foundations Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/

Lesson 96Vowel teams and diphthongs16 books

We’re passionate about ensuring literacy is accessible to every child, as it is essential for a happy, successful life. The ou and ow decodable books for UFLI Lesson 96 bring out the /ow/ sound in words like out, loud, cloud, cow, town and owl. You can read some of them free online, at home or in class.
Free Can Birds Like Me Fly?

Can Birds Like Me Fly?

4.2 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
A bird dreams of flying, even though small wings and a big body keep its feet stuck to the ground. At Flight Academy, a crowd of birds laughs and swoops around, telling it that birds like this one just don’t fly. So it heads home, heart heavy, wondering if there’s another way to get off the ground. Could a bigger, homemade pair of wings finally help this bird soar? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘shout’, ‘crowd’, ‘frown’, ‘ground’, and ‘about’.
Adventure Animals STEM ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Free Ned Needs a New Coat

Ned Needs a New Coat

4.1 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Ned the farmer wants his new suit to look outstanding, but the first batch turns out plain brown. He heads outside to gather flowers from the ground, hoping to dye it a better color. Will Ned find the perfect shade before nightfall? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘flower’, ‘brown’, ‘outside’, ‘around’, ‘proud’.
Minecraft Humor Science ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Free Anansi and the Loud Cloud

Anansi and the Loud Cloud

4 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Anansi loves figs, but a loud cloud of hornets has taken over the town’s fig tree, stinging anyone who gets close. With the town down to plain yams, Anansi comes up with a trick to outsmart the hornets, but can a clever spider fool a crowd this proud? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ’loud’, ‘crowd’, ‘shouting’, ‘ground’, and ‘around’.
Africa Animals Adventure ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Free Jaws and Claws

Jaws and Claws

3.7 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
A tremendous T-rex crashes out of the jungle, boasting that it’s the greatest dinosaur who ever lived, but a crowd of unimpressed dinosaurs has gathered to hear it out. Will Rex’s bragging survive the other dinosaurs’ surprising talents? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘proud’, ‘growled’, ‘crowd’, ‘scowl’, ‘outstanding’.
Dinosaur Science Nonfiction ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Jump on the Pump!

Jump on the Pump!

4.2 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Jill would rather face anything than the Nether, but the mage needs a rare plant from across a lake of lava, and now Dr. Can Do has snuck through the portal alone to build his bridge machine. Will his invention hold, or send them all howling into the fire? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘shouted’, ‘frowning’, ‘ground’, ‘howled’, ‘pounding’.
Minecraft Adventure STEM ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Out on the Water

Out on the Water

4.2 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Ned has been rowing for days, with nothing but water all around him, when he finally spots land and a beach full of flowers. He jumps out of his boat, shouting that it’s the best place ever, but he has no idea what waits for him on the ground nearby. Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘house’, ‘shout’, ‘ground’, ‘brown’, ‘around’.
Minecraft Adventure Humor ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Not Yet, Dad!

Not Yet, Dad!

4.2 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Dad comes home with bags bursting with the brightest, roundest food a girl has ever seen, and she drops everything to draw it before dinner gets in the way. Tomatoes and cucumbers are easy enough once she slows down, but then Cat comes slinking by, crouched low and impossible to capture on paper. Can she find a clever way to turn her drawings into something wonderful? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘found’, ‘crouched’, ‘proud’, ‘around’, ‘wow’.
Life Animals Humor ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
The Greed Drum

The Greed Drum

4.1 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
In a big town, the Oba’s small drum can call up a feast for everyone, but only when it’s beaten with a giving heart. When a loud, greedy merchant sneaks off with it in the night, ten-year-old Remi grabs her own drum and runs north, her strong hands ready. Can she catch him before his greed wakes something no one wants to meet? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘crouches’, ‘ground’, ‘howling’, ‘pounding’, ’town’.
Africa Fantasy Adventure ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Too High to Hold

Too High to Hold

4.1 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Cam is drifting off to sleep when his feet stop touching the ground, lifting him up and around the treetops in a dream that feels too real to be just a dream. A bird dips its wing, an eagle warns him to hold on tight, and a plane shouts the same thing before Cam shoots up past the clouds. Will he ever find something to hold onto before he falls? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘shouted’, ‘clouds’, ‘proud’, ‘ground’.
Adventure Fantasy ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Tiren's Forty Cows

Tiren's Forty Cows

4 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Tiren is the smallest herd boy at home, and everyone knows it. When the older boys fall sick, he must lead forty cows alone to the water hole before a storm turns them wild. Can a boy with short legs and a clacking rod keep the whole herd safe? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘cows’, ’loud’, ‘around’, ‘shouting’, ‘ground’.
Africa Adventure Animals ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
What Does Meow Want?

What Does Meow Want?

4 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Jack thinks looking after a cat will be easy. But Meow won’t chase sticks or bark, and food turns into one puzzle after another: seeds, berries, even fish and milk get sniffed and rejected. Around the yard and out into the forest, Jack keeps searching for the one thing his frowning, proud little cat will actually eat. What will Meow finally choose? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘found’, ‘ground’, ‘proud’, ‘crouched’, ‘shouted’.
Animals Minecraft Humor ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Ineza and the Dry Hills

Ineza and the Dry Hills

3.9 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
In the land of a thousand hills, Ineza climbs into the misty hills before dawn to fetch water, and she helps a shivering old woman without being asked. Soon her little brother wanders off into the high hills, and no one can find him. Will the kindness Ineza showed at the spring help bring him home? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘shout’, ‘crouched’, ‘proud’, ‘sound’, ‘around’.
Africa Adventure Mystery ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
The Loud Claim

The Loud Claim

3.9 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Pendo can read faces and always knows who’s telling the truth, but when a powerful merchant accuses her father of stealing costly cloth, her word alone counts for nothing. Then, down by the tide pools, her fingers find a strange striped shell, and it starts to sing. Could its song be loud enough to prove what really happened? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘shout’, ‘ground’, ‘proud’, ‘sound’, and ‘frowns’.
Africa Fantasy Mystery ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Dot Has a Lot!

Dot Has a Lot!

3.9 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Tomorrow is Mom’s birthday, and a girl has a secret plan: make a bracelet from her best beads, hidden in three boxes around her room. But finding them means digging through a toy chest, a clothes drawer, and a laundry mound that towers over her head. Can she find every box before her room turns into total chaos? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘around’, ‘found’, ‘mound’, ’towels’, ‘proud’.
Life Family Humor ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Torches All Around

Torches All Around

3.9 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Dr. Can Do arrives in a village lit only by smoky, dripping torches, and he’s sure he can fix that. He gives himself three days to build something new on the hill, something shiny, glowing, and utterly torch-free. Will the villagers trust his strange invention, or will they want their old torches back? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘ground’, ‘crowd’, ‘outstanding’, ‘powered’, ‘shouted’.
Minecraft STEM Humor ou, ow /ow/
Read Book
Get Off My Back

Get Off My Back

3.7 Books are rated by kids in the Bookbot app
Lily wakes up with a strange, heavy hurt, and soon she notices a monkey clinging to her back, holding on tighter no matter what she does. It follows her everywhere, weighing down every step, every dance move, every bounce. Will Lily find a way to get this monkey off her back? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/), this book practices words like ‘crouched’, ‘found’, ‘ground’, ‘crowd’.
Life SEL Family ou, ow /ow/
Read Book

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some ow words with the /ow/ sound?

Words like cow, now, how, town, down, crown and owl use ow for the /ow/ sound. The same spelling can also say long o, as in snow and grow, so children learn to try both sounds and check which one makes a real word. The books for UFLI Lesson 96 focus on the /ow/ sound, which gives children a clear place to start.

What are some ou words?

Common ou words with the /ow/ sound include out, loud, cloud, house, mouth, shout, round and found. The ou spelling usually sits at the start or in the middle of a word, while ow often comes at the end or before n or l. Reading these words in decodable text lets children use the pattern without meeting spellings they have not learned yet.

What words begin with ow or ou?

A handful of everyday words begin with these teams, including owl, out, ouch, our and ounce. Most ou and ow words have a consonant in front, as in shout and brown, so children see the team inside a word far more often. Short words like out and owl let beginning readers use the pattern straight away, the kind of systematic practice the National Reading Panel (2000) found helpful in the early grades.

Why do some lists say English has eight diphthongs?

The count depends on the accent being described. Lists of eight usually come from British English and include the vowel sounds in day, my, boy, now, go, ear, air and tour, while lists for American English tend to be shorter. For early reading, the diphthongs children work on most are oi and oy, as in coin, and ou and ow, as in cloud and cow.

Bookbot is not endorsed by or affiliated with UFLI (the University of Florida Literacy Institute) or Jolly Learning Ltd. UFLI Foundations and Jolly Phonics are trademarks of their respective owners.

Download Bookbot now to
GET STARTED