The "oo" sound — /u/
As in moon. Tap play to hear the sound, see the mouth shape, and hear 15 example words.
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Grapheme — the letters
oo
What a child sees written down and writes by hand.
Phoneme — the sound
/u/
What a child hears and says out loud — written in IPA, the standard notation for sounds (not letter names).
Mouth shape
Small round mouth, long 'oo'
Gesture
Move head as if watching a cuckoo clock saying oo-oo-oo
Words to read now
Every letter in these has been taught by this point in the teaching order, so your child can sound them out.
- moon
- food
- zoo
- tool
- cool
- boot
- pool
- soon
- spoon
- noon
- groom
- stool
- scoop
- bloom
- hoop
Teach the “oo” sound: free printables
Two free PDFs made for this sound. Print them, or use the full lesson online with audio and games.
“oo” practice sheetFor your child: trace, find the sound in pictures, read and match. Name & date on top. Download PDF
“oo” lesson planFor you: a 10-minute lesson with what to say, the answer key and common mix-ups. Download PDFCompare: /u/ vs /ʊ/
Same letters, two sounds — long and tight in "moon", short and relaxed in "book".
Learn the “oo” sound →How to teach the “oo” sound
- Hear it first. Tap Play three times. Have your child watch your mouth while you copy the sound — no letter name yet, just the pure phoneme /u/.
- Do the gesture. Move head as if watching a cuckoo clock saying oo-oo-oo— kids remember sounds 2× faster when there’s a physical action attached.
- Find it in words. Say a few example words aloud slowly, stretching the /u/ sound: “m–o–o–n”.
- Spot it around the house. “Can you find something that starts with /u/?” Aim for 3 wins in a row before stopping.
Related sounds in this unit
Turn this into a dated schedule
Pick a start date and a pace, and get all 44 sounds laid out as dated sessions — free to preview, downloadable as a calendar.
Teach phonics online — one short lesson a day
Sign in free and follow a plan that remembers where you are. Right here in your browser, on phone, tablet or computer — nothing to download.
- 92 step-by-step lessons, SATPIN first
- Big flashcards to show your child
- Games, checkpoints and progress for every sound
For little ones (2–6) there’s also our sound-play game on iPhone & iPad and Android.