What about y in the middle, like gym?

Inside a word, y can act as a short i, and that pattern has its own page (Short-Vowel Digraphs and Y as Short I). This sheet keeps the spotlight on the end-of-word pattern.

How does this help with plurals later?

The y-to-i spelling change (baby/babies) starts from knowing final y is a vowel. This sort lays exactly that foundation.

2nd grade y as a vowel

2nd grade y as a vowel worksheets

Second graders sort y words automatically and apply the pattern in reading and spelling, including the exceptions: reply and deny keep long i because the beat falls on the last part, while twenty and penny say long e.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RF.2.3.b.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of words you'll sort

Write each word from the bank in the correct column.

angryflytwentysillydenyJulyfamilyby

Columns: y says long i and y says long e. "deny" belongs under y says long i; "family" belongs under y says long e.

Every print pulls a new set of words at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 2nd grade sheet

2nd grade sheets draw from 32 words, 14 to a page. 1st and 2nd grade print from the same 32 words. What changes is the standard (RF.2.3.b here) and the teaching notes below. 1st grade sheets print 10 to a page.

Some of the words:

dryfryreplyfunnypuppycandypennytinypartylucky

Sorting. Write each word from the bank in the correct column. 14 words per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Put penny and deny side by side. Both have two syllables, but penny says long e and deny says long i, because deny's beat is on the end. Have your child say which sound the y makes and why, before writing each one.

Watch for: Syllables are the first check: one syllable, y says long i (dry, why); two or more, y usually says long e (funny, family). The exception is a word whose last part gets the beat, like reply, deny, and July: there the y still says long i. Clap the word and listen for the strong beat. Y is a consonant when it makes the y sound in yes and yellow, usually at the start of a word or syllable (beyond, canyon). On this sheet every y comes at the end of the word, where it is doing vowel work.

Common questions about 2nd grade y as a vowel

What about y in the middle, like gym?: Inside a word, y can act as a short i, and that pattern has its own page (Short-Vowel Digraphs and Y as Short I). This sheet keeps the spotlight on the end-of-word pattern.
How does this help with plurals later?: The y-to-i spelling change (baby/babies) starts from knowing final y is a vowel. This sort lays exactly that foundation.

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Aligned to Common Core RF.2.3.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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