N.1 Identify long vowel sounds in words
What Are Long Vowels?
Long vowels are vowel sounds that say their own name. Each vowel (a, e, i, o, u) has a long sound that matches the letter’s name. These sounds are often found in words with silent e at the end or in vowel teams (like ai or oa).
- a → cake
- e → tree
- i → kite
- o → home
- u → cube
Many long vowel words follow the “silent e” pattern (CVCe words). For example: c-a-k-e → cake.
Understanding the Long A Sound
The long a makes the sound /ā/ like in the word cake. It says its own name and is often spelled with a_e or vowel teams such as ai and ay.
- a_e → cake
- ai → rain
- ay → play
- a_e → name
- ai → train
The long a sound is the same sound we hear in the word “make.”
Understanding the Long E Sound
The long e makes the sound /ē/ like in the word tree. It is often spelled with ee, ea, or e_e.
- ee → tree
- ea → leaf
- e_e → these
- ee → feet
- ea → beach
The long e sound is the same sound we hear in the word “see.”
Understanding the Long I Sound
The long i makes the sound /ī/ like in the word kite. It is often spelled with i_e or vowel teams like igh.
- i_e → kite
- igh → light
- i_e → ride
- igh → night
- i_e → time
The long i sound is the same sound we hear in the word “five.”
Understanding the Long O Sound
The long o makes the sound /ō/ like in the word home. It is often spelled with o_e, oa, or ow.
- o_e → home
- oa → boat
- ow → snow
- o_e → rose
- oa → road
The long o sound is the same sound we hear in the word “go.”
Understanding the Long U Sound
The long u makes the sound /ū/ like in the word cube. It can sound like “you” or “oo” depending on the word. It is often spelled with u_e or vowel teams like ue and ui.
- u_e → cube
- ue → blue
- ui → fruit
- u_e → mule
- ue → true
The long u sound is the same sound we hear in the word “use.”
Practicing Long Vowels in Sentences
Reading long vowel words in sentences helps us build fluency and understand how vowels change word meaning.
- I like to ride my bike.
- The tree is green.
- The boat will float.
- She will play in the rain.
- The cube is blue.
Read each sentence slowly the first time. Then read again smoothly, listening for each long vowel sound.