Long Vowels
Remember!
A vowel-consonant-e (VCe) spelling pattern usually produces a long vowel sound (vote, bite), but long vowel sounds can be spelled in other ways.
- Long e can be spelled ee or ea (heel, wheat).
- Long o can be spelled oe or oa (toe, boat).
- Long i can be spelled y (fry, type).
- Long u can be spelled ue (blue).
Let's start with a quick review of long vowels!
A long vowel says its name, like the vowels in:
- kite
- rose
- cube
- phone
- beneath
There are several ways to make a vowel long in English. Let's look at some hands-on examples:
1. Add 'e' to the end of the word. For example:
- hat vs hâte
- cut vs cûte
Let's practice! On your paper, write 3 more words that follow this pattern. Share with a partner when you're done.
2. Vowel combinations like 'ai', 'oa', 'ee' make the vowel long. For example,
- rain
- boat
- seed
Your turn! Come up with 3 words with long vowel combinations and share with the class.
3. An 'r' after a vowel can make it long, like in:
- car
- horn
- third
Brainstorm 3 more 'r' controlled long vowel words to practice this rule.
Great work, everyone! Now let's move on to some more long vowel exercises to help reinforce these concepts. Please take out your notebooks - we have some fun activities ahead!