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Classroom · Phonics · CCSS RF.1.3c, RF.2.3a
worksheets and word lists
A long vowel says its name: cake, tree, kite, boat and cube. The same sound can be spelled more than one way, so the word lists below are grouped by spelling.
Free long vowel printables
Short and long vowels pack
Short and long vowels packIs it short or long? Sort words by long vowel sound, choose between pairs like cap and cape in sentences, write a word for every long vowel spelling, and an answer key.
Long vowels chart
Long vowels chartOne page with every long vowel and its spellings: a_e, ai, ay, ee, ea, i_e, igh, y, o_e, oa, ow, u_e, ew and ue, each with a key word.
Long vowel word lists
Each long vowel with its common spellings. Where there is a full pack of worksheets for a spelling, it is linked under the list.
Long a words
Long a wordsay
dayplaysaywaystaytraygrayclay
Long e words
Long e wordsea
leafseateareadeatmeatbeachteam
e
meweheshebe
Long i words
igh
nightlighthighrightsightbright
y
flymyskycrytrydry
Long o words
Long o wordsow
snowslowgrowshowbowlow
Long u words
Long u wordsew and ue can say long u, as in few, or /oo/, as in blue. Both are taught together in 1st and 2nd grade.
How to teach long vowels
How to teach long vowels- Short vowels first. Long vowels make sense once children read CVC words like cap and kit easily.
- Say its name. A long vowel says the letter name. Hold up a vowel card and ask for the name, then the sound.
- Start with silent e. cap to cape, kit to kite: adding one letter shows the change clearly.
- Then vowel teams. Teach one team at a time, ai, ee, oa, and sort words by spelling.
- Mix short and long. Sorting mixed words makes children look closely at every vowel.
Common questions
What are the long vowels?
A long vowel says its own name: a as in cake, e as in tree, i as in kite, o as in boat and u as in cube. Short vowels say their sound instead, as in cat, bed, pin, dog and sun.
How are long vowels spelled?
Usually with a silent e (cake, kite, bone, cube) or with a vowel team, two letters that make one sound (rain, play, tree, leaf, boat, snow). Long i is also spelled igh (night) and y (fly), and long e can be a single e at the end of a short word (me, we).
When do children learn long vowels?
In 1st grade, after short vowels. The Common Core expects 1st graders to know the final -e and common vowel teams for long vowel sounds (RF.1.3c), and 2nd graders to tell long and short vowels apart when reading words (RF.2.3a).
How do I teach the difference between short and long vowels?
Use word pairs that change only one thing: cap and cape, kit and kite, hop and hope. Say both aloud, then let children sort mixed words into short and long. Hearing the change before seeing it helps it stick.
Can I copy these worksheets for my class?
Yes. The PDFs are free to print and photocopy for classroom and home use, in color or in the black-and-white ink saver. Please link to this page rather than re-uploading the files.
Before this: short vowelsSilent e worksheetsVowel team worksheets
