Long and short Vowel sounds
Basics on the topic Long and short Vowel sounds
Long and Short Vowels
Have you noticed that some words use the same letters but different sounds? One of the reasons letters may sound different are long and short vowels. Let’s look at the example of the word banana.
| Letter | Vowel type |
|---|---|
| banana | long vowel /A/ |
| banana | short vowel /a/ |
Let’s learn more about rules for long and short vowels in kindergarten and examples of long and short vowels and their symbols through the following explanation.
Revision – Vowels
Let’s look at what vowels are. They are a special set of letters in the alphabet: A, E, I, O, and U. These letters can make two kinds of sounds: long sounds and short sounds. Here are some examples of vowels with examples:
| Vowel | Example |
|---|---|
| A | ape |
| E | egg |
| I | ice |
| O | open |
| U | unicorn |
Long Vowel Sounds
When a vowel is long, it says its alphabet name. It sounds exactly like the name we sing in the A, B, C’s! When teaching long and short vowels in kindergarten, it is important to practice examples of the vowel sounds. Here are examples of long vowel sounds:
A says ”A” like the word ape.
E says “E” like the word e-mail.
I says ”I” like the word ice.
O says “O” like the word open.
U says “U” like the word unicorn.
Short Vowel Sounds
When a vowel is followed by a non-vowel letter it makes a short sound. The vowel does not sound the same as when we say it in the alphabet. The short vowel makes a shorter sound. Here are examples of short vowel sounds:
A says “ah” like the word add.
E says “eh” like the word egg.
I says ”ĭh” like the word igloo.
O says “oh” like the world olive.
U says “uh” like the word umbrella.
There are many words that have short and long vowels in English. These are just a few examples of the first sounds vowels can make.
Identify Short and Long Vowels
Now we know the difference between long and short vowels, we can practice on one syllable words with long and short vowels.
We can practice with the word ate. Is there a long A or a short one in the word ate? Remember a long A will say it's name (→ A like ape). A short A will say “ah” like add. Since the A says its name in the word ate, it is a long vowel!
Long Vowels and Short Vowels – Summary
This text helped you learn about long and short vowels. Let’s review the facts about long and short vowels in words:
Vowels are a special set of letters in the alphabet: A, E, I, O, and U.
They can make two kinds of sounds: long and short.
Long vowel sounds happen when the vowel says its alphabet name.
Short vowel sounds do not sound like the letter's name, they sound shorter.
Have you practiced long and short vowels yet? On this website, you can also find interactive exercises, worksheets and more activities on long and short vowels.
Transcript Long and short Vowel sounds
Dee and Kala took a visit to Alphabet Farm. They notice lots of sounds coming from the vowel pens. There are two pens, one labeled "long" and one labeld "short". What could this mean, they wonder. Let's help Dee and Kala by learning all about "Long and Short Vowel Sounds". Vowels are a special set of letters in the alphabet: A, E, I, O, U. These letters can make two types of sounds: long and short. When a vowel is long, it says its alphabet name. It sounds exactly like the name we sing in the ABCs! Let's practice the long vowel sounds together! A says A like ape. A, ape, A. E says E like e-mail. E, e-mail, E. I says I like ice. I, ice, I. O says O like open. O, open, O. U says U like unicorn. U, unicorn, U. When a vowel is followed by a non-vowel letter it makes a short sound. It does not sound the same as when we say it in the alphabet. The short vowel makes a shorter sound. Let's practice the short vowel sounds together! A says /ă/ like add. A, add, /ă/. E says /ĕ/ like egg. E, egg, /ĕ/. I says /ĭ/ like igloo. I, igloo, /ĭ/. O says /ǒ/ like olive. O, olive, /ǒ/. U says /ŭ/ like umbrella. U, umbrella, /ŭ/. Now that we know the difference between long and short vowel sounds, let's practice with some of the words Dee and Kala hear! The first word we hear is ‘ate’. Can you help Dee and Kala decide whether we hear a long A or a short one? Remember a long A will say its name, A, like ape. A short A will say /ă/ like add. Do we hear the A sound or the /ă/ sound in the word ate? We hear the sound A in ate, so it is a long vowel! Finally, we hear the word otter. Do we hear a long O or a short O? Remember a long O will say its name, O, like open. A short O will say /ǒ/ like olive. Do we hear the O sound or the /ǒ/ sound in the word otter? We hear the sound /ǒ/ in otter, so it is a short vowel! Before we see what Dee and Kala have been up to on the farm, let's remember! Today we learned about long and short vowel sounds. Vowels are a special set of letters in the alphabet: A, E, I, O, and U. They can make two types of sounds: long and short. Long vowel sounds happen when the vowel says its alphabet name. Short vowel sounds do not sound like the letter's name, they sound shorter. "That was a fun visit, Kala! "Agreed, I'm glad we even got to buy some E, eggs, /ĕ/ from the stand before we left."
Long and short Vowel sounds exercise
-
Find the vowels.
HintsUse the picture to help you find the 5 letters that are vowels.
Remember, vowels are a special type of letter that can make two sounds: long and short.
SolutionAll of the vowels on the farm are highlighted in yellow. Point to each letter and say it out loud: A - E - I - O - U.
S and N are both letters, but they do not make two sounds, so they are not vowels.
-
Choose the long vowel sounds.
HintsA long vowel sound means the letter will say its name out loud.
Sing the ABC's out loud. When you hear A-E-I-O-U, those are the long vowel sounds.
SolutionThe vowels, Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, and Uu, make two sounds. One of these sounds is the long vowel sound. Long vowels will say their name - just like in the ABC song.
- Ape makes the long a sound at the beginning.
- E-mail makes the long e sound at the beginning.
- Ice makes the long i sound at the beginning.
- Open makes the long o sound at the beginning.
- Unicorn makes the long u sound at the beginning.
-
Choose the short vowel sounds.
HintsShort vowel /a/ says "ah" like apple.
Short vowel /e/ says "eh" like elephant.
Short vowel /i/ says "ih" like itchy.
Show vowel /o/ says "oh" like octopus.
Short vowel /u/ says "uh" like under.
SolutionVowels make the short sound when they are followed with a non-vowel letter. For example:
- Umbrella begins with the short /u/ sound.
- Igloo begins with the short /i/ sound.
- Add begins with the short /a/ sound.
- Olive begins with the short /o/ sound.
- Egg begins with the short /e/ sound.
-
Sort the long and short vowels.
HintsWhen a vowel is long, it will say its alphabet name out loud.
When a vowel is short, it does not say its alphabet name. In other words, you cannot hear the name of the letter.
Each group should have 5 pictures!
SolutionWhen a word begins with a long vowel sound, you will hear the letter name as the first sound. All of these words begin with a long vowel:
- Acorn has the long /a/ sound at the beginning. You hear the letter name /a/ first.
- Eagle has the long /e/ sound at the beginning. You hear the letter name /e/ first.
- Ice cream has the long /i/ sound at the beginning. You hear the letter sound /i/ first.
- Ocean has the long /o/ sound at the beginning. You hear the letter sound /o/ first.
- Unicycle has the long /u/ sound at the beginning. You hear the letter sound /u/ first.
The rest of the pictures begin with a short vowel sound:
- Apple begins with the short /a/ sound.
- Elephant begins with the short /e/ sound.
- Itchy begins with the short /i/ sound.
- Octopus begins with the short /o/ sound.
- Up begins with the short /u/ sound.
-
Talk about vowels.
HintsDee and Kala are peeking in the vowel pen. What letters do you see?
Vowels are special letters, because they make two sounds: long and short. Long vowels say their alphabet name, and short vowels make a shorter sound.
SolutionThe letters Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, and Uu are vowels. These are very special letters. Vowels make two sounds: long and short.
The letters Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, and Uu make the long vowel sound when they say their name. These letters can also make a quicker short vowel sound when followed by a letter that is not a vowel.
-
Listen for the middle vowel sound.
HintsVowel sounds are not always at the beginning of the word. These vowel sounds are in the middle.
Stretch out the sounds you hear in the word. Tap your fingers for each sound you hear. What sound was in the middle?
Remember, long vowels say their alphabet name, and short vowels do not.
If you can't find the sound you are looking for, scroll to the right and keep searching!
SolutionLong /a/ says its name like in ape, and short /a/ says "ah" like in add. When you stretch out the sounds in the word tape, you hear the long /a/ sound in the middle. When you stretch out the sounds in the word cat, you hear the short /a/ sound in the middle.
Try stretching out the rest of the words. Do you hear the middle vowel sounds?
- Ten says short /e/ in the middle.
- Sheep says long /e/ in the middle.
- Zip says short /i/ in the middle.
- Kite says long /i/ in the middle.
- Mop says short /o/ in the middle.
- Nose says long /o/ in the middle.
- Bus says short /u/ in the middle.
- Cube says long /u/ in the middle.
