The Two Long U Sounds

Dee and Kala decided to go out for a drive, but it didn't go as planned. Now they are most definitely lost. "I think it’s time to make an /oo/’ turn.” “I beg your pardon, but don't you mean a u-turn?” Let's help Dee and Kala sort this out by learning about "The TWO Long U Sounds." You might already know that the letters A, E, I, O, and U are called vowels. Vowels are a special set of letters in the alphabet, and every syllable must have at least one! Most of the time, vowels make one long sound and one short sound. But U is a little different from the others because instead of having just one long vowel sound, it has two! Let's use two keywords to hear the different long U sounds. Say unicorn; now, say tulip. Did you notice how the U in unicorn makes a /yoo/ sound, but the U in tulip sounds like /oo/? Depending on the word, the long U sound can change. U can say /yoo/ as in uniform or human. But, U can also say /oo/ as in student, and truth. Let’s practice sorting these words into the two long U sounds /yoo/ and /oo/! Which long U sound do we hear in the word: ruby? We hear the /oo/ sound in ruby! Which long U sound do we hear in the word: music? We hear the /yoo/ sound in music! Let's try one more! Which long U sound do we hear in the word: cupid? We hear the /yoo/ sound in cupid! But, either way, both long /yoo/ and /oo/ sounds go with the letter U! While Dee and Kala sort out the directions, let's remember! Today we learned about the TWO long U sounds. Unlike the other vowels, the vowel U makes two long sounds: /yoo/ and /oo/. U, unicorn, /yoo/; U, tulip, /oo/ "Dee, once we get back, I think we should stick to hiking." "You know it, or should I say /oo/ know it?"