Learn
a e i o u are vowels. Every vowel can make two sounds: a short sound and a long sound.
Long ī
A long vowel says its name. Long i says “eye.” Long u says “you.”
Short ĭ
A short vowel makes its own sound, like the start of itch or up.
A flat line ( ¯ ) on top means long. A little smile ( ˘ ) means short.
All the vowels
Tap a card to hear it. We're practicing i and u.
Show the action
In class, you learned an action for each vowel sound. Tap the button, then show a grown-up!
Practice
1. i: short or long?
Say the word. Is the i short, like itch? Or long, saying its name?
2. u: short or long?
Say the word. Is the u short, like up? Or long, saying its name?
3. Sort them all
Now i and u are mixed up! Which sound do you hear?
In the real world
Listen for i and u sounds all around you!
- On a walkbus, truck, sun, bug: short u, like up.
- At the parkslide, bike, kite: long i says its name.
- At the storemilk, fish, chips: short i, like itch.
- In the carTurn on some music. That's a long u!
- Snack timeice cream, apple pie, a lime: long i.
- Story timeA unicorn has a long u. A pup has a short u.
- Action gameA grown-up says a word. You do the action for its vowel sound!
For grown-ups
What this is
Each vowel has a short sound and a long sound. The long sound is the letter's name: /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/ and /yōō/ for u (as in unicorn). The short sounds are anchored to keywords: /ă/ apple, /ĕ/ edge, /ĭ/ itch, /ŏ/ octopus, /ŭ/ up. The class has been reviewing i and u.
Marks: a macron ( ¯ ) means long and a breve ( ˘ ) means short.
About this practice
- It's about hearing the difference, not spelling it. Long vowels get spelled several ways (kite, pie, tiger), and patterns like silent e usually come later. If a word is too hard to read, the speaker button reads it.
- Long u has two sounds in English: /yōō/ as in cube and /ōō/ as in flute. The class card uses /yōō/, so the practice sticks to that one.
- Kids learn an action for each vowel sound in class. The page doesn't show them, so ask your child to teach you!
How to help
- Stretch the vowel: “p-iii-g” versus “k-iii-te.” Ask, “Does it say its name?”
- Sort snacks, toys or groceries by vowel sound.
- Play I spy: “I spy something with a short u” (cup, rug, bug).