Unit 1: The basic 'Building Bricks' of the English language
Page 7 of 16
Vowel sounds can be even trickier. This is because:
It can be useful to know the difference between long and short vowel sounds.
Listen to the first sounds of these words.
Hear the long sound of
the letter a as in ape. |
Hear the short sound of the letter a as in alligator. |
Both words begin with the letter /a/. You can hear the difference between the long /a/ in ape and the short in alligator.
When we say ape aloud, we can keep the first sound going for as long as we have breath. When we say alligator, however, our tongue cuts off the /a/ sound, making it short. Try it!
It’s the same for the other vowels.
Say these words aloud. Listen to the first sound carefully. |
You will hear that you are saying the letter name of the vowel.
Skip this exercise and go to the next part of this unit: An introduction to syllables. *
* Skip link not available for logged in students.
The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.
"Spellzone fits in beautifully with our Scope and Sequence of Phonological Awareness and Spelling. It also aligns perfectly with the four areas of spelling knowledge and uses the Brain, Ears, Eyes approach to learning spelling."
Thank you!