Long a word sounds different

Delilah Orpi is the founder of Thrive Literacy Corner. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, a Master’s degree in TESOL, and is a member of the International Dyslexia Association. She is an experienced educator and literacy specialist trained in Orton Gillingham and Lindamood Bell. Delilah creates literacy resources for educators and parents and writes to create awareness about dyslexia and effective literacy instruction based on the science of reading.

Spelling can be tough, especially in the English language. Words aren’t necessarily spoken the way they’re written, even in the most simple letter arrangements. Depending on the position of a letter in a word, the number of letters in the word, and a letter’s relationship to the letters around it, that letter can have its sound changed, or remain silent altogether! Vowels, in particular, have two sounds: short or long.

You can learn more about short and long vowel sounds in this guide. Here, we’ll be focusing on just words with a long A sound.

Long and Short Vowels

A vowel sound is considered long when that vowel is read as its name, like the letter A in the words “aim” and “enable.” A vowel is short when this is not the case, as with A in the words “archery” and “bar.” If English is not your first language, you can practice recognizing long and short vowel sounds by putting an accent mark above the long vowels, like so: ā. The letter /ā/ is pronounced “ayy.” Once you start to get used to certain vocabulary words, and the way English pronunciation works, you can slowly phase these accent marks out.

While English can sometimes be unpredictable for first-time learners – phase is pronounced with an f? – there are some patterns you’ll begin to notice that can help you identify certain vowel sounds like the long A.

Most commonly, these patterns will come in the form of a-e words, ai words, ay words, and ei words.

A-E Words

You might approach A in the middle of a word, like “made,” and wonder how you’re supposed to pronounce it. That E at the end should give you the hint you need. The word “made” is pronounced with a long A sound because the E at the end tying the sound together. If that E wasn’t there, you’d be stuck with the word “mad,” which is spoken with a short A sound and means something different. Other A-E words include:

1. bake
2. cake
3. make
4. lake
5. fake
6. stake
7. crate
8. grate
9. flake
10. skate
11. inflate
12. migrate
13. imitate
14. estimate
15. translate

AI Words

Words with the combination of letters ai are usually another good sign that a long A sound is involved, at least where those letters are placed. Some ai words include:

1. aim
2. mail
3. gain
4. fail
5. main
6. grail
7. chain
8. again
9. plain
10. strain
11. remain
12. contain
13. explain
14. maintain
15. ascertain

Are you looking to teach English language to ESL students? Learn five effective English language teaching methods in this guide.

AY Words

Another, more obvious indication that a word has a long A sound is the ay combination. The letter A on its own is often not enough to indicate that an “ayy” sound is warranted, but with that added letter Y at the end, it’s practically spelling the long A sound out for you. Some ay words include:

1. day
2. may
3. say
4. pay
5. gay
6. play
7. gray
8. stay
9. tray
10. sway
11. relay
12. essay
13. betray
14. display
15. portray

EI Words

It’s common for English words to use the ei combination to indicate a long A sound, but be wary of its relative rareness. Also be wary not to confuse it with the pronunciation conventions of a language like German, which will always pronounce the ei combination like a long I sound. Some examples of ei words in English include:

1. veil
2. vein
3. reign
4. weigh
5. eight
6. weight
7. beige
8. freight

Long A Words

While some of these conventions might push you in the right direction on occasion, the rules regarding pronunciation in English are tricky. How do you determine the pronunciation if the letter A is heading the word? You can check out this advanced English grammar course and try to learn the tough stuff, or you can practice vocabulary on a daily basis and grow accustomed to the words of the language. It will sound natural to you in no time.

You can also learn the ins and outs of memorizing vocabulary with this course. See below for some English words with a long A sound that begin with A:

1. aim
2. ail
3. aid
4. able
5. acorn
6. apron
7. agent
8. aphid
9. angel
10. alien

With many different ways to spell the long A sound, it’s not surprising that students need plenty of practice. I like to keep things fresh with plenty of activities and games. Try adding these ideas into the mix for long A sound practice in your classroom or for homework.

1. Introducing the long A sound

Start by getting students familiar with different ways to spell the long A sound. These six steps are a great way to introduce the concept and get students thinking about the long A sound.

1. Say three words with the long A sound. Snake, tail, day
2. Ask: What vowel sound do you hear? Students should recognize the long A vowel sound.
3. Write each of the words you said on the board—snake, tail, day.
4. Underline the long A digraph—snake, tail, day.
5. Explain that there are different ways to spell the long A sound.
6. Ask if students can think of other words with the long A sound. Write them on the board, grouping them with the correct spelling pattern. Add additional spelling types, such as a and ea, as they come up.

2. Long A sound word sort

Students practice sorting words by the correct spelling pattern. There are a couple of ways to do this.

Word Card Sort. Provide students with a set of word cards. Then get them to sort the words based on how the long vowel sound is spelled. They can do this by putting cards with the same long vowel spelling together. You can provide labels for the different ways to spell the long A sound, or you can let them sort them and then identify the spelling type.

Word Sort Activity Sheet. This is a great practice opportunity for independent work at stations or to send as homework. The activity sheet has a list of words to sort at the top and a grid labeled with the different spellings of the long A sound: a, a-e, ai, ay, ea. Students write each word in the appropriate section.

3. Long A sound bingo

My students love playing bingo, and it’s easy to adapt for the long A sound (or other long vowel sounds or digraphs). For the long A sound, your bingo cards should have different ways of spelling long A and room for students to write a word in each box.

Call out words that include long A. Have students write the word in the correct box. Continue reading words one by one, allowing a brief time for students to write the word. When they have three in a row (or the full card filled), students should call out BINGO! Check to see if all words are spelled correctly. If they are, declare the winner. If not, keep reading words.

4. Long A sound read and write

For this activity, students read each word, underline each sound, write each sound and then write the whole word.

Choose words with the long A sound and different spelling patterns, such as apron, tray, table, rain, and break. Set up a worksheet or whiteboard with the word, boxes to write each sound, and a larger box to write the whole word. 

For each word, get students to:

1. Read each word.
2. Underline each sound that they say.
3. Write one sound in each box.
4. Write the whole word.

5. Draw long A sound words

Many of my students enjoy drawing, so this activity tends to go over well. It’s simple enough to send for homework or can be used as an independent activity in the classroom.

Set up small boxes on the page where students can draw a small picture. Label each with one of your long A sound words. Students read the word and illustrate it. Alternately, let students choose words from your word list to illustrate and have them write the word that labels each illustration.

These are some fun ways to practice the long A sound, and of course, they are easily adaptable if you want to practice other long vowel sounds. You just need to choose appropriate words and the spelling patterns for different sounds.

Looking for more ideas to practice the long A sound—or any long vowel sounds? How about:

• Cut and match
• Draw the words
• Draw and match
• Choose the correct spelling
• Find the words
• Read and write
• Match the words
• Sort the words
• Finish the sentences
• Fluency board
• Sound bingo
• 4 in a row game
• Reading and spelling game

I’ve got done for you activity sheets and game boards, plus instructions in the Long Vowel Worksheets Bundle. The bundle includes a pack for each of the long vowel sounds a, e, i, o, u. The bundle includes 330 pages of fun, hands-on activities and games perfect for small group work, literacy stations, independent work, or homework to consolidate skills.

Get yours here >> Long Vowel Worksheets Bundle.

One of the reasons why English spelling is so difficult to learn is because often the same sound is spelled in a variety of ways. Click here to read about the different ways to spell the long /e/ sound and here to read about the long /o/ sound.

Today, we will look at six ways of spelling the long /a/ sound. Please note the pronunciation of some of the example words may vary depending on accent.

1) Just the Letter A

Some words spell the long /a/ sound with just the letter a.

Here are some examples:

• acorn
• apron
• alien
• agent
• basic
• basin
• data
• fatal

2) A – E Words

Sometimes, to spell the long /a/ sound, you use an a in the middle of the word and an e at the end.

Here are some examples of long /a/ words spelled with an a in the middle of the word and an e at the end:

• snake
• game
• elate
• shave
• grade
• sale
• amaze
• grape

This spelling rule does not always apply to ate words where the a – e falls at the end of the word. For example, private, chocolate, and immediate are all pronounced with a weak /u/ sound.

You can practise spelling a – e words here and here.

3) AI Words

After a – e words, the next most common way of spelling the long /a/ sound is with the letters ai.

Here are some examples of the long/a/ sound spelled with the letters ai:

• train
• snail
• wait
• paint
• compain
• entail
• aim
• waist

Many longer words are spelled with ain at the end but are pronounced with a weak /u/ sound. Examples include: Britain, fountain, and villain.

You can practise spelling ai words here and here.

4) AY Words

At the end of a word, the long /a/ sound is spelled with the letters ay.

Here are some examples of long /a/ words spelled with the letter ay:

• Sunday
• play
• always
• betray
• essay
• display
• delay
• fray

There are some exceptions to this rule, such as: grey, prey, they, obey, convey, and survey. You can practise spelling ay words here, here, and here.

5) EI Words

A few words spell the long /a/ sound with the letters ei.

Here are some examples:

• reins
• veil —
• weight
• neigh
• vein —
• sheikh
• eight
• freight

You can practise spelling ei words here.

6) EA Words

In three words, the long /a/ sound is spelled with the letters ea:

• break
• great
• steak

These three words are also homophones of a – e words (brake, grate, and stake).

If you’d like to learn more about spelling long /a/ sounds, have a look at Unit 7 on our online spelling course. Subscribe to Spellzone for extra tips and plenty of practice.

Have a good week!

21 Nov 2016
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