Long "A" Sound

This language lesson is designed for 6 to 12-year-old children. It aims to guide the child about the long ‘A’ sound.

Spelling can be difficult, particularly in English. The English language comprises 26 alphabets: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants. Sometimes the letter ‘y’ is considered a vowel. Each of the letters has its distinct sound.

Even in the simplest combination of letters, words are not always pronounced exactly as they are written. The sound of a letter can be altered or eliminated entirely depending on 3 factors: its placement in a word, the number of letters, and how letters relate to one another.

Sounds of Vowel – A

Vowels produce both short and long sounds. A vowel sound is considered long when that vowel is read as its name. Letter ‘A’ produces short sound /a/ as in arrow, apple, and ant.

In this video, the child will learn about the long vowel sounds and the unique patterns which make a long ‘A’ sound like, ai, ay, etc. For example, ate, base, rain, and today. It is first in the series when introducing the long ‘A’ sound.

Prerequisites to Learn Long ‘A’ Sound 1 Rules

In order to teach this long vowel sound, it is helpful if

Long ‘A’ Sound 1 Rules

The long ‘A’ sound is tricky because it can be spelled in many different ways. One of the most common ways is ‘magic e’ or ‘a_e’. In addition, the long a sound can be represented in 2 vowel teams ‘ai’ and ‘ay’. 

  • Magic e or a_e Rule

This rule says that if the letter ‘a’ comes before a consonant and then the letter ‘e’  comes at the end of the word, then the letter ‘a’ makes a long sound. The letter e in the end does not make any sound. For example, ate, ape, make, erase.

Forming words with ‘magic’ e or ‘a_e’ rule

    • A + t + e = ate
    • B + a + s + e = base
    • C + a + k + e = cake
    • T + a + p + e = tape
    • Fl + a + k + e = flake

  • Vowel Team – ‘ai’ Rule

When two vowels combine to produce one sound, then the first vowel produces a long sound, whereas the second vowel remains silent. The vowel team sound often depends on the position of the team in a word. 

The vowel team ‘ai’ is always found either in the beginning or in the middle of the word. This combination of vowels never comes at the end of the word. The ‘ai’ vowel team produces the long sound of the letter ‘a /A/’. For example – aim, rain, paid, chain.

Forming Words with ‘ai’ Rule

    • Ai + m = aim
    • M + ai+ l = mail
    • G + ai + n = gain
    • Ch + ai + n = chain
    • Str + ai + n = strain

  • Vowel Team – ‘ay’ Rule

As mentioned in the above rule, when two vowels come together to produce one sound, then the first vowel makes a long sound, whereas the second vowel remains silent. The vowel team ‘ay’ is always found at the end of the word. The combination of the vowels ‘a’ and letter ‘y’ together produces the long sound of the letter ‘a /A/’ at the end of the word. For example, say, play, today, and clay.

In compound words, the vowel team ‘ay’ may occur at the end of the first syllable. For example, daytime, playpen.

Forming words with ‘ay’ rule

    • P + ay = pay
    • Gr + ay = gray
    • St + ay = stay
    • Re + l + ay = relay
    • E + ss + ay = essay

We can also understand the above rules with the following table –

Rule Statement Example
a_e This is a common pattern that appears in the middle of a base word. The letter ‘a’ is followed by a consonant, which is followed by the letter ‘e’ at the end. Cake, baseball, erase
ai This vowel team produces a long ‘a’ sound and appears at the beginning or middle of the word. Rain, train, claim
ay This vowel team produces a long ‘a’ sound and appears at the end of the word. Say, tray, clay

Exceptions to Long ‘A’ Sound 1 Rule

There are exceptions to many rules in the language. Here, we have exceptions to the ‘a_e’ rule and ‘ai’ rule.

  • Words like share, rare, and fare do not follow the ‘a_e’ rule and do not produce a long ‘a’ sound. Here, the sound produced is of the short vowel e as /e/.
  • Words like hair, and chair do not produce long ‘a’ sounds for vowel team ‘ai’. These words produce the same sound as ‘are’ words.
  • Words like said and again do not produce long ‘a’ sounds for vowel team ‘ai’. Here, it makes the sound of a short vowel e as /e/.

Long “A” Sound 1 Rule Reading Readiness 

To understand the long ‘a A’ sound thoroughly, the children must understand long vowels, short vowels, vowel combinations, and syllables. The following questions will help decide which sound should be used:

  1. What is the base word?
  2. Where is the vowel team positioned in the word?
  3. Is the long ‘a’ sound at the end of the word?
  4. Is the long ‘a’ sound in the beginning or middle of the word?
  5. Is there a consonant after the long ‘a’ sound?
  6. Is the word having one syllable?

Place ‘ay’ if the sound is heard at the end of the word. If the sound is heard at the beginning or in the middle of a word, consider using ‘ai’ or ‘a_e’. Use ‘a_e’ if a consonant sound comes after a long ‘a’ sound and the word has one syllable.

Ideas to help the child understand the Long “A” Sound 1 Rule

The children should be able to read and form spellings effortlessly. They should be able to distinguish which rule to use – ‘ai’ or ‘ay’ or ‘a_e’. Activities and games help the children learn such rules in an easier way.

  • Explanations – Letting children explain the spelling rules can be really helpful. We can also ask them why they spelled a word in a certain way. This helps them develop a thorough knowledge of the topic. For example, we can ask the children why they used ‘ai’ in the term train or ‘ay’ in the wordplay, or using ‘a_e’ in the cane. This helps to clear up any confusion or things they do not understand.
  • Board Game – Make a list of the words that include the rules mentioned above. Ask the child to spell one word from the list. If the spelling is correct, ask them the reason for using that rule. If they answer correctly, then allow them to play their chance and move along a board game. You can use games like life, Jenga, or any other board game for this play.

Invite the child to explore the different patterns and help them gain a better understanding of the long vowel sound. Repeat this activity by asking the child to practice the patterns with different words of the English words using the vowel ‘A’ as shown in the video. 

Related Sound Videos

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Video Created by: Justine McNeilly

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