Long vowel words are an integral part of language acquisition, and knowing how to teach long vowels is not easy. This page contains a list with pictures of the most common long vowel words and breaks down which words to teach to each grade ranging from kinder to 3rd grade.
List of 74 Long Vowel Words
Long vowel words are words that contain vowels where the vowel is pronounced the same way that the letter itself is pronounced.
There are four ways in which long vowel words can be structured:
- A silent E means that the vowel before the E is long. For example: drone, hike.
- Vowels appearing at the end of a syllable can make the sound long. For example: he, go, we.
- Combinations of vowels together usually make the sound long. For example: float, treat, tea.
- The vowels O and I can be long when they appear before two consonents. For example: bold, kind.
Below is a list of some long vowel words for kids. The terms vary in complexity, and at the bottom, there is a breakdown by grade of which words to teach.
- Apply
- Argue
- Baby
- Beach
- Bear
- Bike
- Boat
- Bold
- Brainy
- Cake
- Candy
- Chime
- Coast
- Coma
- Comply
- Concede
- Cried
- Crime
- Cyclone
- Day
- Doe
- Drone
- Drool
- Eve
- Eye
- Feud
- Find
- Foe
- Fried
- Fright
- Fume
- Glue
- Go
- Grow
- He
- Hear
- Hike
- Home
- Idol
- Key
- Kind
- Kite
- Lean
- Light
- Loan
- Lobe
- Me
- Meat
- Meet
- Might
- Mind
- Mule
- Music
- My
- Pew
- Piece
- Pilot
- Prize
- Protein
- Rain
- Roam
- She
- Silent
- Snow
- Spider
- They
- Tight
- Toe
- Treat
- We
- Weigh
- Windy
- Wound
- Yield
Long Vowel Words for Kindergarten
Children in kindergarten are only just starting to grasp the basics of reading. Therefore, when teaching long vowel words to kinder children, you should start with the most basic one-syllable words and those with which they are likely to have some familiarity from their early years.
Here is a list of the ten long vowel words you can teach to kindergarten children:
- Bear
- Day
- Eye
- Go
- He
- Key
- Me
- My
- She
- Toe
Long Vowel Words for 1st Grade
When children reach 1st grade, they read slightly more complex words than children in kindergarten. Therefore, if you teach long vowel words to 1st-grade children, you can start to include somewhat more complicated and long terms.
However, at this age, it is still best to stick to one-syllable words and perhaps some elementary two-syllable words.
Here is a list of ten long vowel words you can teach to 1st grade:
- Baby
- Bike
- Boat
- Cake
- Eve
- Find
- Glue
- Hear
- Home
- Kind
Long Vowel Words for 2nd Grade
If you teach long vowel words to children in 2nd grade, you can start to include more two-syllable words and more complex letter combinations.
Children at this age are still not masters of reading in most cases; however, they can handle two-syllable words, and their vocabulary is more expansive than in previous grades.
Below are ten long vowel words that can be taught to 2nd grade:
- Beach
- Coast
- Cried
- Hike
- Kite
- Meat
- Mind
- Pilot
- Snow
- Windy
Long Vowel Words for 3rd Grade
In 3rd grade, children are beginning to expand their lexical range significantly, and they can read and pronounce longer, more complex letter combinations with less difficulty than children in 2nd grade.
Therefore, when teaching long vowel words to children in 3rd grade, you can include more abstract two-syllable words, such as the ten listed below:
- Argue
- Brainy
- Chime
- Fried
- Fright
- Light
- Protein
- Treat
- Weigh
- Yield