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How to teach long and short vowel sounds to a kindergartner

by Kelin George

August 25th 2022, 1:41 am

Vowels are the foundation of the English language, and learning letter sounds is a step for children toward learning to read.

Of the 26 letters of the English alphabet– A, E, I, O, and U are vowels, and the rest are consonants. They are unique because you need to make different mouth shapes to produce vowel sounds, but they don't need friction from using your tongue, teeth, or lips.

Vowels are present in almost all of the words of the English language. Now, there are two types of vowel sounds– long and short. A short vowel sound is when a vowel makes a sound of a particular letter, like 'cat' and 'bed,' and a long vowel sound is when a vowel sounds like a letter's name, like 'cake' and 'fate.'

Tips to teach short and long vowel sounds

Teaching vowel sounds to your children can be complex because they can't hear them, unlike consonant sounds. For example, the word 'bed' is a perfect example of CVC (consonant vowel consonant) where the child can hear 'b' and 'd' but might not be able to recognize the vowel 'e' in between.

Here are a few tips for you to adopt while teaching your child short and long vowel sounds.

Use songs to teach vowels

Songs can be a tremendous educational medium to teach your child about different vowels. You can tweak the song 'Old Mcdonald had a farm' by replacing the usual 'Ee, aye, ee, aye, oh' with A, E, I, O, U, for example.

Start slow

The key to learning efficiently and understanding vowel sounds and their differences is not to overwhelm your child with multiple examples. Start with short vowel sounds, then move on to more complex words.

Start with word families - one at a time

It's best not to bombard multiple examples. Start with the word family '-at,' as in cat, pat, bat, mat, and so on. Once your child is comfortable with that word family, move on to a new word family.

Teach with placards

Placards such as paper glued on an ice cream stick are a great way to teach your kids. Write down the five vowels on different placards, then speak a single word and ask your child to identify the correct short/long vowel sound and raise the corresponding placard.

Use hand gestures and movement

If it is easier for your child to learn and grasp by touching or other physical means, they're kinesthetic-tactile learners. Making different hand gestures or movements for every vowel sound for kinesthetic learners will help them master vowel sounds quickly. For instance, ask your child to clap their hands for short vowel sounds and jump for long vowel sounds.

Also, activities like reading books, singing nursery rhymes, and asking whether certain words your child spoke or heard have long or short vowel sounds help. Take 5-15 minutes each day with one activity and make it fun, so your child enjoys it while learning. It'll be a tad difficult in the beginning for your child to understand vowel sounds and its difference, but with regular practice, your child will be quick to learn.