EducationX2 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 If your child can read, can they differentiate between a short vowel and a long vowel? I was just browsing on pinterest, looking for fun ideas to add to our schedule, and found some activities for short and long vowels. It made me realize that DD doesn't know what a short and long vowel is. She knows all the sounds of the vowels, and the concept of the silent E, etc.etc... but I never really introduced "short A" or "long A" Oops. Is that important? :tongue_smilie: (FTR: She's not yet reading fluently, but she's on the path there.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Dd is 5-and-a-half. We have finished Saxon Phonics K and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons. Dd5 knows (mostly) the difference between long and short vowels, but she is still working out when to use which when encountering new words. She is exactly where she is supposed to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EducationX2 Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 I guess I should have been clearer. What I mean to ask is- does she actually know the terms short and long when referring to vowels? My daughter reads them correctly in context (most of the time, all of the times I would expect her to), but if I were to hand her a worksheet where she had to separate words into those which have a short vowel and those which have a long vowel, she'd have no idea what was meant by a "short" or "long" A. Should I introduce the terms? Are the terms that important if she gets the concept? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsMama Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Mine does (6)- It is introduced in Logic of English, and it has helped us with spelling to know the terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I guess I should have been clearer. What I mean to ask is- does she actually know the terms short and long when referring to vowels? My daughter reads them correctly in context (most of the time, all of the times I would expect her to), but if I were to hand her a worksheet where she had to separate words into those which have a short vowel and those which have a long vowel, she'd have no idea what was meant by a "short" or "long" A. Should I introduce the terms? Are the terms that important if she gets the concept? Yes, it is easy enough to teach and it will make her life easier. FWIW, the names "long" and "short" are vestiges of the original pronunciation in which you really just said the "long" version for a longer time. I think the longer pronunciations sounded more like the modern short, and then got nasalized and shortened in time, but to be honest I haven't mastered the history of The Great Vowel Shift and other English language overhauls, so could be wrong 'bout that. "long" and "short" will come up again. and. again. Even in grown-up life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 If she knows all the sounds (like /a/-/ay/-/ah/), just tell her the first sound is the short sound, and the long sound is the one where the vowel says its name. It's useful terminology to know, and probably would take all of a minute to teach. :) I use the terms when teaching about open and closed syllables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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