Short and long vowels, counting syllables
The vowels are a, e, i, o and u. A short vowel is a quick sound: cat, pen, pig, dog, sun. A long vowel says its name: cake, tree, kite, rope, cube. A syllable is a part of a word with one vowel sound. We can clap the syllables. Cat has one syllable. Pencil has two syllables: pen-cil. Banana has three syllables: ba-na-na. A word can also have three sounds, such as ship: sh-i-p.
| Vowel | Short | Long |
|---|---|---|
| a | cat | cake |
| e | pen | tree |
| i | pig | kite |
| o | dog | rope |
| u | sun | cube |
Adel has a robot at home. The robot has two eyes and a tiny window on its chest. Adel says, My robot is not a baby, but it can talk. In the evening the robot says hello to my teacher.
Clap and count. The grown-up says a word, for example window. The child claps the syllables and holds up fingers for the number. Try: cat, tennis, football, karate, computer. Then say the vowel sound in cat and cake.
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