- In this post you will learn how to use sound boxes to stretch out words and practice long vowel spelling patterns.
Sound boxes are a helpful strategy for students who are just starting to spell words and for more experienced kids who still make a lot of spelling errors. I find them extremely helpful for practicing long vowel spelling patterns, or, as I like to say, the different ways a vowel spells its name in a word. Remember to reinforce the fact that every syllable in every word has to have at least one vowel.
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What does it mean to stretch out sounds? Take a listen!
- Find my free short vowel sound box worksheets here:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Short-Vowel-Sound-Boxes-12939337
If you are interested in worksheets that cover all the vowels and multiple long vowel spelling patterns, check out these worksheets:
I tutor kids online, so I rely on a simple box and circle template that looks like this:
Here are the basic steps:
- Say the word.
- “cat”
2. Say the word slowly and count on your fingers how many sounds you hear.
- c-a-t
3. Color in a circle for each sound you hear.
4. Write the letter (or letters) that correspond to each sound.
Words with blends and/or long vowel spelling patterns are a little more complicated. For example, the word “cape” has a magic e. The magic e does not have a sound, so it does not get a colored dot. However, we still need to write the magic e.
When it comes to vowel teams, we put both letters in the team in the same box because we need both letters to make that one sound.
Whenever a sound is spelled using multiple letters (sh, ch, wh, etc), all the letters for that sound go in the same box.
Here are some additional resources for your review: