Choose a book that features long vowel sounds. One book to consider is "Emily Elizabeth Goes to School," which features long vowel words. Read the book aloud to a class and ask students to raise their hands every time they hear a word that has a long vowel sound in it. Have the class brainstorm to generate a list of long vowel sound words that were featured in the featured book.
Engage children in craft activities that enhance lessons in long vowels. Let each child choose a vowel to study. Have the children write their vowel on a piece of paper in large letters. Then, ask the children to look through magazines or draw pictures of things that feature the long vowel sound they chose. For instance, a child could choose the long "i" vowel and could look for pictures of ice cream cones or islands in a magazine. Glue or draw the pictures onto the piece of paper they wrote the vowel on.
Create a long vowel themed scavenger hunt for students. Hide objects that have a long vowel sound such as an "open" sign, a baby doll or an apron. Let children take turns looking for and finding an object. Have the children say the name of the object and identify the long vowel sound in the word. Another way to play the game is to have the children look for objects already in the classroom that feature a long vowel sound like a teacher or a can of paint.
Use a variety of long vowel activities to teach students. Create a list of words that feature both long and short vowel sounds. Have children circle all the words that feature the long vowel sounds.
Or have students generate a list of long vowel words and then ask them to write a story that includes the words on the list. Encourage the students to illustrate their stories with pictures of the long vowel words.