Get students out of their seats with a fun scavenger hunt for long vowels, recommends Scholastic. Place students into groups and assign each group a long vowel sound. Ask students to look around the classroom for objects or written words that feature their assigned long vowel. For example, students given the long "a" vowel sound might look for a toy rake, acorn or the number eight.
Teach students about long vowels with a fill in the blank activity. Write a sentence on the board with a blank where the long vowel word should go. In addition, write two words, one that features a long vowel and one featuring a short vowel: for example, hit and kite. Ask students to use context clues and their knowledge of long vowels to choose the correct word to fill in the blank.
Ask students to listen for long vowels in the stories you read to them. Read a story that features words with long vowels that your students with which your students are familiar. As you read, ask students to raise their hands every time you say a word with a long vowel. Stop and ask students to identify the word and write it down if desired.
Make a long vowel matching game for your students to practice with, according to Scholastic. Write a list of two words with matching long vowels for each long vowel sound: for example, moon and soon or hate and ape. Write each word on an index card and place the cards in a plastic bag. Create several sets and hand out to students. Encourage students to lay the cards out on a table and try to make matching sets.
Help students recognize written words with long vowel sounds by making a collage. Give students a piece of paper and several magazines. Ask students to search for words with long vowel sounds in the magazines. Encourage students to cut out the words they find and glue them on their paper. When students have completed the activity, ask them to share the words they found with the class.