Lesson 115
Alternate Long U
The graphemes EW, EU, and UE spell /yo͞o/; OU spells /o͞o/
Although the various spellings of /o͞o/ and /yo͞o/ can produce many words, these are far less common than the previously taught spellings.
Today's plan
about 20 min- Step 1Warm up our ears (blend & segment)2 min
- Steps 2 & 3Look & Say / Listen & Spell4 min
- Step 4Blending drill3 min
- Step 5New concept6 min
- Step 5Read & spell the new words5 min
Warm Up Our Ears
Say the sounds; students blend them into a word. Then say a word; students break it apart.
Blend it (teacher says sounds → you say word)
Break it (I say word → you say sounds)
Sound Drills
Full-screen cards for the class. Tap a card to check the answer, or press Hear the words to hear the example words read aloud.
👂 Listen & Spell — teacher list (6 sounds)
Say each sound; students write the spelling(s). Read straight from this list.
- /yo͞o/, /o͞o/u (as in cup), ew (as in few), eu, ue (as in blue) · cue
- /ū/u (as in truth), ew (as in few), eu, ue (as in blue), ou (as in out) · cute
- /ā/a (as in table), ai (as in rain), ay (as in play), ea (as in eat), ei, eigh, ey (as in key), aigh · rain
- /ear/ear · hear
- /air/air, are, ear · chair
- /er/er (as in her), ir (as in bird), ur (as in turn), or (as in doctor), ar (as in car) · fern
Blending Drill
Change one part at a time and read the new word.
New Concept
Today we learn more ways to spell the long U sounds /yo͞o/ and /o͞o/: EW, UE, EU, and OU.
Highlighted words are the ones to show and practice reading — tap one to hear it.
We know two sounds for long U: /o͞o/ as in and /yo͞o/ as in . Both of these sounds can be spelled in multiple ways. /o͞o/: We already know four ways to spell the /o͞o/ sound: U_E as in , as in , as in , UE as in . OU is another way to spell /o͞o/. We know OU spells /ow/ as in . Sometimes, OU can also spell /o͞o/ as in and . /yo͞o/: We already know one way to spell the /yo͞o/ sound: U_E as in . Three more ways to spell the /yo͞o/ sound are EW, UE, and EU. EW spells /yo͞o/ at the end of a word like spew and nephew. UE spells /yo͞o/ at the end of a word like value and rescue. EU spells /yo͞o/ at the beginning of a word like eucalyptus, which is a type of plant that koalas eat. There are not many words that have EU.
ou /o͞o/
OU can also spell /o͞o/ as in and .
ew, ue /yo͞o/
EW and UE spell /yo͞o/ at the end of a word like spew, nephew, value, and rescue.
eu /yo͞o/
EU spells /yo͞o/ at the beginning of a word like eucalyptus.
How our mouth moves
Review articulatory gestures, as needed.
Read & Spell
Read — I do
Read — We do
Spell — I do
Spell — We do