Classroom Activities: Long A

These classroom activities are designed to complement the Long A topic on BrainPOP Jr.

The Long and the Short of It
Come up with a word with a short a sound and add a silent e to make a new word with a long a sound. For example, write the word cap on the board. Then have a student volunteer add a silent e. What does the word become? Have students sound it out all together. Repeat the activity again, using words such as tap/tape, car/care, mat/mate, or rat/rate. Have students write the words down in their notebooks and make illustrations to go along with the words.

Ran in the Rain

Have students turn words that have a short a sound into words that have a long a sound. Use magnetic letters, letter tiles, or have small groups write individual letters on sticky notes and use them to spell a word and then rearrange, add, or take away letters to create new words. For example, you can start with the word “ran,” which has a short a sound, and add an i to get rain, which has a long vowel sound. The word pan can be turned into pain or pane. You can add multiple letters to form paint. Encourage students to be creative as they add and/or take away letters to form new words.