Growing in the Science of Reading
This week, I continued exploring the Science of Reading and focused on long vowel sounds through my UFLI lessons. Long vowels are such an exciting step in reading because students begin to recognize how vowels can make more than one sound. Watching them discover this is like watching puzzle pieces come together in their reading journey.
Long vowels can be tricky for first graders because they often look at words and want to say the short vowel sound first. The lessons from Cox Campus and UFLI helped me understand how important it is to teach vowel patterns step by step. When I model and guide my students through these patterns, they start to see how words make sense and how spelling connects to what they hear.
What I Learned This Week
One of the biggest takeaways for me was how explicit instruction and repetition help students master vowel patterns. Long vowel sounds are best learned when children can hear, see, and say the sound while reading and writing the words.
We also talked in the Cox Campus lessons about how the brain connects print to speech. Every time we teach students to look closely at letter patterns, we help build those strong pathways in the brain that lead to fluent reading.
Bringing It Into My Classroom
This week in my classroom, we practiced long vowel patterns like a_e, i_e, and o_e. My students loved discovering that the silent “e” changes the vowel’s sound. We used word cards, sorting games, and mini whiteboards to practice.
For example, we compared cap and cape or hop and hope. The students had fun “finding the magic e” in each word. They enjoyed saying, “When you add the e, the vowel says its name!”
We also did a shared writing activity where students created silly sentences using long vowel words. Activities like these make phonics practice fun and help students apply what they’ve learned in real reading and writing.
Reflections as a Teacher
Teaching long vowel sounds reminded me how powerful small-group instruction can be. Some of my students needed extra time to recognize the vowel patterns, while others caught on quickly and were ready to read new words independently. I learned that meeting students where they are and giving them meaningful practice makes all the difference.
The Science of Reading has helped me understand why teaching long vowels in a clear, structured way builds strong readers. Each new pattern gives students another tool to decode and spell with confidence.
Final Thoughts
This week’s lessons have made me more intentional about how I teach long vowel patterns. I’m excited to see my students’ confidence grow as they begin to recognize these sounds in books and in their writing.
“Every vowel sound mastered brings a child one step closer to reading with confidence.”
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