Long Vowel A Coloring Worksheet: Say the Sounds!

How to use this worksheet

Go through the pictures one at a time, saying each object's name slowly and clearly together with your child. Ask them to listen carefully for the long 'a' sound, the one that sounds like the letter's own name, and decide whether that picture's word contains it. If it does, have your child color that picture in; if it doesn't, leave it uncolored and move to the next one. Once every picture has been checked, look back together at just the colored pictures and say all those words aloud as a group to reinforce the shared sound.

Materials needed

• Pencil
• Crayons

Extension activities

• •Take turns naming objects around the house and deciding together whether each one has a long 'a' sound.
• •Sing simple songs or nursery rhymes and clap every time you hear a word with the long 'a' sound.
• •Make a collage using magazine cutouts of only objects whose names have a long 'a' sound.
• •Play an 'I'm thinking of something' guessing game where the object's name always has a long 'a' sound.
• •Practice saying pairs of similar words, like 'cap' and 'cape,' and discuss how the vowel sound changes.

Tips for parents and teachers

Some children confuse the letter name 'a' with the actual long 'a' sound in a word's middle or end, so model by stretching the sound out clearly, like 'caaake.' A common difficulty is picking up on the sound in longer or less familiar words, so slow your pace and repeat the word a second time if needed. Keep the coloring light and unhurried, since the real learning is happening in the listening and discussion, not in the coloring itself.