Long Vowel Word Families Worksheets

These free long vowel word families worksheets cover the 6 families -ake, -ine, -ight, -ail, -ay, -eep: word family houses, word wheels, sorts, roll and read, fluency grids and a vowel swap page. A word family is a group of words that share an ending, so a child who can read bake can also read cake and fake.

Long Vowel word families worksheets to print (PDF)

The four printables below are a house, a sort, a roll and read page and a fluency grid. Click a picture for the PDF.

Long Vowel word families list: every word in the worksheets

The long vowel word families worksheets use 45 words from the 6 families, which become 69 if you turn on blends. The biggest family is -ay with 9 words, and the smallest is -eep with 6. Here is every family:

The long vowel sound and how its families are spelled

A long vowel says its own name, and the six families here show six different spellings of three long vowels: long a is spelled a_e in -ake, ai in -ail and ay in -ay; long i is spelled i_e in -ine and igh in -ight; and long e is spelled ee in -eep. The Common Core grade 1 reading foundations standards expect children to read regularly spelled one-syllable words, which is what these families practice.

The long a spellings ai and ay are a useful pair: ay comes at the end of a word (day, play), and ai comes in the middle (rail, snail). The onset and rime idea behind every family is explained on the short a word families page.

Where to start with the long vowel word families

The -ake family has 8 words in the houses and wheels: bake, cake, fake, lake, make, rake, take, wake. Turn on the blends option to add snake, shake, flake, brake.

The -ine family has 7 words in the houses and wheels: dine, fine, line, mine, nine, pine, vine. Turn on the blends option to add shine, spine, whine.

The -ight family has 7 words in the houses and wheels: fight, light, might, night, right, sight, tight. Turn on the blends option to add bright, flight, fright, slight.

Start with -ake because it makes many everyday words. When a child can read the whole family, move on to -ine and then the rest, in this order: ake, ine, ight, ail, ay and eep. The houses can be printed in any order, and you can print a family a second time with the blends turned on.

Long vowel sentences to read, one for each family

Once children can read the words in a list, they need to meet them in sentences. These sentences use only words from the families on this page, with the family words in bold:

Ask the child to read each sentence, then to underline the family words and say which ones rhyme. For writing practice, ask them to make up their own sentence for each family on the sentence line of the house.

Long vowel worksheets 1st grade: how to teach 6 families

A simple plan is one family a day, with a different printable each time, and a fluency grid at the end of the week. This is a schedule for the long vowel word families:

The week of long vowel word families ends with a fluency grid. The smallest family, -eep, has only 6 words and is quick to finish, so print its sort on the same day as -ay, which has 9.

A worked example: the -ay word family worksheet

The biggest of the long vowel word families is -ay, with 9 words: bay, day, hay, lay, may, pay, ray, say, way. In its house the ending -ay sits on the roof and the words fill the windows. The six boxes underneath already show the ending, and a child writes b, d or h in front of it to build bay, day or hay.

With blends turned on it also holds clay, play, stay, tray, gray, spray.

What is in the complete packet

Pages in each printable:

For the 6 long vowel word families the complete packet has 18 pages: a house and a wheel for each family (12 pages), plus the sorts, roll and read, fluency grid and vowel swap pages that are shared. The families have 45 words in the houses and wheels, and 24 more with blends turned on.

Long vowel word families: frequently asked questions

Which long vowel family should I teach first?

Start with the -ake word family: it has 8 words and one spelling for the long a, which is the pattern children have already met in name and game.

How many words are in the long vowel word families?

There are 45 words in the 6 families, and 24 more if you turn on blends. The biggest family is -ay with 9 words, and the smallest is -eep with 6.

Which long vowel words break the patterns?

Have and give end in e but keep a short vowel, says is not spelled like say, and eight and weight use -eight, not -ight, for the long a. Teach each as a sight word.

Which long vowel words are easy to mix up with short vowel words?

Pin and pine, fin and fine, can and cane, tap and tape, and bake and back are pairs where a silent e or a vowel team changes the sound. The short vowel pages have the matching vowel swap pages.

How do I add blend words to the long vowel families?

Turn on “Add blend and digraph words” in the generator. On this page -ake adds snake, shake, flake; -ine adds shine, spine, whine. Words with blends go into the houses, wheels and sorts as extra rows.

More word family worksheets

• Short vowel review worksheets with mixed vowels
• Long vowel word families worksheets
• Pre-primer sight words worksheets and 1st grade spelling words