Example of long u sound

How To Teach Long U Words

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Last up in my series of long vowel sounds, I’m sharing tips and tricks to teach long u words! Because there are two ways to pronounce long u, it is the most complex of long vowel sounds to teach. I’m going to break down each of the eight ways to spell the long u sound, and the best activities to help you teach long u words to your students.

Looking for a long u word list? You can download the list pictured by signing up below. If you don’t see the signup form, click here.

Two Sounds For Long U!

Yes, long u can make 2 different sounds! I know I didn’t learn that in school but it’s true. Let’s look at an example below.

Say tube and cube. Notice how u in tube makes more of an /oo/ sound while in cube it sounds more like /y/ /oo/. Those are the two different long u sounds.

There is some confusion and discussion over whether the /y/ /oo/ sound is a diphthong (2 vowels making 2 sounds together, like oi/oy). Truly, it doesn’t matter what it’s called as long as you teach students how to read and spell them correctly.

Now let’s go over the different ways to spell these sounds.

Eight Ways To Spell Long U

The long u sound can be represented by 8 different spelling patterns:

1. u – music
2. u_e – mule
3. ue – rescue
4. eu – feud
5. ew – few
6. oo – food
7. ou – soup
8. ui – fruit

The majority of these are vowel teams, so students should already know the open, silent e, and vowel team syllables. Students should also be able to find the base word, as some of these rules apply to the base word even if it has a suffix.

Spelling Generalizations for Long U

U alone

At the end of an open syllable, u makes the long u sound (says its name) and this is one of the most common ways of spelling the long u sound. Some examples include pupil, tulip, and student. It can make either the /oo/ or the /y/ /oo/ sound. Students must understand how to split words into syllables and know what open syllables are.

U_E Spelling Pattern

The u silent e spelling pattern is also common, but much less than u alone. This one is usually in the middle of a base word. Examples include cute, rule, and fume. It can make either the /oo/ or the /y/ /oo/ sound. Of course, students should be confident with the magic e syllable.

EW Vowel Team

Much less common is the ew spelling of the long u sound in the middle or end of a base word. This is another one that can make both long u sounds. Examples include few and dew.

UE Vowel Team

UE usually spells the long u sound at the end of a word following a consonant sound. Examples include due and cue. As you can see it can make both long u sounds. This is not used very often.

OO and OU Vowel Teams

These two are also pretty common, but the oo spelling is the most common.

OO can be in any part of the word while ou making the long u sound is usually in the middle of a word.

EU Vowel Team

Long u spelled eu is pretty rare. Examples include feud and Europe. This one always makes the /yoo/ sound.

UI Vowel Team

The long u spelling of ui is also not very common. There are some common words like fruit and juice with this spelling, but not many other words use this spelling pattern for the long u sound. This one only makes the /oo/ sound.

Tips For Teaching Long U Words

How to teach the difference between /y/ /oo/ and /oo/

There isn’t really a rule for when the u says /oo/ or /y/ /oo/. They both have to be explicitly taught.

I got this idea from the Phonics & Spelling Through Grapheme Mapping book. Use the words mew and moo, with a picture of a cat for mew and a picture of a cow for moo.

Say this: “Say mew. Now, say mew without /m/.” Answer: /y/ /oo/

Then do the same with moo.

Say this: “Say moo. Now, say moo without /m/.” Answer: /oo/

Students should be able to clearly hear the difference in the sounds when doing this activity. You can use the picture of the cat and cow to help guide students on the correct pronunciation, although most won’t need this.

When students are sounding out words and they don’t know which sound to go with, tell them to try both and see which sounds right.

Syllabication & Sounding Out Words

Remember that students should always split unknown words into syllables as they try to sound them out.

Students should first break the word into its syllables, and try to eliminate some spelling options. So for example, if they are trying to spell the word human, they should know it won’t be with ew because that spelling option is usually at the end of a base word. If they still ask, you can cue them with something like ‘it’s the end of a syllable so what do you think can go there?’ Guide them in choosing the correct spelling pattern.

You can also use the guide words approach, where you choose one guide word for each spelling pattern to use as the reference. So for ew, you can use the word few. Then you can cue by saying, “u like in few“.

Also, because there are multiple options expect students to get them wrong sometimes, and tell them this! It’s ok if they make mistakes as long as it’s another valid spelling option and not something that doesn’t follow any rules. Through repeated exposure and practice they will eventually internalize the correct spelling pattern for words.

Lots of practice and repeated exposure are the names of the game with the long u sound. Do a variety of activities repeating the words as many times as you can.

Long U Activities & Lesson Ideas

Phoneme Grapheme Mapping – This is a great activity that really isolates the phonograms for students to practice. You can get the Phonics & Spelling Through Grapheme Mapping book and follow the long u lesson, or use my long u word list to do the same activity using sound boxes. See below for an example.

Create short stories to help anchor the spelling patterns. – Group similar words together and create a short story using them to help students remember them For example, with oo, you could say ‘The pool was too cool so we ate our food’ or something like that. Draw a picture or create your own poster with images of words with this spelling pattern and put it up in your room.

SOS – If you don’t already know what Simultaneous Oral Spelling is, then check out this post here. I love this multisensory spelling method for practicing spelling. And you can do this whole class or one on one making it really easy to use in any setting.

Dictation – This is another fantastic activity but I would do this after you have spent some time on long u because it is harder for some students. Also when dictating words, give students a clue about the spelling such as telling them it’s a vowel team or open syllable. I often dictate words that all have the same spelling pattern to avoid these problems.

Sorting – Sorting is always a good idea when you have multiple options for spelling. You can play matching games like memory, just sort them into piles/columns, or create any game that requires sorting by spelling pattern. This builds phonemic awareness so it’s always a good activity for all students.

You can also sort by color coding the vowel team or spelling pattern in the words. I took the list from the SOS activity, then had my student highlight each vowel team in a specific color to more visually show the groups.

I include 3 different sorting activities for the long u sound in my Long U Worksheets & Activities set.

Picture cue cards – Create visual graphics of tricky words, homophones, and homographs. These picture cues really help students remember which pattern to use. I suggest you make these using index cards and keep them in a baggie or box for reference. See an example below (it’s for a long o sound but you get the idea).

Games – Of course, I always include games because it’s just so easy to add a stack of flashcards to any game and make it educational! Use an easy to play board game where students need to pick up a card on their turn and add a task like reading the word aloud and sorting it, or asking another player to spell it, or even something as simple as having them air write the word after reading it aloud. Or print off a teacher-made game from my Long U Word Work set.

I typically use the printable board game pictured below (which you can get for free in my library after joining my email list). I create a stack of long u words flashcards and play, having students pick up a card and read it aloud then write it on their turn.

Constant Review – Remember to keep these spelling patterns in constant review after they are learned, so they are not forgotten. Using a sound wall or phonogram drills are great ways to do this without it taking up a lot of time.

Check out my Long U Word Work Worksheets & Activities resource in my TPT store for ready to use long u activities, reference sheets and posters, and printable worksheets.

Want to remember this? Save How To Teach Long U Words to your favorite Pinterest board!

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215+ Long U Vowel Sound Words (Free Printable Lists)

Grade 2 | Long Vowels | Vowels

ByKatie September 9, 2022September 15, 2022

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Learn all about the Long U sound, including the 2 sounds long U can make. Then, grab yourself two printable pdf lists with over 215 long U vowel sound words, organized by sound and spelling pattern.

Get a new freebie every week!

All About Long U

In our previous long vowel posts, we’ve consistently said that the rule for long vowels is: long vowels say their name:

• Long a says /ā/ like acorn.
• Long e says /ē/ like equal.
• Long i says /ī/ like ice.
• Long o says /ō/ like ocean.
• Long u says /yoo/ like unicorn, OR /oo/ like ruler.

You’ll probably notice something a little different! Long U makes TWO sounds!

Learn about the 12 ways to spell the two Long U sounds, and at the bottom of this post find two printable pdf lists, organized by sounds and spelling patterns.

First Sound of Long U: U says /yoo/

Let’s discuss the first sound of long U, where we hear the U saying its name – ū or /yoo/.

There are five ways to spell long U:

• u like unicorn*
• u-e like mute*
• ew like curfew*
• ue like argue*
• eu like eucalyptus

👩‍🏫 I focus most of my instruction on the spelling patterns we find most frequently in text, marked with an asterisk (*) above.

U – Open Syllable

The letter U will be long in a syllable that ends with the letter U. We call syllables that end in a vowel open syllables.

An open syllable can be at the beginning of a word like u/ni/corn OR in the middle of a word like du/ty.

👉 English words do not end in the letter U, so we will rarely see an open syllable U at the end of a word unless it is derived from another language (e.g. menu comes from French).

U-E (Long U with Silent E)

🤐 The u–consonant-e pattern is another way to spell long ū. In this silent E spelling, the ū sound will be in the middle of the word. The E at the end will stay silent, making the U says it’s name.

EW (Vowel Team)

EW is a vowel team for long U. The W is considered a vowel in this team. Vowel team EW is used at the end of base words like the ones listed below.

UE (Vowel Team)

In this vowel team, the U+E join together to make the long U sound. It it used at the end of a base word.

*UE can also be a silent ending at the end of a word after the letter g or q (like vague, morgue, unique, etc).

EU (Vowel Team)

EU is a vowel team used within the baseword, usually at the beginning or in the middle.

Second Sound of Long U: U says /oo/

The second sound of long u sound is clearly different from the first sound because the /y/ part of the long U sound /yoo/ is lost, resulting in the /oo/ sound.

👉 The reason for this? It’s difficult to pronounce the /y/ sound after many consonants, especially L and R.

There are seven ways to spell long U:

• u like ruler*
• u-e like tube*
• ew like stew*
• ue like glue*
• oo like balloon
• ou like soup
• ui like fruit

👩‍🏫 Although there are many different long vowel spellings, I focus my instruction heavily on the ones we find most frequently in text, marked with an asterisk (*) above.

Below you’ll find each of the seven ways to spell long U along with many common words where the /oo/ sound is clearly heard.

U – Open Syllable

In all 30 words listed below, one of the syllables is open and ends in the letter U. One can clearly hear the /oo/ sound within the word at the end of the open syllable.

U-E (Long U with Silent E)

🧙‍♀️ Many Magic E words include the U-E pattern and and make the long /oo/ sound.

👉 Remember, students should try both sounds /yoo/ and /oo/ when reading these words to listen for which one sounds right. These words have lost the /y/ sound of long U, and the resulting sound is /oo/.

EW (Vowel Team)

This vowel team appears at the end of a base word and says the /oo/ sound in the words below.

UE (Vowel Team)

This vowel team is used only at the end of of base words like glue. Most words ending in UE will have the /oo/ sound, like those found below.

👩‍🏫Teaching Tip: Do not move on to teaching the next 3 spelling patterns until your students have demonstrated a strong command of the four most frequent spellings of long U.

OO (Letter Team)

These two vowels create the special English vowel sound /oo/ heard in the words below. This team can be used in the middle and at the end of words.

*OO can also make the short sound heard in words like book, hood, or soot.

OU (Vowel Team)

OU is not technically a long U vowel sound. (It’s actually considered the long /oo/ sound). But we include it here because it represents the long /oo/ sound, just like the other six spelling patterns found in this section.

The vowel team is often found in the middle of base words like soup, but it can also be found at the end like you. Many of these words are borrowed from French.

UI (Vowel Team)

There are only 15 words in English that include this vowel team. UI is found within the base word in words

FAQ & Helpful Tips

What are the two sounds that long U can say?

Long U says /yoo/ like unicorn, OR it says /oo/ like ruler.

Should I teach both long u sounds at the same time?

There is no need to teach all the sounds of long U at once. Pick and choose words from these lists and use them as your students progress through an aligned scope and sequence. Here is a sample scope and sequence if you are needing one to follow.

Why are some long u spellings on both lists?

Notice that U (open syllable), U-E (Magic E) UE, and EW appear on BOTH lists and can say /yoo/ OR /oo/. You’ll need to teach kids to try both sounds when reading new words (e.g. the word music – mū/sic OR moo/sic).

Related Posts

• Long A Words List
• Long E Words List
• Long I Words List
• Long O Words List

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Sounds uː, ʊ, ʊǝ - examples, pronunciation, tongue twisters

We continue the phonetic rubric, the slogan of which is: English sounds are not equal to Russian ones. To learn the correct pronunciation, we have developed a recipe: we take a “bunch” of similar sounds, compare them with each other and with their Russian counterparts. Then we practice pronunciation and literally “train” the speech apparatus to the correct position with the help of several dozen example words and tongue twisters.

A line from a famous song will help to fix the result, which will cut into the auditory memory and will not let you forget the sound!

Today we will take sounds similar to the Russian sound |у| is a long diphthongoid |uː|, short |ʊ| and the diphthong |ʊǝ|.

Long sound |uː| - round, but do not stick out

Pronounced in the words goose, too, rule , etc. This sound is very similar to ours, but there are two main differences:

1. English | uː | is a diphthongoid. That is, this is one sound, but we hear in it the “overtone” of the second sound (also | u |, but deeper), because the tongue and lips slightly change their position during pronunciation: the tongue moves back and up in the oral cavity. The lips are visibly rounded at the beginning and become even more rounded as the tongue moves.

2. To speak English | uː | lips are rounded, but not protruding forward. To see the difference, compare the two pictures. At the first, Russian-speaking singer Keti Topuria pronounces the word " y I fly" in the song of the same name. In the second picture, the English-speaking presenter from the previous video says one of the example words.

Think you can see the difference? 🙂

As a bonus, I'll tell you about one more important point: in combination | ju: |, which may remind you of the sounds of our letter "yu" (as in the word " yu la" ) - the preceding vowel is not softened! For example, in the words f ew, n ew, t une - we first pronounce the hard consonant and only then raise the middle back of the tongue to the hard palate for | | ju: |.

Got it? Did you catch the differences? We begin to work out the correct position on a set of words.

goose |ɡuːs|

who |huː|

through |θruː|

few |fjuː|

group |ɡruːp|

move |muːv|

you |juː|

threw |θruː|

yew |juː|

too |tuː|

tool|tuːl|

tooth |tuːθ|

cool |kuːl |

rule |ruːl |

school |skuːl |

use |juːz|

tune |tjuːn|

fool |fuːl |

soon |suːn|

new |njuː|

do |duː|

two |tuː| oo ms and fr ui t j ui ce.