

Long vowel ‘e’ sound – ‘ee’ and ‘ea’ Pack I
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What are long vowels?
Long vowels are used to refer to the vowel sounds whose pronunciation is the same as its letter name. They are also called ‘alphabet sounds. They are called long vowel sounds because we hold them longer than short vowel sounds. But long vowels are not a longer version of short vowels. Long and short vowel sounds are completely different from each other.
Let’s take an example. Hear the sound of the vowel ‘e’ in the word ‘met.’ It is the short vowel sound /e/.
Now hear the sound of ‘ee’ in the word ‘meet.’ It makes the alphabet sound of the alphabet ‘e.’
Both sounds are completely different from each other. If you stretch the ‘e’ in ‘met,’ you do not get the ‘ee’ in meet.
Hear the sound of vowel ‘e’ in ‘egg.’ Now hear the sound of ‘ea’ in eat. An egg has the short vowel ‘e’ sound and eat has the long e sound.
Let me share a few more examples.
short vowel long vowel
bet beet
men mean
bled bleed
red read
wed weed
check cheek
Today, we shall be discussing two vowel combinations that make the same long e sound.
The vowel combinations are ‘ee’ and ‘ea’.
‘When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.’ In the case of ee and ea two vowels are walking together. The first vowel for ee is ‘e’ so ‘ee’ will make the alphabet sound /e/. The first vowel for ea is also ‘e’ so ‘ea’ will also make the alphabet sound /e/.
There are many words that have ‘ee’ and ‘ea’ in them. For example tree, leaf, tea, coffee, etc.
I will be sharing three ‘long e sound words worksheet’ resources with you today. First, we can begin by reading ‘long e sound words.‘


ee words
Have your child read these simple ‘ee’ words and color the ‘ee’ sound in every word.


ea words
There is a worksheet in the ‘ea’ pack for ‘ea’ words. Let the child color the ‘ea’ sound only in these words. For a child, it takes some time to register that there are two letters coming together to make the sound. I try and make the children highlight sounds with colors in most of the worksheets. This trick has really benefitted me when it comes to teaching.
Next, read the ‘ee’ words and sort the pictures. This is one activity the kids really look forward to. There is a similar one for ‘ea’ sound.
These worksheets are not only fun and engaging but also enhance a child’s vocabulary. When reading the words, if there is any confusion with the sounds, I ask them to highlight the ‘ee’ and ‘ea’ sounds with a light color and then read.
I would recommend the book ‘Queen Ella’s Feet’ for practicing the ee sound. This read will help your child understand the sound better and become an independent reader.
I really like ‘I love reading phonics’ books when I teach phonics sounds because each book focuses on a specific sound and these books complements my lessons well.
Now it’s time to write the ee sound in the space and then read the word.
Similarly, write ‘ea’ to make the word for the above worksheet. ‘ee’ and ‘ea’ sounds are easy to read but there is no rule regarding its usage. When spelling it, it is all about reading and practice. The more you practice, the better you will be able to memorize it.
In the next worksheet, we write the complete ‘ee’ word. There is a word bank for reference. I usually make the children read the words from the word bank first. Then I fold it so that the word bank is not visible. Then the child writes the word next to the pictures.
To practice the ‘ea sound,’ I would recommend the book, ‘Bee Makes Tea.’ It is a lively story with humorous illustrations, ideal for children who are beginning to read for themselves, or for reading aloud together. With simple rhyming text and phonic repetition, this book is specially designed to develop essential language and early reading skills.
For these worksheets, the child can practice writing in four lines. I have designed my worksheets and sets in a way that is easy for the child to grasp and each worksheet is progressive from the previous in a way that does not overwhelm the child.
These are simple long e sentences that our readers have to read and complete. To make it easier, there are only two options for each sentence. The child has to pick the one that is best suited and write it.
This is a similar worksheet from the ‘ea’ set.
The last worksheet from both the sets is about forming the ee and ea word. The words have to be pasted in a notebook and then the word has to be used in a simple sentence. To understand how to do this particular activity please go to the end of my ‘ai’ and ‘ay’ blog post by clicking here.
The ‘ee words’ Pack is a subscriber freebie. Click on the above image to download the free PDF file.
The ‘ea words’ Pack is a subscriber freebie. Click on the above image to download the free PDF file.
I have added a new set of worksheets that have both ee and ea sounds together. Let’s discuss them.
The first worksheet is an interesting one as it not only has ee words and ea words but long e words that are homophones.
sea see
seem seam
peek peak
weak week
tee tea
knead need
been bean
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and different spellings. See the homophone pairs above. They sound the same but meanings and spellings are different.








Click on the above image to download the ee ea pack. I hope you find these worksheets useful.
Teresa J. Bugaoan
Thank You very much English Safari. This would be a great help for us educators and also for our learners.
Continue to be a blessing to others and More Power.
Payal
You are welcome, Teresa 🙂
Thank you for your kind words.
Dalila
Thank you very much for this material, good bless you
Payal
You are welcome, Dalila. I am glad you stopped by.