Long and Short Vowels Sort Free Worksheets

Get five vowel types to help children distinguish between long and short vowel sounds in words. Each free printable worksheet has ten photographs to categorize. There are five photos with short vowels and five with long vowels.

The five vowels in English are A, E, I, O, and U, with each vowel having several sounds known as long and short sounds.

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Long and Short Vowels

Children must understand the distinction between the long and short sounds that vowels produce! When decoding new words, they can quickly switch between the sounds to get the correct word.

For example, when reading the word music, does mŭ/sic (short u sound) or mū/sic (long u sound) sound like the correct word?

Short Vowels Sounds

A a – /ă/ – apple
E e – /ĕ/ – elephant
I i – /ĭ/ – igloo
O o – /ŏ/ – octopus
U u – /ŭ/ – umbrella

Long Vowels Sounds (Remember, long vowels say their name!)

Long A a – /ā/ – acorn
Long E e – /ē / – equal
Long I i – /ī/ – ice
Long O o – /ō/ – ocean
Long U u- /ū/ – unicorn

Use our long vowel worksheets to offer kids more practice reading words and listening for long vowel sounds.

Short and Long Vowel Words

A Words

Short ă Words: Backpack, cab, cat, rat, cap.
Long ā Words: Chair, rake, plane, chain, sail.

E Words

Short ĕ Words: Pen, hen, web, net, tent.
Long ē Words: Seal, cheese, bee, read, pea.

I Words

Short ĭ Words: Squid, pig, zip, dig, swim.
Long ī Words: Light, cry, knife, dime, kite.

O Words

Short ŏ Words: Pot, frog, hot, dog, fox.
Long ō Words: Hose, boat, coat, snow, bone.

U Words

Short ŭ Words: Sun, rug, bug, brush, nut.
Long ū Words: Cube, unicorn, puke, tissue, music.

Using The Worksheets

👉 Before you begin, make sure the children understand the names of the pictures. The corresponding words are mentioned above. Before assigning the activity to the children, go over the photographs briefly.

These worksheets are intended to help students compare the long and short sounds that vowels make. Children glance at the vivid, easily identifiable visual word.

Next, kids identify the vowel sounds they hear in words, then cut, sort, and paste them in the correct spot based on whether they are long or short!

Tips and Info

This activity is great for 1st-grade students, or any children learning long vowel sounds.
Print in color so kids can see the bright, beautiful pictures!
Extend the Activity: After sorting the picture cards, have your students try to spell the short vowel words. If you’re introducing long vowels, then they should have every skill needed to spell all of the short vowel word pictures!