Looking for a simple spelling activity? Kids love these roll & write games – and this one is just right for practice with long vowel words!
A few years ago I published my set of roll & write pages for short vowel words. Since that time, readers have asked that I share a page for long vowel words as well.
Here you are!
Roll & Write for long vowel words
This is a simple single-player activity that will give students practice spelling long vowel words.
How to play
- Grab a pencil and a die.
- Roll the die. Find its match on one of the columns of the worksheet, and identify the word family.
- Find a letter, blend, or digraph that you can use to create a new word with that word family. Use the box at the top of the worksheet for help.
- Write the word in the appropriate column.
- If necessary, check your spelling in a dictionary.
For example, my son rolled a “1.” In the long a game that he was playing, he saw that he needed to make a word that ended with ane. Right away he came up with the word stane.
I told him we’d need to check the dictionary to make sure that it was correct.
It wasn’t.
I encouraged him to find another word, and he came up with mane.
I don’t actually recommend that you have your child look up every word in the dictionary. For one thing, it’s tedious. For another, your child may not have the dictionary skills to do this efficiently. My little guy is a first grader, and I knew that looking up each word would be waaaay too hard and frustrating for him.
Since we did this together, I looked up the words for him.
Unlike my short vowel roll & write games, these present a special challenge: it’s very possible that your child will choose the wrong spelling of a word. She might write snale for snail, or trane for train.
What should you do?
First, if your child is doing a lot of that, these games may be too hard for him or her. Back up and do word sorts with these common phonics patterns. You’ll learn all about word sorts in this post about my favorite approach to teaching spelling.
If your child is making only an occasional mistake, let him finish the game all on his own. Then put a star next to the words that are incorrect. Ask him to try another spelling.
Rather than ask your child to fill in every line, have him play for a certain period of time. 10-15 minutes should do it.
These games would work really well as a review after studying long vowels in spelling lessons. After you finish learning long a patterns, play one or both of the long a games. After you finish learning long i patterns, play the long i game.
Introducing this activity too early will likely bring frustration.
On the other hand, if your child enjoys words and writing (as mine does), this can be a fun way to learn about long vowel spellings even before you do heavy-duty instruction.
Whatever you decide, I hope your children enjoy these!
More freebies!
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© 2017, Anna G. All rights reserved.
Vida Brand says
Hey Anna just want to thank you for always giving informative guidance and strategies as well as your worksheet. It really makes teaching so much easier. Take care
Anna Geiger says
I’m so glad to hear these posts are helpful, Vida!
najwa says
Hi Anna,
Thank you for the ideas, worksheets and games you provide. lovely ideas..
najwa
Anna Geiger says
You’re very welcome, Najwa!
Vicky says
Anna,
Thank you so much for all of the fabulous resources! You make my job easier and give me new ideas that inspire me to be a better teacher!
Anna Geiger says
Thank you, Vicky! That’s so wonderful to hear!
Rowena says
Thank you for all the worksheets and games. I know it took a lot of time putting this all together and I really appreciate it. I really love them! I can’t wait to start using these games.
Anna Geiger says
You’re very welcome, Rowena! Thank you so much for your comment!
Joy Cox says
Thanks so much for all the hard work you put into these activities. I love using them and the children I work with love them too – they always ask to play them.
Anna Geiger says
That’s so wonderful to hear, Joy!
E says
This looks so fun! Can’t wait to try it out with my ESL classes!
Anna Geiger says
I hope your students enjoy them!
senthilkumar says
awesome!!!
Sheri Anderson says
Anna,
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful resources. Our language arts curriculum is going to fast for my lower students and too slow for my higher ones. Your activities and books help fill the gaps. Your generosity is very much appreciated.
Sheri
Anna G says
You’re welcome, Sheri! Thank you so much for the kind words!
Marg says
Hi Anna
I just want to give your BIG THANK YOU for all the resources that I have accessed over the last couple of years. I love the variety and the ease it gives me when preparing activities for my students. You are amazing!
Anna G says
You’re very welcome, Marg! Thank you!
Cherry says
Thanks for sharing this nice worksheet. The students like it very much. By the way, may I know the name of the dictionary? That one looks good.
Anna G says
I’m not 100% sure, but I think it was a version of this one: https://www.amazon.com/Scholastic-Childrens-Dictionary-2010-Edition/dp/0545218586/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1547037193&sr=8-7&keywords=scholastic+children%27s+dictionary
Rajaa says
Thanks a lot for sharing your resources Anna…the worksheets and the teaching tips are so beneficial…the games are also creative…kids enjoy themselves as they apply language skills and learn new things…much appreciated