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Word Study · Spelling patterns

Long Vowels: igh, y, oa, ow and Silent e (light, fly, boat, snow)

Learn spellings for the long i and long o sounds: igh, y and i_e, oa, ow and o_e. Use the position rules, study the word bank and practise spelling.

Grades 3–5 · 15 practice questions · Original material
Learning objectiveChoose a spelling for the long i sound (igh, y, i with a silent e) and the long o sound (oa, ow, o with a silent e), using position in the word and the silent e pattern.

The idea

The long i sound, as in light and fly, and the long o sound, as in boat and snow, can each be spelled several ways. Long i can be igh, y or i with a silent e: light, fly, bike. Long o can be oa, ow or o with a silent e: boat, snow, bone.

Position helps. In the middle of a word, long i is often igh (light, night, high), and long o is often oa (boat, coat, road). At the end of a word, long o is usually ow (snow, grow, slow), because English words almost never end in oa. A short word that ends in long i is usually spelled with y: my, fly, try.

The silent e pattern is a third choice. Compare bik and bike, or bon and bone. The silent e at the end of the word makes the vowel before it say its name. Words like time, kite and home follow this pattern.

These are strong patterns, but they have exceptions. Cow has ow but says the ou sound, and pie spells long i with ie. When you are unsure, say the word slowly, decide where the vowel sound is, try the likely spelling and check it against a word bank or a dictionary.

Word bank

light

noun · LYTE

brightness that lets you see

Example: Turn on the light, please.

night

noun · NYTE

the dark part of the day

Example: The stars came out at night.

high

adjective · HY

far above the ground

Example: The kite flew high.

fly

verb · FLY

to move through the air

Example: Geese fly south in the fall.

try

verb · TRY

to make an effort to do something

Example: Please try the new game.

bike

noun · BYKE

a two-wheeled vehicle you pedal

Example: I ride my bike to school.

time

noun · TYME

what a clock measures

Example: What time is recess?

kite

noun · KYTE

a light frame covered with paper or cloth that flies on a string

Example: We flew a kite at the park.

boat

noun · BOHT

a small vessel that floats on water

Example: The boat floated across the lake.

coat

noun · KOHT

a warm piece of clothing worn over other clothes

Example: Put on your coat; it is cold.

road

noun · ROHD

a path for cars, buses and bikes

Example: The road was wet after the rain.

snow

noun · SNOH

frozen water that falls in soft white flakes

Example: The first snow fell in November.

grow

verb · GROH

to get bigger

Example: Beans grow quickly in warm soil.

slow

adjective · SLOH

not fast

Example: The turtle is slow.

bone

noun · BOHN

one of the hard parts that make up a skeleton

Example: The dog buried a bone.

home

noun · HOHM

the place where you live

Example: We walked home after school.

Worked examples

Example 1 · igh, y or i_e?

Choose the spelling: "The kite flew h___." (igh / y / ie)

  1. Say the word: high. The long i sound is at the end, but the word is not a short word like fly.
  2. High is one of the common igh words, along with light and night.
  3. Check the word bank: high.

high (igh)

Example 2 · oa or ow?

Choose the spelling: "The first sn___ fell in November." (oa / ow)

  1. Say the word: snow. The long o sound is at the end of the word.
  2. English words almost never end in oa, so the end spelling is ow.
  3. Check the word bank: snow.

snow (ow at the end)

Example 3 · Silent e

Which is correct for the thing you pedal: bik or bike?

  1. Say the word: BYKE. The i says its name, the long i sound.
  2. A silent e at the end of the word makes the i say its name.
  3. Without the e, bik would be said with a short i.

bike (i with a silent e)

Common mistakes

Ending a word with oa, as in snoa or groa.

Why this fails: At the end of a word the long o sound is usually spelled ow: snow, grow, slow. Oa belongs in the middle: boat, coat, road.

Forgetting the silent e, as in bik or hom.

Why this fails: Without the e, the vowel says its short sound. Bike and home need the silent e for the long vowel.

Spelling night as nite or light as lite.

Why this fails: Nite and lite are shortcut spellings seen in advertising. Standard English uses igh: night, light.

Believing every ow says long o.

Why this fails: Cow and now have ow but say the ou sound. Say the word aloud before choosing a spelling pattern.

Believing there is only one spelling for long i.

Why this fails: Long i is spelled igh (light), y (fly), i with a silent e (bike) and, in a few words, ie (pie). Learn the common patterns and the exceptions.

Foundation

Foundation practice

Learn the position rules and the silent e.

Spelling choice

1. Which spelling of the long i sound is common in the middle of light, night and high?

  1. ie
  2. ai
  3. igh
  4. oa
Spelling choice

2. Which spelling of the long o sound is common in the middle of boat, coat and road?

  1. oa
  2. ow
  3. ou
  4. oi
Fill the gap

3. Which word completes the sentence? "Birds can ___ high in the sky."

  1. fli
  2. fly
  3. figh
  4. flie
Fill the gap

4. Which word completes the sentence? "The first ___ fell all night."

  1. snoa
  2. sno
  3. snoe
  4. snow
Magic e

5. In bike and kite, what does the final e do?

  1. It makes the i say its long sound
  2. It is pronounced EE at the end
  3. It makes the k silent
  4. It shows the word is plural

Practice

Practice practice

Spell words using the patterns.

Fill the gap

6. Which word completes the sentence? "We will ___ the dog a big bone." (choose the spelling for the long o word that means "a hard part of a skeleton")

  1. boan
  2. bone
  3. bown
  4. bon
Fill the gap

7. Which word completes the sentence? "I will ___ again after lunch."

  1. trie
  2. trigh
  3. try
  4. tri
Which is correct?

8. Which word is spelled correctly?

  1. cote
  2. cowt
  3. koat
  4. coat
Which is correct?

9. Which word is spelled correctly?

  1. night
  2. nite
  3. nyte
  4. nigt
Position rule

10. Which word ends with the long o sound spelled ow?

  1. road
  2. grow
  3. boat
  4. bone
Spot the mistake

11. Which sentence has a spelling mistake?

  1. The bike is red.
  2. The snow is deep.
  3. The boat was slo.
  4. It is time for lunch.
Sort by pattern

12. Which list has only words that make the long i sound?

  1. light, kite, fly
  2. road, coat, home
  3. boat, snow, grow
  4. light, boat, kite

Challenge

Challenge practice

Handle exceptions and use the rules carefully.

Careful reading

13. Which word does NOT make a long o sound?

  1. home
  2. slow
  3. coat
  4. cow
Careful reading

14. Which word has the long i sound but does not use igh, y or a silent e?

  1. light
  2. pie
  3. bike
  4. my
Apply the rule

15. Which choice correctly spells both missing words? "The ___ rode his ___ on the ___ road." Use: a man with a high kite → "kite", and a boat on a "lake".

  1. kyte, bote, hohm
  2. kite, boat, hom
  3. They all follow the rules: kite, boat, home
  4. kiet, boat, home

Answer key

  1. 1. igh
    Igh makes the long i sound in light, night and high. Ie appears in a few words such as pie, but it is not the pattern here. Ai and oa are vowel teams for other sounds.
  2. 2. oa
    Oa in the middle of a word makes the long o sound: boat, coat, road. Ow usually comes at the end, as in snow. Ou and oi make different sounds.
  3. 3. fly
    A one-syllable word that ends with the long i sound is often spelled with y: fly. Fli and flie are not English spellings, and figh is not a word.
  4. 4. snow
    The long o is at the end of the word, so it is spelled ow: snow. Snoa puts oa at the end, which English words almost never do. Sno and snoe are not the correct spellings.
  5. 5. It makes the i say its long sound
    The silent e at the end makes the vowel before it say its name: bik with no e would not say BYKE. The e is silent, it does not change k, and it has nothing to do with plurals.
  6. 6. bone
    Bone uses o and a silent e to make the long o sound. Boan and bown are not English spellings, and bon would be said with a short o.
  7. 7. try
    Try is a short word that ends in the long i sound, so it ends in y. Trie and tri are not English spellings. Trigh uses igh, which belongs in the middle or at the end of words like high, not here.
  8. 8. coat
    Coat is the spelling with oa. Cote is a real word for an animal shelter, but it does not mean a piece of clothing. Cowt and koat are not English spellings.
  9. 9. night
    Night is spelled with igh. Nite is a shortcut spelling used in advertising, not standard English. Nyte and nigt are not correct spellings.
  10. 10. grow
    Grow ends with ow. Road and boat use oa in the middle, and bone uses o with a silent e.
  11. 11. The boat was slo.
    Slo should be slow, with ow at the end for the long o sound. The other three sentences are spelled correctly.
  12. 12. light, kite, fly
    Light, kite and fly all say long i. The first wrong list holds only long o words, the second holds only long o words too, and the last mixes in boat, a long o word.
  13. 13. cow
    Cow has ow, but it says the ou sound, as in out. The ow spelling is not always long o, so say the word aloud. Home, slow and coat all say long o.
  14. 14. pie
    Pie spells long i with ie. Light uses igh, bike uses i with a silent e, and my ends with y. A few words use ie, but igh, y and i_e are more common.
  15. 15. They all follow the rules: kite, boat, home
    Kite uses i with a silent e, boat uses oa in the middle, and home uses o with a silent e. Kyte, bote and hohm copy the sounds without using the standard spelling patterns, and hom and kiet are also not correct spellings.

Related practice

Long vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, eaSilent letters: kn, wr, mb, ighProofread your writingEnglish hub