Spelling
it Right

vowels2
Focus words

rainbow

railway

available

maintain

yesterday

praise

horseplay

brainstorm

entertain

trailer

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    Long vowel sounds: -a-

    1. The long -a- is most often written a-e for example state.
    Usually there is only one letter between the a and the e
    as in plate. But often there is more than one, as in table.
    It's the magic e which makes the -a- have a long sound.
    (Remember to have a look at the magic e page if you haven't
    done so already)


    Underline the a-e combination in each of the following words.
    The first two are done for you.
    hate cradle mate grade trace parade skate statement
    dazed disgraceful rotate displacement bracelet ladle

    2. But -ai- and -ay also make the long a sound. You'll notice
    that -ai- usually comes in the middle of a word and
    the long a right at the end of a word is always -ay.

    Write the correct combination in the following words:
    dr___n,  sw___,  cl___,  excl___m,  tr___ler,  dec___,
    yesterd___,  m___nt___n,  av___lable,  r___lw___.

    3. Try to guess the following words which all contain -ai-.

    You wear them on your feet: tr_________
    He might serve you in a restaurant: w________
    Another word for a traffic jam: t____back
    The opposite of success: f_________
    This will get bigger if you keep eating too much: w______line
    These travel very, very slowly: s______s
    Someone you know - but not very well: acqu_________ce
    They travel the oceans: s________s

    4. Now memorize the focus words and test yourself on them.
    USA Spelling Books
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    Roger Smith