Vowel Sounds Explained with Simple Animations

Now let's explore long vowel sounds, where vowels say their name.For the long A sound, your mouth opens wide, like when saying the letter name A.The long E sound requires a wide smile, with your teeth showing.For the long I sound, your mouth starts open and closes slightly.The long O sound makes your mouth form a circle.And the long U sound starts with a small circle that closes into a smile.One way to make a long vowel sound is by adding a silent E at the end of a word.Another way to make long vowel sounds is with vowel teams, where two vowels work together.Let's explore special vowel combinations that create unique sounds.The 'ow' sound is a diphthong, meaning it combines two vowel sounds into one fluid sound.Notice how your mouth moves from an 'ah' sound to a 'oo' sound when saying 'ow'.The 'oi' and 'oy' sounds are also diphthongs. We use 'oi' in the middle of words and 'oy' at the end.The 'oo' combination makes two different sounds: a short sound as in 'book' and a long sound as in 'moon'.Notice how your mouth shape changes between these two 'oo' sounds.Let's review all the special vowel combinations we've learned.Remember, these special combinations create unique sounds that are different from basic long and short vowels.