250+ Long A Words List (Free Printable List)

Boost your child’s understanding of the long ‘A’ sound and how to recognize it in words with this comprehensive list.

These long ‘A’ word lists aim to help children practice the long ‘A’ sound and learn to recognize the variety of way that it appears in words, such as in words ending with a silent -e, words with the vowel teams ai or ay, and more.

Learning to spot the long ‘A’ sound in words helps children with decoding, an important step in developing literacy skills. These words lists can also help with spelling practice and vocabulary building.

Our long ‘A’ word lists feature both simple and challenging words. Review the lists and pick the words that are best suited to your child’s learning level. We’ve also included some long ‘A’ words in sentences to help children understand how these words function in everyday language. Reinforce learning even more with our engaging long ‘A’ activities for children at the bottom of the page.

What is the Long A Sound?

The long ‘A’ sound can be heard when saying words like cake, train, and day. This sound is often represented in writing by various spelling patterns, such as the letter ‘A’ followed by a consonant and a silent -e (as in cake) or vowel teams like ai (as in train) and ay (as in day). When describing the long ‘A’ sound, it looks like /ā/.

Long A Word Lists

Below are lists of long ‘A’ words, including words with the vowel-consonant-e pattern and words with vowel teams like ai and ay.

Long A Words with Vowel-Consonant-e:

These words feature the long ‘A’ sound where the letter ‘A’ is followed by a consonant and a silent -e.

Long A Words with the Vowel Team ai

These words feature the long ‘A’ sound created by the vowel team ai.

Long A Words with the Vowel Team ay

These words feature the long ‘A’ sound created by the vowel team ay.

Understanding ei, ea, eigh, and ey Words with Long A Sounds

Vowel teams like ei, ea, eigh, and ey create the long ‘A’ sound in many words. For example, ei in vein, ea in great, eigh in eight, and ey in they all produce the same long ‘A’ sound. Recognizing these patterns helps with reading and pronunciation of words that use these letter combinations.

Long A Words with Open Syllables

Open syllables occur when a vowel is left at the end of a syllable, causing it to produce a long vowel sound. This is true for many words containing the long ‘A’ sound. In open syllables, the long ‘A’ sound is pronounced as it is in the alphabet, like in able or apron. These words are helpful for early learners to recognize and master, as they follow a common and straightforward pattern that supports reading and spelling development. 

Common Long A Words

These long ‘A’ words appear frequently in books, making it helpful for children to become familiar with them. When teaching these long ‘A’ words, emphasize the letters and sounds in each word and practice breaking the word apart phonetically.

Advanced Long A Words with -ate

This list explores more complex words featuring the long ‘A’ sound as it appears in words that end in -ate.

Long A Words Used in Sentences

Using long ‘A’ words in sentences helps children understand their meaning in context. Here are some examples:

Long A Word Activities

Long Vowel Sounds Worksheets:

Our free printable Long Vowel Sounds Worksheets can help your child practice their understanding of long vowels through fun coloring pages and crossword puzzles.

Long A Sound Art Collage

Have your child cut out pictures from magazines or draw objects that contain the long ‘A’ sound, such as a cake, gate, or plane. They can then paste these images onto a poster to create a visual collage of long ‘A’ words. This activity helps reinforce word recognition and connects the sound with visual cues.

Long A Sound Rhythm Game

Create a rhythm game by clapping or tapping to the beat while saying long ‘A’ words aloud. You can take turns with your child, adding a new word with each round. For example, start with “bake,” then “cake,” and so on. This game improves memory and rhythm while helping children associate words with the long ‘A’ sound.

Long A Word Building with Blocks

Write long ‘A’ words on small pieces of paper and tape them to building blocks. As your child builds a structure, they must say the word on each block aloud. This hands-on activity combines learning with play, encouraging word recognition through physical interaction.

Long A Sound Rhyme Challenge

Give your child a long ‘A’ word like game or rain and ask them to come up with as many rhyming words as possible (e.g., same, train). This activity helps them recognize patterns and reinforces their ability to identify the long ‘A’ sound in different words.

Long A Sound Detective

Turn your child into a “word detective.” Provide them with a short paragraph or story and ask them to highlight or underline all the words containing the long ‘A’ sound. This activity encourages reading comprehension and sharpens their attention to sounds in context.

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