Date:_______________ Long Ee Spelled ee or ea
Component: Decoding Approximate Time: ✓ Individual
7 minutes
PLAN
Instructional Activity: Words with Long Ee Spelled ee or ea ✓ Small Group
Materials Needed: Long Ee sound-spelling card, whiteboards, Click here for video
✓ Large Group
example
markers, erasers
OBJECTIVE
State the objective(s).
The sound of long Ee, /ēēē/, can be spelled several ways. You’re going to learn two more common patterns for /ēēē/ and practice reading
words containing the patterns.
Review prerequisite skills and teach related vocabulary.
VOCABULARY
REVIEW &
Refer to the sound-spelling cards as you review the vowels. There are two kinds of letters: consonants and vowels. The vowels are Aa, Ee,
Ii, Oo, and Uu. Sometimes the letter Yy can also make a vowel sound.
A vowel team is a combination of two, three, or four letters that work together to spell one vowel sound.
Date:_______________ Long Ee Spelled ee or ea
Demonstrate. Teach the new skill, model with clear explanations, verbalize your thinking process.
Display or hold the sound-spelling card for long Ee. If the spellings ee and ea are covered by a sticky note, uncover them now. Make sure all
previously taught spellings for the long e sound are uncovered. Point to the picture at the top of the card.
• The sound is /ēēē/. The key word is _____.
• Point to the spelling patterns at the bottom of the card. Let’s review the ways we’ve learned to spell the sound /ēēē/. Point to and say
each of the spelling patterns. Have students repeat each one after you.
• The long e sound can be made using these two vowel teams. Point to each pattern as you describe it.
• The pattern ee is a vowel team that spells /ēēē/. It can come at the beginning, middle, or end of a syllable. Several one-syllable
words end in /ēēē/ spelled ee, such as bee, fee, and knee. When /ēēē/ is spelled ee at the end of a longer word, it often carries the
meaning “one who,” as in absentee, which means one who is absent, and employee, which means one who is employed.
• The pattern ea is another vowel team that spells /ēēē/. There are a few common words that begin with ea, including each, eager,
eagle, easel, ease, east, easy, eat, eave, and ear. There are very few common words that end in ea pronounced /ēēē/: pea, sea, tea,
I DO IT!
flea, plea, and guinea (as in guinea pig).
• Most of the time, both ee and ea are used to spell /ēēē/ in the middle of a word or syllable.
• Point to ee. What is this pattern called? Students and teacher: ee What sound does it spell? Students and teacher: /ēēē/
• Point to ea. What is this pattern called? Students and teacher: ea What sound does it spell? Students and teacher: /ēēē/
I’m going to use our decoding strategy to read a word containing long e spelled ee or ea.
Write the word exceed on the board. Let’s pretend we don’t know this word. I’m going to use the Reading Big Words strategy to figure it out.
First, I underline the vowels in the word. Underline e and ee. I know a single e with a consonant after it in the syllable makes the sound
/ĕĕĕ/. I underline the double ee using one line, because the two vowels work together to make one sound, /ēēē/.
Next, I look for other parts I know. I put a dot under each of them. Dot under x and d while saying the sound each makes. Underline c and say,
I know when c is followed by e, i, or y, the sound of the c becomes /sss/. I know all the parts of this word, which means I can read it.
The word has two vowel sounds, which means it has two syllables. I scoop under each syllable, making sure to include one vowel sound in
each. I’ll include a consonant or two before and/or after each vowel sound. Scoop under ex and ceed.
Now, I read the syllables, sounding them out if I need to: /ĕks/ /sēēēd/, exceed. That makes sense. Sam’s dad said he could buy some new
jeans, but the cost could not exceed $30. Exceed.
Date:_______________ Long Ee Spelled ee or ea
Provide guided practice.
Distribute individual whiteboards, markers, and erasers to students.
Let’s do some together. Remember, if you already know the word, don’t blurt it out.
Write the word conceal on the board. Write the word on your board.
First, underline the vowels. Remember, underline vowel teams once, because they make one sound. Students underline o and ea. Teacher
should provide support as needed and underline the vowels on the board so students may check their work.
Look for other parts you know. Put a dot under each. Students, then teacher, put a dot under the first c, n, the second c, and l. Prompt, if
needed: What letter comes after the second c? What sound will it make?
Think: How many vowel sounds are in the word? How do you know? Call on students to respond. Scaffold for the response: two vowel
WE DO IT!
sounds equal two syllables. Scoop under the two syllables. Students, then teacher, scoop under con and ceal.
Finally, read the syllables, sounding them out if you need to. Flex a vowel sound if you need to make it sound like a real word. Raise your
hand when you know the word. Call on 2-3 students to say the word. If they neglect to change the short o sound to a schwa sound, prompt
them by saying, remember to make it sound like a real word.
Follow the routine with the words below.
decrease
discreet
esteem
If students need support with: Then try this:
Segmenting syllables Have students write each vowel (keeping vowel teams together) on separate pieces of paper, then
write each syllable and push them together to read the word. For additional support, the teacher
can show students where the syllable breaks occur then have the students decode each syllable.
Date:_______________ Long Ee Spelled ee or ea
Provide independent practice.
This time, I’ll write five words on the board. You choose one and write it on your whiteboard. Then, you’ll use the Read Big Words routine
to figure out the word. When you think you know the word, raise your hand. I’ll come to you and let you whisper the word to me. If
you’re right, you can erase the word, choose another one, and write it. Follow this routine until you’ve read three words correctly to me.
YOU DO IT!
Monitor the students, scaffolding only if necessary. Allow them to do the work as independently as possible. Use the words below.
drumbeat
eavesdrop
emcee
cartwheel
endearing
Assess students (formally or informally). Determine the level of mastery for the stated objective.
ASSESS
Observe individual students as they respond during guided and independent practice.
Scaffold or correct all errors. Provide specific feedback for accurate responses.
ENRICH/EXTEND
Enrichment/Extension. Provide enrichment and extension activities for students who need less support.
For students who show mastery for decoding words with vowel team patterns, consider moving to the instructional protocol for encoding
words with vowel team patterns.
