Long I Spellings for Kids: Magic e, igh and y (Grade 1 and 2 English)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Today we are learning the long i sound. Long i says its own name, i. There are three common ways to spell it, and one of them uses a little bit of magic!

First, magic e. The word kit has a short i. Add an e to the end and it becomes kite! The e is silent, but it makes the i say its name.

Magic e works on lots of words. Pin becomes pine. Rid becomes ride. Bit becomes bite. Look for the pattern. Vowel, one consonant, then a silent e at the end.

Second, the team i g h. The g and h are silent, so igh just says i. You see it in night, light, high and right. It often comes before a t.

Third, the letter y. When y comes at the end of a short word, it often says long i. Listen. My. Fly. Sky. Cry. Here, y is doing a vowel's job.

How do you choose? Here are clues. If a short word ends with the long i sound, try y. If you hear i then t, try igh. Many other words use magic e.

Now it's your turn. An airplane trip is called a flight. Which spelling is correct, fligt, flight or flite? Pause and try. It is flight, spelled f l i g h t.

Great job! Long i can be spelled with magic e like kite, with igh like night, or with y like sky. Practice long i spellings in the English Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!