Long e (ee, ea) decodable sentences and word list
46 words with ee or ea in the middle of a word, as in tree and eat, and 10 sentences a child can sound out. Project them, or print the sheet.
Long e (ee, ea): ee or ea in the middle of a word, as in tree and eat. 46 words.
- see
- bee
- tree
- feet
- seed
- need
- feel
- keep
- week
- sleep
- green
- sweet
- street
- sheep
- wheel
- teeth
- beep
- deep
- peek
- jeep
- feed
- cheek
- eat
- sea
- tea
- leaf
- bean
- beach
- team
- meat
- seat
- dream
- clean
- speak
- cream
- each
- peach
- reach
- teach
- beat
- neat
- heat
- mean
- lean
- pea
- flea
Tricky words used so far, read by sight: a, the, is, has, to, I, my, he, she, we, me, be.
About this pattern
Ee is the more dependable team: it almost always says the long e sound. Ea is the busier one, and while it says long e in most words (eat, team, beach), it breaks the rule in words like head and bread, which is why those words are not on this list. The tricky words he, she, we, me and be are long e as well, with the e at the end of a short word.
What to say
Two e's, one sound: ee says /e/. For ea, tell children it usually says /e/ too, and that if a word doesn't sound right, they should try the other sound.
How to use it
- Start in Word list: say the pattern, then read the words together with the coloured letters as your clue.
- Press Full screen (F), choose Sentences, one at a time, and use the arrow keys for the next sentence.
- Press Print for a sheet with the words and the numbered sentences to take home.
Ideas for class
- Sort words into ee and ea, then count which pile is bigger.
- Play I Spy with ee and ea words: something green, something we can eat.
- Teach he, she, we, me and be as a set, and have students say a sentence with each.
- Draw a bee in a tree and write the caption.
Related
Questions
Why are some ea words left out?
Because ea does not always say long e. Head, bread and read (past tense) do not, so teach them separately as tricky words once students have the main list.
Why do he, she, we, me and be sit in the tricky list?
They are regular in one way, a single e at the end of a short word says its name, but this rule is taught later than most of the pattern lists, so for now they are read by sight.
How do I know each sentence is decodable?
Every word in these 10 sentences is either on the word list for long e (ee, ea) or for a pattern taught before it, or is one of the tricky words read by sight (a, the, is, has, to, I, my, he, she, we, me, be). The list is checked by a program, so a word that has not been taught cannot slip in.
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