We will also be using the term ‘long vowel’ when we are writing words using the letters we have covered.  Long vowels are sounds that we say, or sing, and knowing the difference between ‘short’ and ‘long’ vowel sounds is important when we are spelling.  This is especially important for the long vowel sounds because we write them using different letters, depending on where we hear them in a word. 

The hand shape is an additional reminder: long fingers = long vowel sounds.