Short and Long Vowel U Worksheet

The letter u makes two sounds, and telling them apart is one of the first real decisions a beginning reader has to make. In cup the u is short — a quick /u/ the child can clip off. In cute the same letter says its own name, because a silent e at the end of the word reaches back and changes it. This Short and Long Vowel U Worksheet gives first graders practice with both sounds and, just as importantly, with the silent e that flips one into the other.

The page has two parts. In Part A, six words sit in a box — cup, cute, mule, sun, truck and tune — and students read each one, listen to the u, and write it on a line under either Short u or Long u. The words are printed out of category order on purpose, so a child cannot sort them by position and has to sort them by sound. In Part B, four short words get a silent e added: cub becomes cube, tub becomes tube, hug becomes huge, and us becomes use. Use this 1st grade vowels worksheet as independent morning work, as a small-group follow-up to a silent-e lesson, or as a quick check before moving on to vowel teams. A full answer key is the second page.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• A 6-word box and two sorting columns, three writing lines each
• 4 silent-e transformations with wide 1st grade writing lines
• Two-part directions written at a 1st grade reading level

This Short and Long Vowel U Worksheet helps a young reader in three specific ways. First, it makes the two u sounds compete on one page. A child who only ever meets short u in isolation never has to choose, and choosing is the skill. Second, it asks for writing rather than circling, so every answer also rehearses spelling the word correctly. Third, Part B makes the rule visible: the same three letters say something different the moment an e lands at the end, which is exactly the generalization first graders are expected to carry into their own reading and spelling.

Teachers and parents can keep this going away from the page. Say a u word slowly and ask your child to hold up one finger for short u and two for long u. Write cub, tub and hug on cards and let a child physically add a paper e to the end, reading the word before and after. Hunt through a favorite picture book for words with a silent e and list them on the fridge. For a child who is still unsure, read the six box words aloud together first and let them repeat each one before they write anything.

Related Resources

• Short and Long Vowel O Worksheet
• Short and Long Vowel A Worksheet
• Short and Long Vowels I O U Worksheet
• Letter U Song by Have Fun Teaching