Hello! I am a reading specialist working with first graders. After winter break, I am starting with long vowels (OH DEAR). I plan on using a variety of methods including Making Words. I also ordered No Glamour vowels. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Especially looking for something kids can use for at home practice, perhaps something I can download cheaply.
By 'long vowels', are you really meaning the 'Rhythm' of words/ speech?
Where words have an inherent rhythm and tempo, which the alteration of, can change the meaning.
Just as the Pitch variation through a word, can be altered to change the meaning.
The Music of Words.
A good down-loadable resource (commercial) is Reading A-Z at www.readinga-z.com. A number of our teachers are using this at our school and I'm finding it is a good source of reading materials structured really well along with lessons. (I'm a LD teacher and I'm using their phonics stories/lessons quite extensively for teaching, review and fluency practice).
I also found a book (used on Barnes & Noble) that I've found both research-based and very practical. The book is "Words Their Way" and it has tons of great ideas and easy-to-make games that reinforce whatever phonic/spelling concepts you are teaching.