ESL Pronunciation Path Long I Worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

We are looking for a path from Start (top left) to the bottom right, moving only across, up, or down — not diagonally. The goal is to follow words that have the Long I sound, like in “time”.

First, let’s recall:
The Long I sound says “eye” — like in:
- time
- high
- why
- ice
- bike
- die
- life
- tie
- dice
- wire

Now, let’s look at the grid row by row and mark which words have the Long I sound:

Row 1 (top):
- time ✔ (Long I)
- twin ✘ (short i)
- evil ✘ (long e + schwa)
- windy ✘ (short i)
- mik ✘ (not a real word? probably meant “milk” — short i)

Row 2:
- cried ✔ (Long I — sounds like “kryd”)
- field ✘ (long e)
- fill ✘ (short i)
- thick ✘ (short i)
- chilly ✘ (short i)

Row 3:
- high ✔ (Long I)
- fit ✘ (short i)
- here ✘ (long e)
- quick ✘ (short i)
- him ✘ (short i)

Row 4:
- why ✔ (Long I)
- ice ✔ (Long I)
- light ✔ (Long I)
- bike ✔ (Long I)
- die ✔ (Long I)

Row 5:
- trim ✘ (short i)
- piece ✘ (long e)
- tack ✘ (short a)
- sincere ✘ (long e + near)
- spy ✘ (long y, but not Long I — it’s more like “sigh”, but sometimes considered Long I? Let’s check: “spy” = /spaɪ/ — yes, actually it DOES have the Long I sound! Wait — let’s be careful.)

Actually, “spy” ends with “y” making the Long I sound — so ✔ YES, “spy” has Long I.

But wait — we must move only across, up, or down — no diagonals. And we start at top-left (“time”), exit bottom-right (“life”).

Let’s map out possible paths.

Start → “time” (row1, col1)

From “time”, can go right to “twin”? No — “twin” is short i → invalid.

Can go down to “cried”? Yes — “cried” has Long I.

So:
time → cried

From “cried”, can go right to “field”? No — field = long e.

Down to “high”? Yes — “high” = Long I.

So:
time → cried → high

From “high”, right to “fit”? No.

Down to “why”? Yes — “why” = Long I.

So:
time → cried → high → why

From “why”, right to “ice”? Yes — “ice” = Long I.

So:
... → why → ice

From “ice”, right to “light”? Yes — “light” = Long I.

→ ice → light

From “light”, right to “bike”? Yes — “bike” = Long I.

→ light → bike

From “bike”, right to “die”? Yes — “die” = Long I.

→ bike → die

From “die”, down to “spy”? Yes — “spy” = Long I (as discussed).

→ die → spy

From “spy”, down to “life”? Yes — “life” = Long I.

→ spy → life → EXIT!

Wait — let’s check positions:

Grid is 6 rows x 5 columns.

Let me label rows 1 to 6 (top to bottom), columns 1 to 5 (left to right).

Start: Row1, Col1 → “time”

Path:

R1C1: time ✔
↓
R2C1: cried ✔
↓
R3C1: high ✔
↓
R4C1: why ✔
→
R4C2: ice ✔
→
R4C3: light ✔
→
R4C4: bike ✔
→
R4C5: die ✔
↓
R5C5: spy ✔
↓
R6C5: life ✔ → EXIT!

Perfect! All moves are down or right — allowed.

All words have Long I sound.

Let’s double-check each word:

- time → /taɪm/ ✔
- cried → /kraɪd/ ✔
- high → /haɪ/ ✔
- why → /waɪ/ ✔
- ice → /aɪs/ ✔
- light → /laɪt/ ✔
- bike → /baɪk/ ✔
- die → /daɪ/ ✔
- spy → /spaɪ/ ✔
- life → /laɪf/ ✔

All good.

Is there any other path? Maybe, but we just need one valid path.

Final Answer:
time → cried → high → why → ice → light → bike → die → spy → life