Practice distinguishing between long and short 'u' vowel sounds by coloring the correct clouds on this fun phonics worksheet.

Let's solve this step by step.

Task:

We are asked to identify which words contain the long /u/ sound and color those clouds blue.

The long /u/ sound is pronounced like "oo" in "moon" or "you". It’s often represented by the letter "u" followed by a silent "e", or in certain patterns like "ue", "ui", or "oo". However, in this case, we're focusing on the long /u/ sound — which is typically the "oo" sound, like in "cube" or "true".

But note: The instruction says "long /u/", so we need to identify the long U sound, which is /juː/ (like "you") or sometimes /uː/ (like "blue"). In American English, the long U sound is usually pronounced as /juː/ (as in "cute", "flute", "suit") or /uː/ (as in "true", "fuel").

So let’s go through each word and determine if it has the long /u/ sound.

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Step-by-step analysis:

1. cute – pronounced /kjuːt/ → long /u/ ✔
2. stuck – pronounced /stʌk/ → short u ✘
3. bus – pronounced /bʌs/ → short u ✘
4. thumb – pronounced /θʌm/ → short u ✘
5. fruit – pronounced /fruːt/ → long /u/ ✔
6. fuss – pronounced /fʌs/ → short u ✘
7. drum – pronounced /drʌm/ → short u ✘
8. rush – pronounced /rʌʃ/ → short u ✘
9. clue – pronounced /kluː/ → long /u/ ✔
10. run – pronounced /rʌn/ → short u ✘
11. flute – pronounced /fluːt/ → long /u/ ✔
12. just – pronounced /dʒʌst/ → short u ✘
13. true – pronounced /truː/ → long /u/ ✔
14. shut – pronounced /ʃʌt/ → short u ✘
15. hurt – pronounced /hɜːrt/ → not /u/, but "ur" sound (not long u) ✘
16. suit – pronounced /suːt/ → long /u/ ✔
17. fuel – pronounced /fjuːl/ → long /u/ ✔
18. tune – pronounced /tuːn/ → long /u/ ✔

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Words with long /u/ sound:

- cute
- fruit
- clue
- flute
- true
- suit
- fuel
- tune

> Note: "clue", "flute", "fuel", "tune", "true", "cute", "fruit", "suit" all have the long /u/ sound.

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Final Answer:

Color the following clouds blue:
- cute
- fruit
- clue
- flute
- true
- suit
- fuel
- tune

✔ These are the words with the long /u/ sound.

Let me know if you'd like a visual guide!