Decodable Books for UFLI Foundations Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/
We believe every child deserves access to quality reading materials that nurture a lifelong love of learning. These decodable books for UFLI Lesson 91 focus on three vowel teams that spell the long u sound: ew, ui and ue. Children meet words like dew, fruit, glue and cue in short stories, and some titles are free to read online.
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Push Harder, Elephant!
One elephant, one small cart, and no amount of pushing will budge it. Next door there are eggs to count, a fan with spinning blades, and a car with pinwheels on top ready to zoom off through the snow. Can this determined kid count all the way to ten before the day is done? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ’new’, ‘flew’, ‘blew’, ‘drew’, ’true’.
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The Sky Said Nothing
Gus has sung his rain song every day since sunup, but the dry sky never listens. Today it feels different, especially when something huge and green comes stomping up the trail, grinning ear to ear. Could a new friend with a very loud voice be just what Gus’s song needs? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘grew’, ‘flew’, ’new’, ’threw’, ’true’.
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Follow That Bee!
Ned loves his farm and fruit trees, but one morning a buzzing bee sends him chasing through the trees and over roots, desperate to find its hive. When he catches a whiff of warm, fruity honey drifting down from the branches, he knows he has to get some, axe in hand. But is chopping into a beehive really a smart plan? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘pursuit’, ‘fruity’, ’true’, ‘chewy’, and ‘crew’.
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Stick With Me!
Jill and her crew gather at moonlight’s edge, ready for the Nether. Dr. Can Do wants to study the lava-walking Striders up close, but the Mage says the real thrill is riding them. Jill isn’t so sure lava and legs mix well. Could there be a safer way across? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘crew’, ’true’, ‘grew’, ‘slew’, ’threw’.
My Biome Is Broken!
Alex just wanted one normal day of building and mining, but a strange new red bed appears on her roof out of nowhere. Then a pig turns up deep in a cave, a chicken clucks in solid stone tunnels, and a witch gets stuck fast in the grass. Can Alex figure out what is going on before her whole world falls apart? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘blue’, ‘clue’, ’new’, ‘glued’, ‘rescue’.
Ned and the Trader
Ned has been collecting wheat and coal, but he has no idea what the strange villagers might trade for it. When a farmer presses something small, green, and sparkly into his hand, Ned is stunned, and he still cannot guess what a Wandering Trader might swap for treasure like this. Will he figure out what these jewels are really worth? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘clue’, ’new’, ’true’, ‘jewel’.
Kele and the Cold Rain
Kele knows raw meat makes people sick and the cold rains keep coming, but Old Chimpanzee guards the only fire on the ridge and shares it with no one. With just a hollow reed flute and a plan, a small boy sets off up the ridge to change that. Can Kele outwit a fire-hoarding chimp before the whole forest freezes? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘shrewd’, ‘few’, ‘jewel’, ‘fruit’, ‘stew’.
Brat Cat and the Skulls!
Brat Cat runs a tight farm: gate locked, hens counted, nobody in or out. But when she spots a lone horse in the rain and dreams up a new pen for it, one flash of lightning reveals it’s no ordinary horse at all. What is really waiting for her in the glade? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘flew’, ‘crew’, ’new’, ’threw’, ‘blue’.
Indlovu and the Storm
Indlovu is the mightiest elephant on the plain, and everyone moves out of her way. When she shouts at the storm that she needs no rain, the sky goes silent - and stays silent. As the waterholes crack and dry, a sharp-eyed little hornbill sees something the others missed. Will Indlovu learn to ask before it’s too late? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ’new’, ’true’, ‘clue’, ‘brews’, ‘argues’.
Jackal Wants a Stew
Jackal is sure he’s the cleverest beast in the dry land, and no one has ever tricked him. So when he spots Kaggen the Mantis with a bowl of shell stew that smells too good to resist, Jackal is certain the little mantis will be no match for him. But Kaggen won’t trade, won’t share, and won’t budge, so who will win the stew? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘stew’, ‘brew’, ‘chew’, ‘clue’, ’true’.
Hippo Must Chew
Hippo is enormous, round, and always hot under the African sun, staring longingly at the cool river where fish dart and flash. He’s hungry too, and the Creator won’t let a hippo near the fish. What promise could Hippo possibly make that the Creator would actually believe? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ’true’, ‘chew’, ‘blue’, ‘clue’, ‘dew’.
Moon Does Not Rise
A hare volunteers to climb the highest peak to carry the people’s thanks to a Moon who has vanished, leaving three months of black nights behind. He crosses a flooded river, a hail-swept ridge, and an icy ledge above a terrible drop. Will he reach the sky before the crops fail and the animals lose all hope? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘dew’, ’true’, ‘blue’, ’news’, and ‘jewel’.
Deep in the Blue
Zom has a list with one word at the top: seafood. He dives into the shimmering blue sea, sure that catching dinner will be easy, but a fish that owns the water and a puffed-up little pufferfish have other plans. Then, far below, he spots something new glittering through a stone archway, an entire hidden coral city. Could this strange new place be exactly where his hungry search was leading him? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘blue’, ’new’, ‘clue’, ’threw’, and ‘chewing’.
The Deal in the Dark
Deep in the woods, a boy named Cam always says goodnight to his good little lamp before sleep. But when a bright new streetlight arrives, Cam stops needing the lamp at all, and stops saying goodnight, too. Will he remember his little lamp before it’s too late? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘drew’, ‘blew’, ‘crew’, ’new’, ’threw’.
Look What I Can Do!
A girl has a big plan: show her mum EVERY single thing she can do today. She cooks, waters the plants, washes clothes, and hangs them on the line all by herself, but one challenge still makes her tummy flip. Can she finally ride her bike without falling? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ’true’, ‘blue’, ‘flew’, ’new’, ‘clue’.
Sam Will Not Stop
Sam has always loved one thing more than anything else: sitting. He’ll sit on the path, sit by the door, even sit where he really shouldn’t. As Sam grew bigger and bolder, his stubborn habit only grew with him, and soon he even had a new friend copying his every move. Could this crew of sitters ever learn when it’s time to go? Created to align with the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (Lesson 91: ew, ui, ue /ū/), this book practises words like ‘grew’, ‘blue’, ‘crew’, ’true’, ‘clue’.
Decodable Books Created to Align with the UFLI Foundations Scope and Sequence
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some ue words for early readers?
Common ue words include blue, glue, clue, true and cue, and longer words such as rescue and argue use the same team. In most of them the ue sits at the end of the word, which is a handy clue for spelling. The decodable books for UFLI Lesson 91 put words like these into short sentences, so children read them in connected text rather than only in a list.
What are some ui words children can decode?
The ui team is rarer than ew or ue, and it usually sits in the middle of a word, as in fruit, suit, juice and cruise. Because there are fewer ui words, children need to meet them several times before they stick. Reading them in decodable text lets a child sound out each word instead of guessing from a picture.
What words have u_e in them, and how is that different from ue?
Words like cube, cute, tune and flute use the vowel-consonant-e pattern, where a consonant sits between the u and the final e. In the ue vowel team, the two letters sit side by side, as in blue or cue. Comparing pairs such as cute and cue helps children notice how the letters are arranged. A meta-analysis by Ehri et al. (2001) found that systematic phonics instruction, which teaches patterns like these directly, helps children learn to read.
Do any common words start with ue or ui?
Hardly any everyday English words begin with ue or ui, so it helps to teach these teams by where they usually sit. The ue team tends to come at the end of a word (true, argue), ui usually sits in the middle (fruit, suit), and ew can appear in either place (few, jewel). Sorting words by position gives children a reliable starting point when they choose a spelling.
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