LA 6.04Silent E
With the Moveable Alphabet, the child adds an e to a short-vowel word (cap to cape, kit to kite) and hears the vowel change to its long sound.
Presentation
Search videos (opens YouTube in a new tab)- 1
Build "cap" with the Moveable Alphabet and read it together.
- 2
Place an e at the end: "This e makes no sound, but it makes the a say its name." Read "cape."
- 3
Take the e away and read "cap." Put it back and read "cape." Repeat once or twice.
- 4
Build "kit," read it, add the e, and read "kite."
- 5
Invite the child to build the next word from the list, read it, add the e, and read the new word.
- 6
Match each word to its picture.
- 7
Lay the pairs in two columns, short words on the left and silent e words on the right, and read across.
What catches the child’s eye
- Adding one e and hearing the whole word change
- Taking the e away and hearing the old word come back
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Reading lists of silent e words
- Sorting word cards into words with and without a silent e
- Writing silent e word pairs on lined paper
- Finding silent e words in a book
Control of error
The pictures: a cap and a cape look different, so the child can check whether the word read matches.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Reads silent e words without help
- Shows with the Moveable Alphabet what the e does
- Builds a silent e word the adult says
Guide note
The long vowel sounds like the vowel's name, so give the five vowel names first if the child does not know them. Choose pairs where both words are real and easy to picture.