Lesson 37
SECTION SEVEN:LESSON 37
PHONETIC SKILL #4:
THE SILENT E SKILL
Lesson
Notes
MCW
guess
STEP #1: TEACHER INSTRUCTION
Teach: Phonetic Skill #4: The final e is
silent, making the first vowel long
Phonetic Skill #4:
Final e is silent,
making the first vowel
long.
To help students learn Phonetic Skill #4, it will be
important to point out that there are only five
frequently used English words that end in e and
have kept the sound of long e. They are the
words “he,” “we,” “be,” “me,” and “she,” and
they all follow Skill #3.
There are a few other words in which the e is
sounded, but they are words such as “simile,”
“anemone,” etc., that your students will not be
seeing very soon, or reading very often.
Most words that end in the sound of e are really
words ending in y, such as “baby,” “happy,”
“funny,” “pony,” etc.
You are safe in teaching that in most English
words, e will be silent when it ends a word,
causing the first vowel to be long.
Most English words
that end in the sound
of e are really words
ending in y.
Print the letters h-o-p-e on the chalkboard. Have
students help you identify the vowels.
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North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
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Lesson 37
“This is something new! There are two vowels
y
in this word, o and e. This is the first time we’ve
had two vowels in a word.”
hope
x
1
x
2
y “As I work around the word (stay on the
road), I want you to see that the vowel e has a
very special job to do. Its job is to be silent
(draw a straight line through the vowel e and
through the x under the e), making the first
vowel long.” (Place the long vowel mark over the
vowel o.)
4
3
x
x
–
hope
1
2
Some students will immediately wonder if the
consonant p should be marked as a guardian.
Use the following dialog to help them understand
that silent e makes the first vowel long.
y “Can the consonant p be a guardian in this
word? What do guardians do?” (They cause the
vowel to be short.)
“And what did we just learn that silent e does?”
(Makes the first vowel long.)
“Well, can the vowel be short and long? Of
course not! Which do you think is stronger, a
consonant or a vowel?” (The vowel.)
“That’s right, the vowel is stronger, especially e!
It’s a very strong and controlling vowel! So when
e comes at the end of the word, it controls the
word and makes the first vowel long. The
consonant p merely gives the ending sound to the
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
Lesson 37
word. It cannot act as a guardian when silent e
is present.”
Have students orally help you mark the following
words.
glade
scrape
Follow the arrows and the numbers.
5
4
g l a d ex
1
x
2
5
4
x
x
–
–
scrape
1
3
2
3
y “What is the sound of the vowel a?”
Students reply that it says its name.
–
y “Yes, long a says a,
so the word is ‘glade.’”
“Now, what would happen to this word if I took
the silent e away?” (Erase the vowel e.)
“There is no longer an e to make the first vowel
long. Now, can the consonant d act as a
guardian?”
No English word will
ever end in v. It will
always be followed by
a silent e, even
though at times the e
does not cause the
first vowel to be long
(“give,” “live,” “have,”
etc.)
Students say, “yes!”
y “You are right!”
(Mark d as a guardian.)
“Now what sound will the vowel have?” (The
short sound a.)
“So what is the word?” (Glad.)
*
glad
x
Do the same thing with the word “scrape,”
changing it to “scrap.”
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
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Lesson 37
y “You are doing so well.
Come to the board. I
want you to do some silent e words.”
STEP #2: LISTENING AND DICTATION,
STUDENT PARTICIPATION
Have students prove several words following the
silent e skill. Walk them through the first several
words.
–
ca
p ex
x
–
w xi f ex
–
–
crime
x
–
–
s l xi m ex
cone
x
x
dime
x
x
x
y “Let’s work with more words.”
Ask students to write these letters: p-l-a-n-e
y “Let’s prove this word together.”
This exercise will help
students see how
silent e changes a
vowel from short to
long.
Walk the students through the marking process.
–
plane
x
x
Ask the students to rewrite the word, this time
without the vowel e at the end. Prove the word.
*
plan
x
y “You made a new word!
What is a plane?
What is a plan?”
A plane is an airplane or a carpenter’s tool. A
plan could be a drawing or sketch, or a scheme.
y “Please print these words as I dictate.
Prove
the word, then add vowel e and prove it again!”
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
Lesson 37
Select a few of the following short vowel words
for dictation. Have students prove each word.
Then have them rewrite the word, adding e at the
end, and prove it again.
*
f xa d
*
fin
x
*
f–
ade
x
x
gla
d
x
–
fine
cap
x
c–
ape
*
x
g l–
a
de
x
x
x
x
x
–
ride
Sam
s–
ame
rid
*
–
spite
twin
*
–
twine
*
–
spine
*
x
x
spit
x
*
x
x
x
x
x
rip
–
ripe
strip
–
stripe
*
x
x
*
x
spin
x
x
x
x
x
*
can
x
x
x
x
x
x
c–
ane
x
x
STEP #3: TEACH MCWs
Teach: Guess
Guess: Can you guess what our new MCW is? It
is “guess!” The u makes no sound, but since you
must guess, be sure to put in the u! Remind
students of the double s (lesson 25, page 243).
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
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Lesson 37
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
COMPUTER COURSEWARE:
Lesson 16: Phonetic Skills #3 and #4 (fourteen minutes); Mastery, Drill, and Practice
(varies with student).
READING/WRITING ACTIVITIES:
Give students the RLC “Five Phonetic Skills.” Have them look through the silent e words in
list #4 and see how many of the words work as short vowel words when the e is removed.
“Cape,” “cap”; “plane,” “plan”; “twine,” “twin”; etc.
Activity Page: Minimal Pairs Exercise #4. Administer Minimal Pairs Exercise #4, contrasting
long a with short e. If directions are needed, please see “Minimal Pairs Exercises,” lesson
13, pg. 143.
REVERSE LISTENING CARDS:
Use “Five Phonetic Skills,” column four.
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT MATERIAL:
Page 74: Phonetic Skill #4: The Silent E Skill; Most Common Words
Page 75: Silent E Changes the Vowel Sound
Page 76: Reading With Silent E
Page 77: Prove It!
SUGGESTED SPELLING:
dime
spine
fine
made
home
mate
hope
same
b e f o r e
c o l o r
h e i g h t
SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL DICTATION:
See Skill #4 word bank at the end of this lesson (two pages).
NONSENSE WORDS:
Using nonsense words can be great fun with silent e words. After dictating three or four
nonsense words, see how many real words your students can make from them. For
example:
Spell the word “crope.” First, your students will prove the nonsense word. Next, ask
them to look at the word and see how many real words they can discover and list
them: “crop,” “rope,” “pore,” etc. They can change letters to make new words:
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
Lesson 37
“slope,” “lope,” “dope,” “hope,” etc. Use these additional nonsense words: “fline,”
“zape,” “slipe.”
ESL AIDS:
WORKBOOK
• Word Bank
• Worksheets
English Worksheet 25: Phonetic Skill #4: Silent E, pages 62–63
English Worksheet 26: Reading with Silent E, pages 64–65
• Glossary
• Sound CD: Tracks 41–42
FLASHCARDS
bake, bike, crime, dime, flake, flame, hide, home, kite, lake, nine, note, pile, plane,
plate, rake, robe, save, smile, smoke, snake, spine, spoke, stake, state, tube, wife, &
wipe
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North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
343
344
Lesson 37
SECTION SEVEN: LESSON 37
ACTIVITY PAGE
MINIMAL PAIRS EXERCISE #4
CONTRAST LONG A WITH SHORT E
Name:
Date:
Circle the correct word as it is read.
chase
chess
lace
less
late
let
gate
get
saint
sent
sale
sell
tale
tell
shale
shell
fade
fed
wade
wed
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
Lesson 37
WORD BANK
Phonetic Skill #4
Page One
smoke
wife
dome
twine
stake
life
plane
wine
lake
state
crime
waste
lime
slide
crude
mule
sale
dame
snipe
ride
pipe
dime
snake
glide
blame
crate
Pope
bone
plate
gave
robe
strike
tone
time
scope
stroke
cape
bite
spine
like
glade
quake
smile
kite
flame
lone
rake
pride
spite
fame
gale
Mike
slime
cone
lope
Dave
flake
hale
probe
home
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8
345
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Lesson 37
WORD BANK
Phonetic Skill #4
Page Two
tube
Pete
wipe
date
rode
tribe
blade
spoke
Steve
cube
hide
rate
mine
note
mute
vote
pile
slope
nine
save
cute
bake
Eve
bale
rude
brave
frame
bike
blaze
Published by HEC Reading Horizons
North Salt Lake, Utah
Copyright © March 2005 by HEC Software, Inc.
ISBN 0-928424-44-8