• silent e rule

    Silent e Rule

     

    An important step in learning to read is being able to connect how words are separated into individual sounds with knowledge of how letters relate to sounds. For example, when you are able to hear the individual sounds in the word sat, /s/ /ă/ /t/ and know that s represents /s/, a represents /ă/ and t represents /t/, you are linking letters to sounds. This is critical to understand and be able to do in the process of learning to read.

    When we have a word like can and we add an e at the end, the word changes to cane. We call this the silent e rule. We do not say the sound of e; it is silent. The silent e also changes the vowel before it to a long vowel. A vowel is long when it says its letter name. Can has a short a, /ă/. But when we add the silent e to the end, /ă/ changes to /ā/. Other examples include mad/made, rid/ride, hop/hope.

     

    Spelling and Reading Words With Silent e

     
    Key Points About the Video
    • Mom offers positive encouragement (That's right! Excellent!).
    • Mom has her son use words in a sentence to make sure he knows their meanings.
    • Mom has her son read the list of words at the end of the activity for another opportunity to practice reading.

     

     Building Words With Silent e 

    Help your child apply the silent e rule to writing and reading words.