I love teaching kids to read, but man oh man teaching English can be tough. Just when you get one concept down there are exceptions to the rules and exceptions to the exceptions. There are letters that make multiple sounds and some than make no sounds at all! Silent ‘e’ a.k.a. Sneaky e, Bossy e and Magic e is one of those. Here’s how I teach my students all about Silent ‘e’ in one week.
But First . . .
Before jumping into the concept of silent ‘e’ it is important that students have been taught and are really comfortable with short vowel CVC words. One of the easiest and most effective ways I have found to teach silent ‘e’ is to have students find that CVC chunk. So, if students are not comfortable with CVC words then it will make teaching silent ‘e’ that much more difficult.
I know that we all have a lot of demands when it comes to teaching our students to read, but rushing the process doesn’t help. So, in the long run it is better to do a little more CVC practice if needed, before jumping into teaching your students the silent ‘e’ rules.
Teaching Silent ‘e’ in One Week
Day 1: The Story
On the first day, I gather the class together on the carpet and tell them that I have a secret. Who doesn’t love secrets – right? Of course the students want to know the secret so I lean forward and do my best for an Academy Award winning moment.
In a whisper I tell them that the I have learned that the letter ‘e’ is very, very sneaky. I explain that he likes to sneak up on words and surprise them by changing them into a whole new word. {This is the perfect time for some serious exasperation!} Then I ask the students if they would like to know how he does it? The answer to this question is always YES.
I start by writing a CVC word on the board (one that when we add ‘e’ to the end will change the word). Some good words include: tap, can, pin and din. After I write the word I step to the side (a few steps away) and ask the class to read the word. Next I make a big deal about being very sneaky as I tip-toe silently to the board to add an ‘e’ to the end of the word. The more sneaky you are the better. You can even go as far as putting on a cap or mask to “disguise” yourself as you are being sneaky. This is the perfect time to really ham it up!
After adding the ‘e’ I turn back to the students, give a big surprised face and then point at the ‘e’ and say “Sneaky E!” Ultimately, my goal is for my students to join me in identifying that sneaky ‘e’ at the end of the word.
At this point I explain the silent ‘e’ rule to my students. We talk about how the ‘e’ at the end of the word will cause the other vowel to change its sound – and in doing so also creates a new word. We practice reading the new word together.
Practice the Story With Student Involvement
Then we practice with a few more words. This time after I write the CVC word on the board and we read it as a class, I let a student be sneaky and add an ‘e’ to the end. We all share in the excitement as we call out “Sneaky E” when this is done. Then we read the new word together.
All in all its a really fun and engaging lesson. The students love the Sneaky ‘e’ story and this is a big part of what helps them remember the rule. Trust me when I say you cannot overdo this first day. Pull out your inner thespian and really make this a story your students will remember.
Day 2: Create the Anchor Chart
The next day it is really important to review the Sneaky ‘e’ story. On this day I do a lot less story telling and a lot more question asking. I let the students do most of the explaining and story telling as we relive the story of the Sneaky ‘e’. As we do this important review we work on building our Sneaky ‘e’ anchor chart together.
We start by building sneaky ‘e’ and adding the title to our anchor chart. Then, as someone reminds us of the rule we add that piece to the chart. Finally, we add some simple words to the chart and take turns adding sneaky ‘e’ to the end. We always make a point of identifying sneaky ‘e’ when he gets added before reading the new word.
As we work through each word, we make sure to do each of these things:
- Identify Sneaky ‘e’
- Identify the other vowel
- Say the new sound the vowel will make
- Read the new word
These repetitive steps help students remember the rule and how to apply it in their reading.
Once we are done, the anchor chart stays posted at the front of the room for us to review and for students to use as a learning tool.
I also love incorporating music as a way to learn concepts. There are lots of great Silent E songs on You Tube that are perfect for this purpose. This is one of my favorite:
Days 3 & 4: Fun with Silent E
On the third day, we begin working with silent ‘e’ a little more independently. But we first start with a quick review of the anchor chart we made the day before. This review is a great time for students to recount the silent ‘e’ story and reading silent ‘e’ words.
Next on the lesson plans is the creation of our Silent ‘e’ lapbook.
We will work on this lapbook for 2 days. Students will start by creating the inside of the lapbook where they will add pockets for each of the vowels. Then students will practice reading and writing words with silent ‘e’ and sorting them into the right pocket.
Once the inside is completed, students will create the cover of the lapbook and work on the silent ‘e’ word practice that goes on the back. They love trying to guess the silent ‘e’ words and this gives them great practice for segmenting the sounds in the word as they work on writing words with silent ‘e’.
Day 5: Interactive Practice
If we haven’t finished the lapbook, then that is the first thing we do on Day 5. Our focus on the last day is doing some interactive activities working with our new friend sneaky e. This format works great because while some students finish their lapbook others can be working on the activities described below.
While these activities are fun and help to solidify our learning for the week, I have an alternative motive too. Once we do these activities together and students learn them, I can move them into centers for students to do later independently.
One of the lapbook activities you can do is Read the Room. Students search the room for words that have a silent ‘e’ at the end. These might be words on the word wall, on posters or even inside the box of crayons. This activity is a great way to get students used to looking for and identifying silent ‘e’.
Another activity that is loved by students is the digital silent ‘e’ clip cards for SeeSaw. Students will practice reading silent ‘e’ words and finding the word that matches the picture. Then they will mark the right word with the digital clip.
Our last activity has students making a Sneaky ‘e’ wand so that they can pretend to be sneaky and add an ‘e’ to the end of words too! They love reading the CVC words and then changing them to make a new word.
What next?
After this first week of focused instruction on Silent Sneaky ‘e’, your students will be ready to start more silent ‘e’ practice independently. As with any skill or concept you teach, make sure to give students lots of practice opportunities through centers, morning work or even small groups to keep working on the skill.
I can’t promise instant mastery of the silent ‘e’ concept, but what I can promise is that they won’t soon forget sneaky ‘e’ or what he does. This story based approach to learning really helps to engage students and it helps them remember important skills and concepts.
Pin it!
Pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can quickly come back to find these fun and engaging Sneaky e lessons and activities.
