Teaching Silent Final E: The Split Vowel Spelling Rule

I don’t know about you, but when it was time to introduce the concept of long vowels in the middle of one-syllable words ending in “e”, I would spend long hours in prayer…first for my sanity and then for my students’ comprehension! Sure, there are some great ways to get this concept across to kids, but below, I have outlined what I think works best.

Teach this first: Any of the single vowels make a long sound if immediately followed by an “e”. Let me say it again. Any time you place an “e” after the single vowels a, u, i, o, and e, you will hear the first vowel’s long sound, and the “e” goes silent. (For a more in-depth discussion about this first step, check out this post.)

NOW…it’s time to teach the Split Vowel Spelling Rule for Silent Final E. You may find it hard to believe, but this rule eventually just rolls right of the tongue! It’s so simple for little minds to grab onto because it provides the rationale for why the tiny letter “e” can have such power over the vowel it used to be paired with!

Here’s what happens when we split apart the vowel teams with a consonant. (We will use the following examples in our discussion: lie, hoe, cue.)

LIE 

If I use the consonant “k” to split apart the i and e found in the word lie, what happens? I get the new word: like.

This is a direct application of the Split Vowel Spelling Rule! I explain that VC+e and CVC+e words are simply showing a V+e pattern that got split apart by a consonant. (Even young students begin to grasp this concept over a period of spaced repetition. It is a simple and effective explanation!)

HOE

If I use the consonant “p” to split apart the o and e in hoe, what happens? I get the new word: hope.

CUE

If I use the consonant “t” to split apart the u and e in cue, what happens? I get the new word: cute!

Now, this may not seem like earth-shattering news, but this kind of logical teaching can set students on a much more successful path for understanding spelling…and ultimately for improving their reading.

Next time, I will introduce Rule 2: The V-C-G-U Rule. You won’t want to miss it!

(This post is part of a series on Silent Final E. To start at the beginning, click here.)

The Prerequisite for Teaching Silent Final E

If there’s one subject I enjoy teaching almost as much as English grammar, it’s phonemic awareness, phonics, and spelling! I know it’s strange, but my linguistic brain has always identified with letters and the sounds they represent. When I began teaching phonemic awareness and phonics as an aid for spelling, letters began to take on a personality in my brain. It happened quite by accident, but I started noticing that certain letters could be grouped based upon their attributes of both position and function. So, without getting too deep into the linguistics, I would like to introduce you to four important reasons for the Silent Final E. And once kids understand the “why”, it will be easier for them to remember to include the silent e on words that require it. Below is Part 1, which will explain an important feature of vowel pairs. This is a prerequisite to lock down with kids before moving on to the first rule.

You will want to teach the following basic letter pattern concept:

Vowel + Silent Final E : Pattern (V + e)

-When you put a Vowel e just after any one of the other vowels, you make a Vowel Team.

-A Vowel Team is two vowels side by side that make one sound.

-When you put an e after any of the vowels, you will hear the first vowel say its long sound, and the e becomes a silent e.

Here’s a completed list of these vowel teams:

Next time, I will officially introduce Rule 1 for Silent Final E: The Split-Vowel Spelling Rule. You won’t want to miss it!

Does handwriting matter?

While the jury may still be out regarding the importance of teaching handwriting/penmanship, from where I sit, it isn’t something we want to leave out of our teaching repertoire. Though some might think the time needed to develop fluent handwriting would best be spent teaching keyboarding skills, I would contend that there is room for both. And, since keyboarding skills are now a current part of many curricula, it’s the handwriting skill that seems to get left by the wayside.

 As a former primary school teacher, I knew that basic letter recognition, formation, and sound-association were an absolute must for my first and second graders. But, even then, I didn’t understand the neurological underpinnings that learning handwriting has. First of all, I never truly considered what the brain and hand were doing while handwriting practice was conducted. To be honest, at first, I just used handwriting practice as a time-filling seatwork activity that allowed me the time take care of a few morning teacher tasks.

With experience, I began to give the handwriting practice time its due diligence. I started noticing that students developed a much stronger sense of directionality—writing left to right. I also found that students grasped the concept of “return-sweep” when they got to the end of a baseline and had to continue to the far left of the next base line on their handwriting paper. Why did that matter? Well, it had an impact on their ability to “return-sweep” when READING, too. Hmmm…go figure! I didn’t know this when I started teaching early reading, but some young students sort of fell off the face of the planet when they arrived at the end of a line of text they were reading. Amazingly, some students don’t naturally understand that they have to go back to the far left of the next line in order to continue reading fluently.

Another important aspect of teaching and learning handwriting is the support it can lend to students who exhibit dyslexia. Because of the connectedness you can achieve in cursive handwriting, reversals can be avoided. So, I began teaching cursive handwriting as early as my students were willing to put in the time and the practice to write cursive legibly. I know that many first graders just aren’t developmentally ready for cursive, but that never stopped us! I just taught them a simple set of handwriting strokes that would allow them to learn the connections between letters as soon as the basic formations were locked in. Here’s a short list of the handwriting strokes and their names:

If you are of the same school as thought as I am, then try adopting these basic handwriting practice strokes into your kids’ daily agendas, along with some meaningful copy work, such as short poems, scriptures, or famous quotes, and you will be doing your child a great service for now and in the future.

Effective Strategies for Building Vocabulary

A broad, diverse vocabulary is essential to good writing, and that’s a fact!  Since vocabulary directly affects Word Choice and Voice, two of the Traits of Effective Writing, meaningful vocabulary instruction is absolutely imperative.  As you decide how to approach vocabulary instruction in your classroom, look for effective strategies that will help students:  (a) understand and learn new words, (b) make sense of new vocabulary by incorporating it into what they already know, and (c) remember the meanings of words when they are encountered at a later date or in new material. 

Here are some effective strategies to build vocabulary:

 1. Synonyms and Antonyms: A great place to start building vocabulary is with synonyms and antonyms of words students know.  Synonyms and antonyms can help you write by giving you choices for saying things in more interesting ways. 

2. Read, read, read!: Books, magazines, and newspapers contain more words that you will ever use or hear in a conversation or on television.  Reading teaches new vocabulary, so spend time reading!

3. Context Clues: As you come across a word you don’t know when you are reading, try using the other words in the sentence to figure it out. 

• Study the sentences before and after the sentence that contains the word you don’t know.
• Search for clues to identify the new word’s part of speech.
• See if a synonym or antonym is given.

4. Vocabulary Notebooks: One way to increase your vocabulary is to keep a list of words you know and add new words as you learn them.  Increase your knowledge by including the word’s definition and also write a sentence using the word.

5. Use the Thesaurus: The thesaurus is a book of words and their synonyms.  It’s a book that can help you find the best way to say something by giving you those synonyms as other options or word choices.  The thesaurus also includes antonym word choices.

6. Use a Dictionary: A dictionary helps you understand the meaning of a word.  It also teaches:

• Spelling
• Capital Letters
• Syllable Division
• Accent Marks
• Pronunciation
• Part of Speech
• Etymology
• Synonyms and Antonyms

7. Study Word Parts and Forms: You can figure out the meanings of new words by learning about prefixes, suffixes, and roots.  Study them so you can commit them to memory.  Also, look for other word forms of words you already know.

Students need a strong command of different vocabulary words so that they can express themselves using just the right words.  The more words they have in the “word-bank,” the richer their communications with others will be!  Invest in your student’s vocabulary today!