12. Silent e makes the vowel long: babe, hide, cake

The lesson, step by step

1. The pattern

   Write "hid" on the slate. Your child reads it. Add an e: "hide". Say: The e at the end says nothing, but it makes the i say its name.

   Try: mad, made; cut, cute; hop, hope. In the book the long vowel has a straight line over it, and the final e is left unmarked.

2. Read the table aloud

   Read the table aloud together, a column at a time. You say a word, your child says it back while pointing to it. Then your child reads a column alone. Some of the words:

   babe, hide, mode, ace

   lake, dice, page, make

   bake, cake, dike, yoke

   dale, mile, hole, like, duke

3. Spell aloud

   Now the old way: your child looks at a word, then spells it aloud and says it.

   Sayc, a, k, e, cake.

   Go down a column like this. Then cover the column, say a word, and have your child spell it aloud without looking.

   Make sure the silent e is spelled even though it is not heard.

4. Find the long vowel

   Your child points to the long vowel in five words and says its name: lake (a), hide (i), hole (o), duke (u), page (a).

5. Dictation

   Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: babe, hide, lake, page, cake, mile, hole, like.

   Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.

6. Wrap up

   Play "add an e": you write a short word (can, pin, rob, tub), your child adds e and reads the new word.