Silent “e” — Intro Worksheet (1)
Add e • Make it long • Drop/Keep/Double

Mini Story — The Magic e

Teacher: Watch this: I have the word mad. I add one letter—e—at the end. Now it’s made. The vowel changes and says its name.

Student A: So pin becomes pine? And rid becomes ride?

Teacher: Yes! We call that letter the “silent e.” It doesn’t make its own sound, but it changes the word.

Student B: What if we add -ing to a word that ends with e, like smile?

Teacher: Then we drop the e: smile → smiling. Keep the e before some endings like -ful or -less, and double the last letter for many short words: hop → hopped, run → running.

Poster — Three Big Rules

Drop e / Keep e / Double panels

Tap the Word Pair

Tap each card to switch between the base word and the silent-e word. Turn all cards to the silent-e word, then press Check.
mad
tap to flip
pin
tap to flip
rid
tap to flip
hop
tap to flip
not
tap to flip
cub
tap to flip
her
tap to flip
them
tap to flip

Match the Power-Ups

Power Cards

silent e
letter name sound
drop the e
keep the e
double the consonant
final e that changes the vowel
vowel says A/E/I/O/U
before -ing (smile → smiling)
before -ful/-less/-ment
keep short sound: run → running

Examples

no silent e
has silent e
base word
suffix
short word pattern
mad, pin, rid
made, pine, ride
word before endings
ending like -ing or -ful
one vowel + one consonant at end

Quick Picks

Which word has silent e?
A) made   B) mad   C) mud
How do we add -ing to “smile”?
A) smiling   B) smileing   C) smile-ing
Which one needs doubling?
A) hop → hopping   B) bake → baking   C) hope → hoping
Which one keeps the e?
A) hope → hopeful   B) care → caring   C) race → racing

Fill the Speech Bubbles

mad
made
pin
pine
rid
ride
hop
hope
not
note
smiling
racing
caring
hopeful
running
hopped
pinned
Magic e: → , → , → , → , → . Add endings: smile → , race → , care → , hope → . Short words double: run → , hop → , pin → .
Tip: Click a chip, then click into a blank to fill. Chips disable after use but can be dragged out and reused.

True / False — Silent e Basics

Silent e has no sound but it changes the vowel before it.
We usually drop the final e before -ing (smile → smiling).
We keep the e before -ful or -less (hope → hopeful).
mad and made mean the same thing.

Build-a-Word: Steps

A — Make it Long with Silent e

  1. Start with a base word (mad).
  2. Add a silent e at the end.
  3. Read the new word (made).
  4. Check meaning and spelling.

B — Add -ing or -ed

  1. Look at the base word.
  2. If it ends with e, drop the e (bake → baking).
  3. If it is short (vowel + consonant), double (hop → hopping).
  4. Add -ing/-ed and check spelling.

boss badge Boss Battle — Drop e • Keep e • Double

smiling
baking
hopeful
careless
running
hopped
pinned
caring

Drop e

Keep e

Double last consonant

Arcade Spelling — Double or Not? (15)

Type only the new spelling. Add only -d if the verb ends in e (past), drop e before -ing, and double for many short words.
  1. bake →
  2. smile →
  3. race →
  4. care →
  5. hope →
  6. run →
  7. hop →
  8. pin →
  9. mad →
  10. rid →
  11. not →
  12. hug →
  13. step →
  14. live →
  15. save →

Answer Key (toggle)

Show/Hide Key

MCQ: made; smiling; hop→hopping; hope→hopeful.

Cloze: mad, made, pin, pine, rid, ride, hop, hope, not, note, smiling, racing, caring, hopeful, running, hopped, pinned.

Sorter: Drop e → smiling, baking, caring. Keep e → hopeful, careless. Double → running, hopped, pinned.

Drill (15): baked, smiling, raced, careful, hopeless, running, hopped, pinned, made, ride, note, hugged, stepping, living, saved.

TF: T, T, T, F.

Sequencing A: 1 base → 2 add e → 3 read → 4 check.
Sequencing B: 1 look → 2 drop e if final e → 3 double if short word → 4 add -ing/-ed.