Silent “e” — Simple Rules (Variation B) + 20 Spelling Drills

Read the Story

Maya and Leo looked at two lists. On one side: bit, kit, rat. On the other side: bite, kite, rate. “Silent e does not make a sound,” Maya said. “But it makes the vowel before it strong. The word changes.”

Leo added more pairs: not → note, tub → tube, rip → ripe, can → cane. “One little letter at the end,” he said, “and the middle letter sounds different. No sound for the e, but a big change for the word.”

They practiced with endings. “When a verb ends in e and we make the past,” Maya said, “we usually add only -d: bake → baked, move → moved, love → loved.”

“For -ing,” Leo added, “we usually drop the final e: bake → baking, smile → smiling, write → writing, come → coming.”

They checked short words too. “If a short word ends vowel + consonant,” Maya said, “we often double the last consonant before -ing or -ed: run → running, sit → sitting, jog → jogged/jogging, drag → dragged/dragging.”

Leo summed up: “Steps: 1) Silent e makes the vowel say the letter name. 2) For past of verbs ending in e, add only -d. 3) For -ing, drop the final e. 4) For many short words, double the last consonant before -ing or -ed.”

Vocabulary — Matching

A

silent e

letter name sound

add only -d

drop the e

double the consonant

final e that changes the vowel

vowel says A/E/I/O/U

past tense for verbs ending in e

before -ing (smile → smiling)

write last consonant twice

B

no silent e

has silent e

base word

suffix

short word pattern

bit, kit, rat

bite, kite, rate

word before endings

an ending like -ing or -ed

one vowel + one consonant at end

Multiple Choice

Which word has silent e?

A) note B) not C) nod

How do we add -ing to “smile”?

A) smiling B) smileing C) smile-ing

Which one needs doubling?

A) run → running B) bake → baking C) move → moving

If a verb ends in e, how do we make the past?

A) add only -d (bake → baked) B) drop e then -ed C) double the last consonant

Cloze — Use the Word Bank (silent e & doubling)

bit

bite

kit

kite

rat

rate

not

note

tub

tube

rip

ripe

can

cane

baked

moved

loved

baking

smiling

writing

coming

running

sitting

jogged

dragging

Silent e changes the word: → , → , → . We see it again: → , → , → , → . For past tense when the verb ends in e, add only -d: bake → , move → , love → . For -ing, drop the e: bake → , smile → , write → , come → . For short words, double the last consonant: run → , sit → , jog → (for past), drag → .

Tip: Click a chip, then click into a blank to fill. Chips disable after use but can be dragged out and reused.

Sequencing — What Do I Do?

A — Make Past Tense (verb ends in e)

Look at the last letter: is there a final e?
If yes, add only -d (bake → baked).
Check the spelling.
Say the new word.

B — Add -ing

Look at the base word.
If it ends with e, drop the e (smile → smiling).
If it is short (vowel + consonant), double the last consonant (run → running).
Add -ing and check the spelling.

Sorter — No Silent e ↔ Silent e

bit

kit

rat

not

tub

bite

kite

rate

note

tube

No silent e

Has silent e

Sorter — Drop e • Keep e • Double

baking

smiling

writing

coming

safely

nicely

timeless

homeless

running

sitting

jogged

dragging

Drop e

Keep e

Double last consonant

Dialogue — Maya & Leo Practice (20 lines)

1. Maya: I see rat and rate. The silent e changes the vowel.

2. Leo: Right—short a to long A. Same with kit → kite.

3. Maya: What about rip and ripe? Long I with the e.

4. Leo: Exactly. The e is quiet but powerful.

5. Maya: For smile, to make -ing, I drop the e: smiling.

6. Leo: And for bake past tense, add only -d: baked.

7. Maya: If the word is short, like run, we double: running.

8. Leo: Yup—vowel + consonant at the end triggers doubling.

9. Maya: not becomes note. The sound changes a lot.

10. Leo: Same pattern with tub → tube.

11. Maya: Do we ever keep the e?

12. Leo: With suffixes that don’t start with a vowel, like -less: home → homeless.

13. Maya: And time → timeless. Keep the e.

14. Leo: For adverbs like nice → nicely, we also keep e.

15. Maya: But write + -ing becomes writing—drop the e.

16. Leo: And come + -ing → coming, same rule.

17. Maya: Past tense for love is just loved, add -d.

18. Leo: For jog we double: jogged and jogging.

19. Maya: The steps help: make vowel long, add only -d, drop e for -ing, double when short.

20. Leo: Nice! Let’s try the drills and check our work.

Spelling Drill — Double or Not? (20)

Type only the new spelling. Add only -d if the verb ends in e (past), drop e before -ing, and double the last consonant for many short words before -ing/-ed.

run →
sit →
jog →
drag →
plug →
beg →
trim →
slip →
grab →
clap →
snow →
help →
move →
bake →
smile →
write →
open →
play →
come →
shop →

Answer Key (toggle)

Show/Hide Key

Matching A: silent e → final e that changes the vowel; letter name sound → vowel says A/E/I/O/U; add only -d → past for verbs ending in e; drop the e → before -ing; double the consonant → write last consonant twice.

Matching B: no silent e → bit/kit/rat; has silent e → bite/kite/rate; base word → word before endings; suffix → -ing/-ed; short word pattern → one vowel + one consonant at end.

MCQ: note; smiling; run → running; add only -d (bake → baked).

Cloze: bit, bite, kit, kite, rat, rate, not, note, tub, tube, rip, ripe, can, cane, baked, moved, loved, baking, smiling, writing, coming, running, sitting, jogged, dragging.

Sort #1: No e → bit, kit, rat, not, tub. Has e → bite, kite, rate, note, tube.

Sort #2: Drop e → baking, smiling, writing, coming. Keep e → safely, nicely, timeless, homeless. Double → running, sitting, jogged, dragging.

Drill 20: running, sitting, jogged, dragging, plugged, begged, trimmed, slipping, grabbing, clapped, snowing, helped, moving, baked, smiling, writing, opening, played, coming, shopped.

TF: T, T, T, T, F.