Silent “e” — Adventure Quest
Make it long • Drop/Keep “e” • Double the fun

Comic Story — The Super “e” Saves the Day

Narrator: In Vowel Valley, a tiny hero with a red cape flies over the town sign. The sign reads: kit → ?. A crowd waits.

Maya: Look! The Super “e” lands and smiles. She slides to the end of the word and—boom—kit becomes kite. The vowel is strong and says the letter name.

Leo: The hero zooms to fix more words: hop becomes hope, tub becomes tube, rid becomes ride, not becomes note. The town cheers.

Maya: Then trouble! The -ing wind begins. The hero shouts, “Drop the e!” and the wind turns smile into smiling, race into racing, and care into caring.

Leo: A drumline marches with short words: run, shop, swim, clap. To keep their short beat, they double the last consonant: running, shopped, swimming, clapped.

Narrator: The day ends with fireworks. The Super “e” waves, “Remember: Make it long, drop the e for -ing, keep the e before -ful/-less/-ment, and double for many short words!”

Poster — Three Big Rules

Drop e / Keep e / Double panels

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
kit, hop, tub
kite, hope, tube
word before endings
ending like -ing or -ful
one vowel + one consonant at end

Quick Picks

Which word has silent e?
A) tube   B) tub   C) tux
How do we add -ing to “race”?
A) racing   B) raceing   C) race-ing
Which one needs doubling?
A) swim → swimming   B) smile → smiling   C) bake → baking
Which one keeps the e?
A) hope → hopeful   B) care → caring   C) race → racing

Poster — Word Pairs

Word pair examples

Fill the Comic Speech Bubbles

kit
kite
hop
hope
tub
tube
rid
ride
not
note
smiling
racing
caring
hopeful
homeless
running
shopping
swimming
clapped
The hero zaps: → , → , → , → , → . When the -ing wind blows, we drop e: smile → , race → , care → . Before -less, we keep e: home → . Short words keep the beat by doubling: run → , shop → , swim → , clap → .
Tip: Click a chip, then click into a blank to fill. Chips disable after use but can be dragged out and reused.

True / False — Hero Rules

Silent e has no sound but makes the vowel before it strong.
We usually drop the final e before -ing (race → racing).
We usually keep e before -ful/-less/-ment (hope → hopeful).
Many short words double the last consonant before -ing/-ed (swim → swimming).
tube and tub mean the same and are spelled the same way.

Build-a-Word: Steps

A — Make it Long with Silent e

  1. Start with a base word (kit).
  2. Add a silent e at the end.
  3. Read the new word (kite).
  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 (race → racing).
  3. If it is short (vowel + consonant), double (swim → swimming).
  4. Add -ing/-ed and check spelling.

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

caring
racing
smiling
driving
hopeful
careless
timeless
homeless
running
shopping
clapped
swimming

Drop e

Keep e

Double last consonant

Arcade Spelling — 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 for many short words.
  1. swim →
  2. wrap →
  3. rub →
  4. skip →
  5. drop →
  6. hug →
  7. plan →
  8. step →
  9. race →
  10. save →
  11. drive →
  12. glue →
  13. care →
  14. live →
  15. jog →
  16. tap →
  17. slap →
  18. fit →
  19. race →
  20. hope →

Answer Key (toggle)

Show/Hide Key

Matching: silent e → final e that changes the vowel; letter name sound → vowel says A/E/I/O/U; drop the e → before -ing; keep the e → before -ful/-less/-ment; double the consonant → keep short sound.

MCQ: tube; racing; swim → swimming; hope → hopeful.

Cloze: kit, kite, hop, hope, tub, tube, rid, ride, not, note, smiling, racing, caring, hopeful, homeless, running, shopping, swimming, clapped.

Sorter: Drop e → caring, racing, smiling, driving. Keep e → hopeful, careless, timeless, homeless. Double → running, shopping, clapped, swimming.

Drill 20: swimming, wrapped, rubbed, skipping, dropped, hugged, planning, stepping, raced, saving, driving, glued, caring, lived, jogging, tapping, slapped, fitting, racing, hoped.

TF: T, 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.