Hands-on+Activities+and+Lesson+Plans

__**Silent E Bingo**__
Students can play Bingo with each other using the bingo boards attached. You can also create your own bingo boards. I recommend laminating the bingo cards so they last longer. One student can be the caller (calls out the words) and the other students can use the board. Just play like you would normally Bingo. The first person to get 5 words across, down, or diagonal wins a prize. 

type of learner: visual Small group activity Materials needed: bingo cards list of silent e words pieces of construction paper (cover up words)

__**Pin the Tail on the Silent E**__
// Three Letter Word List: // Dim Pin Tim Con Hop Ton Her Cam Mad Man Can Sid Sam Lik Bar Pal Car Sal Far Tap


 * 1) Take a piece of posterboard, and choose 20 three letter combinations to write in large block letters, in neat columns (words should be at least 1’1/2”-2” high). Make sure you leave a generous space after each word (you’ll be adding “silent e”), and between words vertically.
 * 2) Fasten the paper to a wall, and make sure that all the words are at a good height for your first grader to reach. At the end of each word combination, stick on a strip of Velcro.
 * 3) Cut 20 squares of card stock, each 2” square, and on each one, help your child write a clear “e” in large, black print. Stick a strip of Velcro on the back of each card.
 * 4) Now you’re ready to play! Give each team 10 “e” cards, and line the kids up behind a starting line. Kids will take turns running up to the poster, one team at a time. They must say the three letter word correctly, and then add the “e” and say the new word. They’re encouraged to “cheat”—team members can help them—they just have to say it out loud and proud.
 * 5) Although you can play this game as a pure team-on-team competition, another favorite way to play is “beat the clock.” How fast can this whole bunch of kids fill in that silent “e” and say it correctly for all 20 words? Try it a few times, learn it backward and forward, and see if you can set a “personal best” for the day.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: kinesthetic/visual <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">small group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">posterboard <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">velcro <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">wall <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">tape

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**CVC vs. CVCe**__

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Review CVC pattern words, such as man, rid, rip, cut, and hat. Use CVC words that have related CVCe pattern words.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Review the concept of short/long vowel sounds. Be sure all students can give both long and short sounds for all vowels on command.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Demonstrate how adding the silent final e changes vowel sounds by using the magnetic letters to spell a CVC word, reading it, then adding an e and reading it again.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Allow each student to manipulate the letters and other students to read the words. Repeat as needed.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Repeat step three in reverse: spell the CVCe words with magnets, then remove the e and read the CVC word.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Use the dry erase board. Give each student turns to spell a CVC word and add an e to make the CVCe word.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.05em;">Give each student turns to make a CVCe word, remove the e and read the CVC word.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: kinesthetic/visual <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">individual or partner activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">magnetic letters <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">dry erase boards

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**Silent E Changes**__
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ahead of time, write down several CVC and CVCe words on strips of paper. If it is a CVC word add an "e" to the end of it. Fold the "e" back. Give each student a sheet of paper with a t-chart on it with one column that says real and the other says nonsense. Have students take turns by selecting one of the strips and read it out loud to the class. Then turn the "e" to the front of the strip and read the new word. Have everyone write both words in the corresponding columns. Have the students determine if the word is real or nonsense. If it is nonsense, cross it out. Continue until all strips are read and recorded.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: visual <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">small or large group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">computer paper <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">pencils <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">scissors

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__ The Long and Short of It __**
<span style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Give each student 2 large index cards. Have each student write "long" on one index card and "short" on the other. The teacher will call out different words that have long vowels and short vowels. If the word called out has a long vowel, they hold up the "long" index card. If the word called out has a short vowel, students hold up the "short" index card. As an extension, you can have other students in the class write words that have long or short vowels in it and then students have to sort the words into short and long vowels.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: visual <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">large group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">index cards

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Suffix Chain__**
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Write words on index cards that end in silent e. Then on some other index cards, write some commonly known suffixes. Give each student in the class either a word ending in silent e or a suffix. Pin or tape the index card to their shirt. Let the students walk around the room and match up with words ending in silent e and suffixes. Then students have to write a new word with the word and suffix (knowing that you drop the silent e).

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: kinesthetic <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">large group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">index cards <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">tape <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">paper <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">pencils

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Clap, Clap, Clap__**
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Have the students sit in a circle on the floor and have them start clapping a slow rhythm. Have each student go in the circle and call out a word with a long vowel in time with the rhythm. If a student can't come up with a word then they are "out." Those students can take turns writing the words called out on a board. Keep going until you are down to the last student. They are the winner. You can make it more difficult by clapping a faster beat.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: auditory/kinesthethic <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">large or small group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">none

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__Silent E Song__
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1) Begin by telling the students that they are going to learn about a sneaky little guy named Silent "E" that shows up at the end of words sometimes and can make them hard to read. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">2) Next, tell them that they are going to learn some rules that will help them to outsmart the Silent "E" and be able to read and spell some silent "e" words. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">3) Briefly explain the silent "e" rules by SPEAKING the first two verses of the song--l) Don't say the "e" 2) Only say the word before <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">4) Write some examples of these types of words on the board. It might be a good idea to use the words from the song (bake, cake, stove) along with a few others. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">5) Now teach them the song. At the end of verse one, where the song says..."the 'e' sounds like this...." put your fingers up to your lips in a gesture of silence. Be sure to pronounce the words in verse four WITH the e sound at the end so the students can hear that it is incorrect to say the silent "e". <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">6) Allow them to sing the song through several times until they get a feel for it. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**The Silent 'E' Song** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Verse .l: When words end in silent "e", silent "e", silent "e". When words end in silent "e", the "e" sounds like this.(finger to lips) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Verse .2: Only say the word before, word before, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">word before. Only say the word before, the word before the "e". <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Verse .3: If you say the silent "e", silent "e", silent "e". If you say the silent "e", then you'll sound like this..... <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Verse .4: Bakee a cakee in the stovee, in the stovee, in the stovee. Bakee a cakee in the stovee. Doesn't that sound weird? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Verse .5: Now don't say the silent "e", silent "e", silent "e". Now don't say the silent "e", then you'll sound like this..... <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Verse .6: Bake a cake in the stove, in the stove, in the stove. Bake a cake in the stove, now doesn't that sound great?!!!! <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//**Repeat.**//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of leaner: auditory <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">large group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">chart paper if you want to write the song down

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Magic E: Decoding/Encoding with CVC and CVCe__**

 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">The teacher states that he/she will be introducing a new pattern, CVCE, that contains a magic letter E. She/He then produces a word card which contains the word tap and asks students to sound out the word.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">She/He reminds students that tap is a CVC word, so it has a short sound. Now for the magic!! She/He whips out the magic clothes pin and clips it to the end of the word tap.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">Then she/he demonstrates the change on chart paper or blackboard by writing CVC with a short vowel mark over the V and CVCE with a long vowel mark over the V and a silent mark over the E. She/He explains that silent E is magic because it turns the vowel from short to long. Voila! Tap becomes tape!
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">The teacher then asks a student to pick a word card from the stack and read it. While holding up the card the student has read, she/he asks group to name the pattern (CVC) and the kind of vowel sound they hear in the word. She/He then asks the student to take the clothes pin and clip it to the end of the word. She/He reminds students that the magic E is silent, but it makes the first vowel in the word say its name, i.e., be long.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">The student is then asked to sound out the word using a long sound instead of a short sound. The teacher removes the clothes pin and asks the group to read the CVC word again, then attaches the clothes pin and repeats with the CVCE word. The sequence is repeated with other students using other words from the stack.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">The next phase of the lesson provides independent practice, but some guided practice may be required with some students. The teacher tells the class that he will be dictating some of the CVC and “CVCmagicE” words they have been reading for them to spell.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">Before beginning the encoding process, students should be reminded that they can use the auditory and tactile strategy of slowly sounding the words “on their fingers”, i.e., /m/-/a/-/t/ so that they can hear each one and get them in the correct sequence when they write them. They can do this by asking “What sound did I hear on my first finger, my second, etc.?”.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">(Teacher demonstrates.) She/He also asks students, “If you hear a long vowel in the word, what should it tell you?; Who has worked her/his magic?” (If the vowel they hear is long, the word must have an E at the end).
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">In later lessons students can be taught the CVVC pattern and therefore another reason that the vowel might be long, but not at this stage. The teacher then dictates an example (CVC) and helps students sound it on their fingers and write it.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">She/He follows with a CVCE word and does the same. She/He then continues letting students work on their own to encode the words.
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">Students can then be asked to read completed lists aloud so that they can see the interrelation of the decoding/encoding process. The teacher then summarizes the lesson and assesses work products for future review and/or reteaching.
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">The second phase of this lesson can be modified by limiting the number of vowels among which students have to discriminate. For instance, if most students easily discriminate the short a and short o sounds, only words with long and short a and o can be used at first until the CVC and CVCE concept is mastered. Then words with other vowels can be gradually added in later lessons until students are proficient at discriminating all ten vowel sounds in words with these patterns.
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">Follow-up with these skills should occur in the context of reading as students are aided in decoding words by being reminded to think about and identify the pattern when applicable and use what they know about the vowel sound in the particular pattern to sound it out.
 * 14) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">Further, when writing, students should be asked to encode words they don’t know how to spell (when phonetically regular) by using the auditory and tactile strategies mentioned above,

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: visual/auditory/kinesthetic <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">large group activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">clothes pin <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">word cards (CVC words) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">chart paper <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">marker

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Magic E Fishing__**
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__[|Magic E Fish]__**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Use the link above or you can create your own fish. Stick the two halves of the fish together and put a staple through the nose. You will need a magnet tied to a piece of string to make the fishing rod. Put all the fish in a bag/bowl/etc and have students take turns trying to catch a fish. As a reading activity, have the students read the word on the fish in order to be able to keep it. As a spelling activity, when the last fish has been caught, swap fish and read out the words for each other to spell. Any that are spelt incorrectly escape back into the pond. The winner is the one with the most fish at the end.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">type of learner: visual/kinesthetic <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">small group or partner activity <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">materials needed: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">magnets <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">string <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">plastic bowl or paper bag <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">paper fish with CVCe words on them