Silent E Resources

Educational Silent –e Resources

There are strange rules to English that new readers have to memorize. The silent –e is a quiet letter that appears in hundreds of words like knife, smile, whole, game, and so many others. While the –e is silent, it still affects how the word is pronounced. Because vowels are pronounced with either a short or long sound, the silent –e changes which sound is expressed.

When there is one consonant letter between the vowel and silent –e like in the words mode or love, the long vowel sound is expressed. But when there are two consonant letters between the the silent –e and the vowel, the short vowel sound is expressed like in the word dance. There are additional distinctions to the silent –e that are discussed in the various resources in the Learning Library.

There are many online games that focus in on silent –e rules. Games like Silent E Bus Stop Spelling teach players how to spell common quiet –e words. Other games, like Long and Short Vowel Sort, teach kids how the silent –e affects the vowel sound. Interactive stories and song videos are also effective for helping kids memorize silent –e rules. There are a handful of printable worksheets, word lists, and spelling challenges that acquaint young learners to common words with silent –Es. These examples and other Education.com resources help new learners launch their reading adventure.