A single silent letter can change a whole word. Put an e on the end of “hat” and it becomes “hate”; the e stays quiet, but it makes the a say its own name. At the Magic E Mill, Year 1 readers learn to spot and use this pattern.
What your child will learn
- Know that an e on the end of a word is often silent
- Hear the difference between short and long vowel sounds
- Read and spell pairs such as cap and cape, pin and pine
- Choose the right word of a pair to fit a sentence
Short vowel, long vowel
In “kit” the i is short. Add an e and it becomes “kite”, with a long i that sounds like the letter’s name. The same thing happens with a (mad, made), o (hop, hope) and u (cub, cube). A few common words, such as “have” and “come”, don’t follow the rule.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which word has a long “i” sound, as in “bike”?
- milk
- sit
- time
- pig
Show answer
Answer: time. The e on the end of time makes the i say its name.
2. True or false? The e at the end of “home” is silent.
Show answer
Answer: True. We don’t say the e, but it makes the o long.
3. Which word has a long “a” sound, as in “cake”?
- cat
- map
- gate
- hand
Show answer
Answer: gate. The e on the end of gate makes the a say its name.
Tips for grown-ups
- Write a word on paper and add a sticky-note e: read it both ways.
- Hunt for magic e words in a favourite book.
- Play “silly or real?”: add an e to any short word and decide whether it makes a real word.