Magic e (CVCe) decodable sentences and word list
63 words with a vowel, a consonant and a silent e, as in cake, and 10 sentences a child can sound out. Project them, or print the sheet.
Magic e (CVCe): a vowel, a consonant and a silent e, as in cake. 63 words.
- cake
- bake
- make
- take
- lake
- wake
- rake
- game
- name
- same
- came
- made
- tame
- gate
- late
- date
- hate
- ate
- face
- race
- lace
- cage
- page
- wave
- save
- cave
- gave
- safe
- bike
- like
- hike
- time
- five
- dive
- hide
- ride
- side
- wide
- nine
- line
- mine
- fine
- nice
- pine
- kite
- bite
- home
- bone
- note
- rope
- hope
- joke
- nose
- rose
- hole
- pole
- rode
- code
- cube
- cute
- tube
- mule
- rule
Tricky words used so far, read by sight: a, the, is, has, to, I, my.
About this pattern
In a CVCe word the silent e at the end changes the vowel from short to long: cap becomes cape, kit becomes kite. Teachers call it magic e or silent e. It is the first time children see that letters far apart in a word work together, so work from pairs of words: hat and hate, tub and tube.
What to say
Write a short word such as cap, then add an e and say the new word, cape. Ask, What did the e do? It does not make a sound itself; it tells the vowel to say its name.
How to use it
- Start in Word list: say the pattern, then read the words together with the coloured letters as your clue.
- Press Full screen (F), choose Sentences, one at a time, and use the arrow keys for the next sentence.
- Press Print for a sheet with the words and the numbered sentences to take home.
Ideas for class
- Pair up words: make cards for cap, cape, kit, kite, hop and hope and have students match each pair.
- Use a small piece of paper or a sticky note as a magic e that you slide onto the end of a short word.
- Draw both: a cap and a cape, a kit and a kite.
- Read the sentences and have students underline each silent e in a different color.
Related
Questions
Why are have and give not in the list?
They look like silent-e words but do not follow the rule. Teach them as tricky words when children meet them in a story.
What are I and my doing in the sentences?
They are tricky words with long vowel sounds, taught by sight here so that children can read sentences like I like to bake a cake.
How do I know each sentence is decodable?
Every word in these 10 sentences is either on the word list for magic e (cvce) or for a pattern taught before it, or is one of the tricky words read by sight (a, the, is, has, to, I, my). The list is checked by a program, so a word that has not been taught cannot slip in.
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