I LOVE teaching literacy. It’s just so fun. Phonic rules are one of my absolute favorite things. I love watching the lightbulbs go off when I introduce a new rule. Even the kiddos who read FAR above grade level get a thrill out of the knowledge that are rules behind a lot of this wacky stuff that is English.

VCe is one of those rules that just sticks with you. Many of my kiddos who know the e is silent and the vowel it is associated with is long… have no idea there is an actual phonetic rule associated with it. But they “get it” the second you spell it all out for them.

With the introduction of this rule, a whole new world of reading opens up for a lot of kiddos. Now they can read a variety of readers, books and stories because long vowels become part of the everyday routine.

This little e goes by many monikers:

Silent e

Partner e

Super e

Magic e

There are probably more. But in my room, we call him Bossy e. Because, well, he bosses letters around. He reaches over one consonant sound and BONKS vowels on the head and tells them to say their name. He makes C and G turn SOFT… and he does all of this in SILENCE.

Share This!