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Introduce the VCe rule

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Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Optional: CVC/CVCe index cards (print them here)
Goal: Given a printed word ending vowel-consonant-e, say the word ( VCe-word -> "VCe-word" )
Items: mad, made, fad, fade, tap, tape, can, cane, at, ate, plan, plane

What to do

  1. Write the word mad on the board in letters at least a foot tall (or use these index cards).
  2. Who can sound out this word? Mmmaaad, mad. Right! Now I'm going to show you some magic. I'm going to change the /a/ sound to an /ā/ sound, like the name of the letter: /ā/. Here's how I do it.
  3. Add the letter e to the end of mad. What's this letter? Right, e. Now here's the magic: the e stays silent—you don't say it—but it makes the vowel say its name. Cover up the e. Which letter here is the vowel? Right, the a. Uncover the e. So instead of /a/, the a says its name: /ā/. So the word is mmmāāād, made. Here's a sentence with the word made: She made me laugh.
  4. If I take the e away again, (cover it), I have mmmaaad, mad. If I put the e back, (uncover it), I have mmmāāād, made. You try it. Cover and uncover the e and have students sound out and then say the word. Be sure that they sound it out as well as say it at this stage.
  5. Let's do another. Sound out this word. Erase made and write fad on the board. Fffaaad, fad. Now if I put an e on the end, what happens? Remember the magic rule: the e stays silent but it makes the vowel say its name. Cover up the e. Which letter here is the vowel? Right, the a. Uncover the e. So instead of /a/, the a says its name: /ā/. So the word is fffāāād, fade.
  6. Now you try. Erase fade and write tap. Sound out this word. Students: taaap. What's the word? Students: tap. Now add the e. Now sound out the word. Students: tāāāp. What's the word? Students: tape. Right! Tape.
  7. Watch for students who don't get it. Walk them through the rule on their own, modeling for them if necessary. If a student continues to have trouble, make a note in an Activity Log and move on.
  8. Continue with can / cane, at / ate, plan / plane until everyone gets it. Try to give all the less accomplished students an individual turn.

Notes

  • It's important that students sound out words when they are first learning the VCe rule, else they may just learn to recognize the words and fail to learn the rule.
  • Some teachers like to define or give example sentences for words that students may not know (e.g., “If I fade the lights, they go out slowly.”) Other teachers worry that this may overload students and prefer to focus on the VCe rule.
  • For a list of practice words —CVC words that can be changed into another word by adding e—click here.


Related activities

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