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Suffix addition: dropping silent e

This is done best with a "landscape" view (paper turned sideways), because it's wider than it is long. It can also be done on two facing pages in a binder, so the student can see both pages at once.

 

Take the time to talk through these ideas and discover the logic behind dropping the silent e. Keep practicing reading words with open and closed syllables (rotate and rotten, open and opposite). You may find that students more easily learn words like broccoli -- though it's not common to double a c, it's what keeps that o short.

Explanation

The silent e rule is more consistent than the doubling rule. The principle: since the silent e's "job" is to change a vowel sound, if there is another vowel to take its place, the e can go away.

Therefore, if the suffix begins with a vowel, you drop the e.

It doesn't matter how many syllables there are, or what the vowel coming before the silent e sounds like, or whether there are two consonants ("wasting" drops the e, too).

There are some exceptions -- when you need to keep the e for some other purpose, such as making a c or g say /s/ or /j/, as in "courageous." And there are some exceptions that are just exceptions -- truly and wholly, for example.

Some students tend to double the consonant, even for silent e words. There are *no* cases where the consonant is doubled for a silent e word. If the "base word" has an e at the end, never double the consonant. Honestly, NEVER!

Teach the principle and the basics until that is mastered and automatic. Then work in the "exceptions" which are still true to the principle (courageous, advantageous, etc.) When these are mastered, add the "real" exceptions.

Sections in italics are the ones the student should complete (either in writing or orally).

WORD	SUFFIX	Just Adding Suffix	Is there a problem?	Decision	Final Spelling
home	less	homeless	You need the e to keep the word from becoming hom-less. It's sometimes hard to see that	Add the suffix - no changes	homeless
shape	ing	shaping	problem -- 'ei' when only one vowel is needed	drop the e	shaping
become	ing	becomeing	problem - "ei" when only one vowel is needed	drop the e (doesn't matter how many syllables)	becoming
waste	ing	wasteing	problem - ei when only a vowel is needed	drop the e -- doesn't matter that it has an s and at	wasting
fame	ous	fameous	too many vowels strung together!	drop the e -- even for suffixes like "ous"	famous
hope	ful	hopeful	You need to keep this e to keep the "o" long.	No change -- just add suffix	hopeful
grime	y	grimey	don't need that e, either! The 'ey' ending usually goes on a noun like monkey, chimney, jockey, turkey, alley, money...

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