Step046.htm/20DEC2001

Steps 46‑50: ‑e

Your pupil may learn some sections faster than others. Adjust to this. This programme is only a guide.

The next five letter‑groups are about the way the letter e works after a vowel. Step 37 showed that an e after e (two e's) says ee, the sound of the name of the first vowel. This works for all the vowels, not just e. Thus, the first vowel says its name, the following e changes the sound of the first vowel to its name: ae (Scottish Mae), ee (tree) ie (pie), oe (toe), ue (value). The pupil should now be able to say the names of the 5 vowels off pat,

a, e, i, o, u (ay ee I oh you).

Some rules are stronger than others. This is a very strong rule. It even works when you split the vowel and e, and put one consonant in the middle. Consonants are the 20 letters that are not vowels. Y is both consonant and vowel. You can teach one a day for 5 days (a‑e, e-e, i-e, o‑e, u‑e), but it works very well to teach all five together, showing how letters work. The one principle is applied to all five (and y: Tyne, tyre, dyke) the same.

Using fairly large letters, as in an Is it?" book, the pupil using his right hand can make a v with the long middle finger and first (index) finger: let the long finger point to the e. The space in the middle of the v allows for the consonant, and the index finger will then be pointing to a vowel which will say its name, and the e is silent. E is silent at the end of English words. Café is French and the e has an accent. Two e's we do sound: coffee, settee.) Try it on "cake". The long finger points to the e, the k is in the space and the index finger points to the a which says its name, and you sound out:

c...a.........e (the e is silent)

The last sound is k, the last letter is e.

Use (make) the Pairs game, bingo, s/ladders, Is it? booklet.

Words for bingo: ‑ can include pairs like cod/code, pin/pine, fad/fade, hop/hope, even

fir/fire, to make the reader notice if there is a final e or not, or they can be all ‑e words:

cane these pine toe blue shame even tune open clue paper Peter fine over rescue skate

concrete wine rope tube plate extreme tiger stone fumes game theme wire those pure gate

excuse.

So that earlier learning does not fade, it is time now to begin each lesson revising earlier work. Have the pupil read through one set, one Step of spelling each day, and put the date to show which ones you have done. Write in the vowels on page 44 and 46, then on p.46 write the correct word beside each picture. Note 'here' (regular) but 'there' (irregular).

Get the pupil to sound the sounds of the new words.

Choose Activities from the Contents page.