Welcome back to Read Not Guess. Today we’re going to keep working on the Magic E with words like “here” and "these" and then give your kids a decodable story to practice.
Both parent and child will need to be able to see the screen.
Let’s get started.
Letter Names
So far we’ve focused on the sounds the letters make. But today it might be helpful to also brush up on the names of the vowels.
Specifically, can your child say the name of this letter?
e
e
e
Special Rule: Magic E
Remind your child that when a word ends with a Magic E, it makes the vowel before it say its own name.
So when a word looks like this, the Magic E helps the “e” say its own name:
e_e
See if your child can sound out these words with the Magic E:
here
theme
these
eve
Pete
compete
complete
Exceptions to the Magic E rule
Unfortunately, there are a few exceptions to the Magic E rule. English is funny like that!
One exception is the word “there,” like in the question “Are there any cookies left?” Have your child point to the letters as they read the word “there” three times:
there
there
there
Decodable Story
To help your child practice these skills, see if they can read this story, adapted from FreeReading.net.
Boxes in the Attic
Pete, take that old junk to the attic. It is the best room for it.
But Mom, it is dark up there.
These things will be safe in the attic. They will not get damp or broken.
That is good. But it is dusty up there.
Just put them in boxes.
What more do you see up here? Is that a lamp shade? An old cane?
Nope. Relax. Those are just boxes and dust.
If they read it smoothly, great! If they stumble, have them keep practicing until they can it smoothly.
That’s it for today. We’ll see you next time.