1st Grade spelling
1st Grade Long I Silent E Words
First grade long i words spelled i_e: like, time, line, five, nice, ride, bike. Play hangman with the list, read it, or print a worksheet.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: One-syllable words spelled i, consonant, e, where the silent e makes the i say its name.
In an i_e word, the silent e at the end makes the i say its name: like, time, life, side, line, five, nice, fine, wife, wide, nine, ride, hide and bike. The e is silent and its job is to change the vowel. Each word on the list has one syllable and follows the i, consonant, e shape, with some digraphs and blends added, as in white, write and pride.
The words were chosen by spelling pattern and checked with a pronunciation dictionary for the long i sound, so words that look the same but sound different are not included. A frequency check kept the list to first grade vocabulary. The best way to teach long i is by contrast with the short i list: bit and bite, kit and kite, rid and ride, pin and pine. Children soon see that the final e changes the word's sound and meaning.
30 entries. Our solver needed 5.6 wrong guesses on average: 0 easy, 10 medium and 20 hard. The toughest is size (10 misses), the quickest line (2).
- like Hard · 7
- time Hard · 5
- life Hard · 5
- while Hard · 6
- white Medium · 4
- side Hard · 5
- line Medium · 2
- five Hard · 7
- nice Medium · 3
- fine Hard · 6
- wife Hard · 9
- site Hard · 5
- size Hard · 10
- mine Hard · 5
- write Hard · 6
- ice Medium · 4
- wide Hard · 8
- nine Medium · 3
- ride Medium · 4
- twice Hard · 7
- rise Medium · 3
- file Medium · 4
- mile Medium · 3
- prize Hard · 6
- rice Hard · 5
- hide Hard · 6
- bike Hard · 10
- wise Hard · 8
- pride Medium · 3
- knife Hard · 8
Words worth a closer look
- writeThe w is silent. Do not sound it out; teach it with wrote and written as a family.
- fiveWords do not end in v in English, so a silent e follows. Nine does not have that reason, but follows the same i_e rule.
- whiteWh at the start, then i_e. Compare with while, which also starts with wh and has the same long i.
- sizeThe s sounds like z. The rule still works, so size and prize rhyme.
- twiceThe c is soft, saying /s/, because it is followed by e. Compare with ice and nice.
- iceStarts with the vowel, so the pattern is i, c, e. Same soft c as in nice.
Teaching it
Teach with minimal pairs. Write fin and fine, then ask what the e did. Have children read pairs aloud and sort them into two columns. Next, play a game where the teacher adds or removes the e on a card and the child reads the new word. Let them make up pairs to show they can apply the rule.
Typical mistakes are leaving off the e (lik for like), writing the long i as igh or y by mistake, and adding an e to words like six. Check silent consonants in write and the wh in white and while. In a hangman round, announce that the word has an i_e pattern and ask for the consonants. The printable gives a short check for a Friday test.
Print a 1st Grade Long I Silent E Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 1st Grade Short A WordsFirst grade short a words with blends and digraphs: that, back, last, hand, class, match. Play hangman with the list, or print a worksheet.
- 1st Grade Short E WordsFirst grade short e words with blends and digraphs: when, best, next, check, dress, fresh. Play the hangman game, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade Short I WordsFirst grade short i words with blends and digraphs: with, this, think, list, ship, fish, stick. Play hangman, read the list, or print a worksheet.
- 1st Grade Short O WordsFirst grade short o words with blends and digraphs: stop, rock, drop, shop, block, clock, frog. Play hangman, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade Short U WordsFirst grade short u words with blends and digraphs: just, much, club, luck, jump, lunch, brush. Play hangman, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade SH WordsFirst grade sh words: she, shop, ship, fish, dish, wash, sheep, shell. Play hangman with the list, read it with difficulty scores, or print a sheet.