Silent E (a_e) Worksheets

Free printable silent e — long a phonics worksheets. Four practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, and rapid naming chart.

Grade: 1st Phase 3: Long Vowels & Silent E Pattern: a_e (magic e / silent e making long A)
cake make bake lake take name game came made late gate date

1 Decodable Reading Passage

A short, decodable story embedding silent e — long a words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.

The Race to the Lake
Skill: Silent E — Long A  •  Sight Words: the, is, a, and, to, was
Jake and Kate made a plan. They came to the gate and said, "Let's race to the lake!" Jake gave Kate a cape. Kate was brave. She ran to the cave by the lake. Jake was late. He had to take the safe base path. Kate made it to the lake and ate cake. Jake came and they gave each other a wave. "That was a fun game," said Jake. Kate made a name tag with tape. They sat by the lake and ate cake on a date. It was a safe and fun day.
Circle or highlight all the silent E words where the A says its name (long A sound). How many did you find?
Generated in your browser

2 Word Sort

Cut out the word cards and sort them into the correct columns: Short A (CVC) vs Long A (a_e).

Short A (CVC)
Long A (a_e)
cake
cat
make
mat
bake
bat
lake
lap
tape
tap
cape
cap
name
nap
game
gap
cave
can
wave
wag
Generated in your browser

3 Phrasing Practice Cards

Practice reading these phrases for fluency. Cut out the cards and read them quickly and smoothly.

race to the lake
made a cake
Jake and Kate
gave her a cape
a safe cave
came to the gate
he was late
a name tag with tape
a brave wave
Generated in your browser

4 RAN Chart (Rapid Naming)

Read each word in the grid as quickly as you can. Time yourself and try to beat your best time!

Decodable RAN Chart — Silent E — Long A
gate
gate
cake
lake
lake
cake
cake
wave
wave
make
make
gate
cake
wave
lake
make
Target words: cake, lake, make, gate, wave
Generated in your browser
← L-Blends Worksheets View All Phonics Skills

Free Printable Silent E (a_e) Worksheets

The silent E pattern (also called "magic E" or "bossy E") is a foundational phonics concept typically taught in first grade. When a word ends in a silent E, the vowel before it says its long name instead of its short sound. For example, adding an E to "cap" turns it into "cape" — the A changes from its short sound /a/ to its long sound /ay/. These free silent E worksheets focus on the a_e pattern and provide four types of structured practice: a decodable reading passage rich with a_e words, a word sort comparing short A (CVC) words with their long A (a_e) counterparts, phrasing practice cards for reading fluency, and a rapid naming (RAN) chart for building automaticity with high-frequency a_e words. Each worksheet follows Science of Reading principles and prints cleanly on US Letter paper.

For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.