Silent E (u_e) Worksheets

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

Grade: 1st Phase 3: Long Vowels & Silent E Pattern: u_e (magic e / silent e making long U)
cube tube cute mute huge fuse muse rude dude dune tune rule

1 Decodable Reader

A free illustrated mini-book for Silent E — Long U, plus the same story as a passage sheet for highlighting.

Jane's Huge Fort mini-book cover
Free illustrated mini-book · Level 3

Jane's Huge Fort

A full-color picture book your student reads on their own. Skill: Silent E — Long U. Print, cut and staple.

Jane's Huge Fort, page 1Jane's Huge Fort, page 2Jane's Huge Fort, page 3Jane's Huge Fort, page 4
Want the whole level? 44 Level 3 mini-books in one file, $14Every book stays free to print one at a time. See the pack →
Passage sheet: the same story on one page, for highlighting the target words

Jane made a huge hut. She used a big box and a long tube. It was the best hut. Jane grabbed her flute to play a tune. She did not know how to play it well. The tune was not cute. It was a rude tone! Jud ran and hid. "Stop that tune!" Jud yelled. "It hurts my skull." Jane felt bad. She put the flute down. "It is a rule," she said. "No rude tunes in my hut." Jud came back to the hut. He gave Jane a big hug. Then they played in the huge hut together.

Circle or highlight all the silent E words where the vowel says its name (long sound). How many did you find?
Silent e: u_e poster
Free color poster

Silent e: u_e

When u is followed by one consonant and an e, the u says /ū/ as in cube or /oo/ as in flute.

Download poster (PDF)

Print it full size for the wall, or smaller for a phonics notebook.

See all 63 phonics rules posters →  ·  or get all 63 in one file for $7, with a notebook-size copy

2 Silent E — Long U Words

The words this story set practices, in the two groups used by the word sort.

Real Words (13)

cube, tube, cute, mute, huge, fuse, muse, rude, dude, dune, tune, rule, flute

Nonsense Words (7)

zube, vute, jume, pune, gude, bluke, mube

Phrases to read
a cute mule · a huge cube · hum a tune · a flute and a tube · the duke is rude · a prune in June · sand on the dune · use the fuse · that is the rule
RAN chart words
cube, huge, dude, mule, duke
Sight words
the, is, a, and, to, was, it, she, he, they, said, have

3 Silent E Long U Picture Worksheets

Silent e long u words to read, match and write, with pictures. Each PDF has its answer key on page 2.

Find the Word: a silent e long u picture worksheet

Find the Word

Look at each picture and circle the right word out of three.

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Circle the Picture: a silent e long u picture worksheet

Circle the Picture

Read a word, then circle its picture out of three.

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Which Sentence?: a silent e long u picture worksheet

Which Sentence?

Look at a picture and pick the sentence that matches it.

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Read and Fill In: a silent e long u picture worksheet

Read and Fill In

Read a short story, then fill in the missing words.

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Sound Boxes: a silent e long u picture worksheet

Sound Boxes

Say each picture and write its sounds in the boxes.

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Read and Match: a silent e long u picture worksheet

Read and Match

Read each word, then draw a line to its picture.

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Level 3 Word Work: Silent E pack cover

Level 3 Word Work pack: all 101 silent e worksheets in one file

The sheets above are free. The pack is every sheet for a_e, i_e, o_e and u_e, soft c and g, y as a vowel and the all, old and ind words in order, with all the answer keys, ready to print.

Get the pack for $7 See every kind of sheet

Teaching more than one level? All 6 levels, 600+ worksheets, for $19.

4 Story Worksheets

4 ready-to-print PDFs for this story's silent e — long u words. Each one opens as its own file.

Silent E — Long U word sort printable preview

Word Sort

Cut-apart word cards to sort: Real Words or Nonsense Words. Answer key on page 2.

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Silent E — Long U phrasing cards printable preview

Phrasing Cards

Short phrases to cut out and read smoothly, for fluency.

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Silent E — Long U word search printable preview

Word Search

Find 12 silent e — long u words in the grid. Answer key on page 2.

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Silent E — Long U ran chart printable preview

RAN Chart

A grid of five words to read fast, with room to record three timed tries.

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📖 More Silent E — Long U Stories

A new decodable story with the same silent e — long u sounds — each comes with its own set of worksheets.

← Silent E (o_e) Worksheets View All Phonics Skills Silent E Long E Worksheets →

Free Printable Silent E (u_e) Worksheets

The silent e, or magic e, pattern for long U (u_e) is a crucial step in first-grade phonics, following mastery of short vowels and CVC words. Young learners often find this pattern tricky because the 'e' at the end of words like "cube" or "cute" doesn't make a sound itself but transforms the short 'u' sound into its long counterpart. Without the silent 'e', "cut" sounds very different from "cute," and "tub" from "tube." A common error is for children to mispronounce u_e words with a short 'u' sound, saying "cub" instead of "cube," or "hug" instead of "huge," because they are still relying on their earlier CVC knowledge. Emphasizing that the final 'e' is silent but powerful in changing the vowel sound is key to unlocking these words. To effectively practice the u_e pattern, these worksheets provide a structured approach. Begin with the word sort, guiding children to group words like "flute," "brute," and "prune" by their shared long U sound, reinforcing visual recognition of the u_e pattern. The decodable passage, "Jane's Huge Fort," specifically integrates these target words, allowing children to apply their decoding skills in context. Encourage them to highlight or circle the u_e words as they read. Use the phrasing cards to build fluency, having students read phrases like "a cute mule" or "play the tune" with correct pronunciation and intonation. Finally, utilize the Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) chart to build quick recognition of u_e words, helping them instantly identify "duke," "lure," and "pure" without hesitation.

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