Long ‘a’ CVCe Words: Free Magic ‘e’ Word Building Activity
Long ‘a’ CVCe words like cake, face and tale are the stars of this free Magic ‘e’ activity. Kids look at the picture, find the four letter tiles they need and move them into place to build each word in Google Slides® or Seesaw®.
This is the next step after short vowel CVC words. Kids already know cap. Now they get to see what happens when an ‘e’ shows up at the end. The free sign-up is at the bottom of the post.
Grade Level:
Why Teach Long ‘a’ CVCe Words After Short Vowels?
CVCe stands for consonant-vowel-consonant-e. The ‘e’ at the end is silent, but it changes the vowel. Tap becomes tape and can becomes cane.
Kids who are solid with short vowels have what they need for this step. They can already hear and spell cap, so adding one letter to make cape feels small.
Long ‘a’ is a common place to start because there are so many long ‘a’ words kids can picture: a cake, a rake, a lake.
Building the whole word, silent ‘e’ and all, helps kids remember that the ‘e’ belongs in the spelling even though they don’t hear it.
Working through Magic ‘e’? These are good next steps:
See All of Our CVCe Words Activities
Skills Kids Practice with Long ‘a’ CVCe Words
Here’s what kids work on as they build each long ‘a’ word.
✅ Hearing Long ‘a’
Kids listen for the long ‘a’ sound, the one that says the letter’s name. It’s different from the short ‘a’ they practiced in CVC words.
✅ Remembering the Silent ‘e’
Kids don’t hear the ‘e’, so they have to remember to add it. Four boxes on every slide remind them there’s one more letter to place.
✅ Choosing the Right Vowel
Each slide has all five vowels to pick from. Kids find the ‘a’ for the middle and the ‘e’ for the end.
✅ Spelling with Four Letters
Moving from three letters to four is a big step. Kids keep track of more letters and put them in the right order.
✅ Reading Long Vowel Words
Once the word is built, kids read it with the long ‘a’ sound. It’s the same pattern they’ll use to read words like make and game in books.
✅ Using the Word Chart
A three-page word chart at the end shows all 29 words in the activity. Kids can read through it to review or check their spelling.
How to Use This Long ‘a’ CVCe Activity
The long ‘a’ activity works in Google Slides®, Seesaw® or as self-checking Boom™ Cards. You’ll see setup steps for each in the How to Get the Activity box. Fitting it into phonics time is easy with these ideas:
Ways to Play
- Guided Reading Groups: Introduce Magic ‘e’ with a couple of slides, then look for long ‘a’ words in your group’s book.
- Literacy Centers: Assign the long ‘a’ slides for kids to work through on their own.
- Whole Group: Write cap on the board, add an ‘e’ and have the class read cape together before starting the slides.
- Home or Homeschool: After a few slides, hunt for long ‘a’ things around the house: a plate, a cake pan, a game.
How to Get the Activity
- Enter your email below and the long ‘a’ CVCe words activity will come to your inbox.
- Choose Google Slides® or Seesaw® when you open the file. There are two Seesaw® sets to pick from.
- When the Google Slides® link opens, choose “Make a copy.” That’s the version you’ll edit and share.
- Kids need Edit mode to move the letter tiles. The tiles lock in place in Present mode.
- Kids fill all four boxes under the picture, silent ‘e’ at the end included.
- Hang on to a master copy so there’s always a fresh version to share.
- One click on the Seesaw® image in your file puts the long ‘a’ activity in your library.
- Kids use the move tool to set each letter in its box.
- Have kids record each word so you can hear whether they’re using the long ‘a’ sound.
- Get the long ‘a’ CVCe Boom™ Cards deck here if you’d like the self-checking upgrade.
- Kids find out right away if a word is spelled correctly, silent ‘e’ included.
- Boom™ Cards need an internet connection.
Differentiation Tips for Long ‘a’ CVCe Words
Try these ideas to meet kids where they are with long ‘a’.
For Children Who Need More Support
- Build a short vowel word with magnetic letters (tap), then add an ‘e’ and read tape together.
- In your copy, delete some of the extra letters to make the choices easier.
- Remind kids to fill all four boxes. If one is empty, it’s probably the ‘e’.
For On-Level Practice
- Have kids read each word aloud and tell you which sound the ‘a’ makes.
- Have kids show you the silent ‘e’ and tell what job it does.
- Pair kids up to take turns building and reading.
For an Extra Challenge
- Have kids build a word from the slides with magnetic letters and take away the ‘e’ to see if a new word is left: cane to can, tape to tap.
- Have kids pick two words from the word chart and write a sentence with both.
- Have kids come up with rhymes for cake or gate and write them on a whiteboard.
For Speech, OT, ELL or Special Education Support
- Speech: Contrast pairs like tap and tape so kids hear the vowel change.
- OT: After building each word, have kids write it on a whiteboard with a thick marker.
- ELL: Talk about each picture first. Words like tale and cane may be new.
- Special Education: Highlight the silent ‘e’ in each word on a printed word chart so it’s easy to spot.
Hands-On Long ‘a’ CVCe Practice
Try these ideas away from the screen.
Magic ‘e’ Wand
Make a wand from a craft stick with an ‘e’ on the end. Write short vowel words like cap, hat and can. Kids tap the end of each word with the wand to add an ‘e’, then read what it says now.
Long ‘a’ Word Hunt
Give kids a simple book or poem and have them highlight every long ‘a’ word that ends with a silent ‘e’.
Rhyming Chains
Start with cake and have kids name rhyming words: bake, lake, make, rake. Write them in a column and underline -ake each time.
Build It, Write It
Kids build a long ‘a’ word with letter tiles, then write it on paper. When long ‘a’ feels easy, move on to the Long ‘i’ CVCe Word Building activity.
Books and Games for Magic ‘e’ Practice
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The AIVANT Self-Correcting Spelling Puzzle has three- and four-letter words with matching pictures. Kids fit letter pieces to a picture. Those pieces only lock together when the word is right.
For more of our favorites, take a look at our Amazon shop.
Long ‘a’ CVCe Words FAQ
What are long ‘a’ CVCe words?
Long ‘a’ CVCe words follow a consonant-vowel-consonant-e pattern with a long ‘a’ sound, like cake, face, gate and lake.
What does Magic ‘e’ mean?
It’s a kid-friendly name for the silent ‘e’ at the end of a CVCe word. The ‘e’ doesn’t make a sound, but it makes the vowel say its name.
Which long ‘a’ words will kids build?
Kids build 29 long ‘a’ words: face, lace, race, cage, page, rage, cake, lake, rake, bale, sale, tale, game, name, tame, cane, lane, mane, cape, tape, base, case, vase, date, gate, rate, cave, save and wave.
When are kids ready for CVCe words?
Most kids are ready once they can read and spell short vowel CVC words without much help. If short ‘a’ still needs work, start with the short ‘a’ CVC words activity.
What comes after long ‘a’?
Try the Long ‘i’ CVCe Word Building activity next. It uses the same four-box setup, so kids can focus on the new vowel.
More Magic ‘e’ Fun from I Teach Too
Life Over C’s Club members can grab every Magic ‘e’ activity without an email sign-up. Peek inside the Club.
For more no-prep digital practice, the Google Slides and Seesaw Growing Bundle has activities for every month.
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Hi! I s there a way to download multiple files for the google slides. I AM IN LOVE with how simple your google slides are and I would love to keep them with my resources. I’d be happy to even pay for the bundle if needed! Thank you!
I don’t have a bundle at this time, but I am considering it. I will do some research on it. 🙂
Thank you 😊
Great resources
This is awesome! Thanks Kim!