NEW CONCEPT. This lesson departs from the short-vowel pattern found in Lessons 1 through 32. Your student will discover that having an e at the end of what would otherwise be a short-vowel word changes the word to another word altogether. The new word has a long-vowel sound.

I – VI READ and SPELL all of the words. The previous page provides some ideas for you to use if your student struggles with reading this lesson. It might be helpful, for example, to select a few words and have your student mark through the silent e and place a bar above the pronounced long vowel, as illustrated here: cāpɇ. Take your time and learn the word meanings.

There are many ways a teacher can explain the long-vowel pattern. Do keep the  explanation as simple as possible.

Long- and Short-Vowel Sounds

Every one of the short-vowel words learned in Lesson 33 becomes a new word when an e is added at the end of the word. This final e is not pronounced. We say it is silent. By adding an e to cap |kăp|, for example, it becomes cape |kāp|.

Have your student practice until he can read and spell all of the words with ease. You can direct him to read words across the page, down each column, or skipping around the lists. Consider having the struggling student read and spell one short-vowel pattern at a time—Roman numeral I for |ă|; II for |ĭ| and then |ĕ|; III for |ŏ|; IV for |ŭ|; and V & VI for blends & digraphs. Be sure that he knows the meaning of every single word.

There are students who will breeze through Lesson 33, and there are other students who will struggle. If your student has trouble with the long-vowel pronunciation or spelling pattern, consider having him practice first on the short-vowel words. Then, have him read only the long-vowel words. Next, alternate between short- and longvowel words. Reread and respell until your student masters everything in the lesson.