How To Teach the Drop E Rule?

The ‘dropping e’ rule, presents a unique challenge to both educators and learners. This rule, crucial for spelling and pronunciation, dictates when the letter ‘e’ at the end of a word should be dropped before adding a suffix starting with a vowel.

Teaching the Drop E Rule involves explaining its use in modifying words by dropping the final ‘e’ before adding vowel-starting suffixes. To teach the rule use clear examples, interactive activities, word pairing games, and contextual exercises. Emphasize exceptions and practice to reinforce understanding.

Our article aims to equip teachers and parents with practical strategies and help for understanding and teaching this rule, ensuring that their children and students not only grasp it but also apply it confidently in their language use.

What is the Drop E Rule?

The ‘dropping e’ rule in English spelling is a guideline for modifying words when adding suffixes.

Specifically, when a suffix starting with a vowel (such as -ing, -ed, -able, or -ous) is added, the final ‘e’ of the base word is usually dropped.

This rule is crucial because it helps maintain the original pronunciation of the word’s root.

For example, when ‘hope’ changes to ‘hoping’, dropping the ‘e’ keeps the long ‘o’ sound consistent.

However, it’s important to note that this rule primarily applies when the final ‘e’ is silent in the base word.

The purpose is to avoid having two vowels adjacent to each other, which could potentially be confused for a vowel team and change the pronunciation and even the meaning of the word.

We have some examples of the Drop E Rule in the table below.

Table of Dropping E Rule Examples

Base Word	Suffix	Transformed Word
hope	-ing	hoping
write	-ing	writing
make	-ing	making
use	-able	usable
care	-ful	careful
love	-ing	loving
save	-ing	saving
excite	-ment	excitement
argue	-ment	argument
complete	-ion	completion
dance	-ing	dancing
rate	-ing	rating
close	-ure	closure
define	-ing	defining
notice	-able	noticeable

You can also use this handout to give students or display in the classroom

Step-by-Step Teaching Approach

Introducing the Drop E rule: Starting Simple

• Begin with familiar, simple words where the dropping e rule is clearly illustrated.
• For instance, start with words like ‘hope’, ‘make’, and ‘write’.
• Use visual aids to show the transformation: ‘hope’ to ‘hoping’, ‘make’ to ‘making’, ‘write’ to ‘writing’.

Mini Lesson Plan: Introducing Drop E to students

• Objective: Understand the basic concept of the dropping e rule.
• Activity:
  • Present a list of simple base words and their transformed forms with suffixes.
  • Discuss why the ‘e’ is dropped and how it affects pronunciation.
  • Interactive whiteboard activity where students match base words to their correct transformed versions.

Explaining the Rationale

Emphasize the phonics reason behind the rule:

maintaining the vowel sound of the base word.

For example, explain how dropping the ‘e’ in ‘hope’ keeps the long ‘o’ sound in ‘hoping’.

You can also teach along side the double consonant rule if you feel it is appropriate at this stage as well. Where Hopping would be a short vowel sound.

Building on the Basics

Once students are comfortable with simple examples, introduce more complex words.

Gradually bring in words where the rule might not be as intuitive or as straightforward for them,

like ‘dye’ becoming ‘dyeing’ or ‘tinge’ becoming ‘tinged’.

Mini Lesson Plan: Advancing Complexity

• Objective: Apply the dropping e rule to more complex words and understand its exceptions.
• Activity:
  • Group discussion on more complex words that follow and don’t follow the rule.
  • Worksheet where students convert words into their correct forms, with focus on exceptions.
  • Create sentences using both regular and exception forms to reinforce understanding.

Making sure Students Remember the Drop ‘E’ Rule

• Reinforce the rule through various exercises.
• Use fill-in-the-blank activities, spelling bees, and writing exercises.
• Encourage students to identify and correct misapplications of the rule in written passages.

Mini Lesson Plan: Consolidation

• Objective: Solidify understanding of the dropping e rule and its exceptions.
• Activity:
  • Spelling quiz focusing on both regular and exception cases.
  • Peer review exercise: students exchange short essays, identifying and discussing the use of the rule in each other’s writing.
  • Creative writing prompt where students must use a set number of words that apply the dropping e rule.

Handling Exceptions

Teach that English is rich (too rich!) with exceptions.

Introduce words where the ‘e’ is not dropped, like ‘noticeable’ or ‘manageable‘.

Explain that in these cases, dropping the ‘e’ would significantly change the pronunciation. We have a more detailed section including a table for exceptions below.

Interactive Teaching Activities

Word Pairing Games

• Create activities where students match base words with their correct transformed versions.
• For instance, pairing ‘hope’ with ‘hoping’.
• This can be done as a classroom competition, in small groups, or as an individual exercise.

Fill-in-the-Blank Exercises

• Use sentences with missing words, where students must fill in the blanks with the correct form of a given word.
• This not only tests their understanding of the dropping e rule but also their grasp of context and word usage.

Group Discussions and Exploration

• Encourage group discussions about why the rule is applied in certain words and not others.
• This can lead to deeper exploration and understanding, as students explain their reasoning and learn from peers.

Rhyme and Transform

• In this activity, students work in pairs or small groups. They are given a set of rhyming base words, some of which need the dropping e rule applied when transformed.
• The task is to create a list of transformed words that maintain the rhyme scheme. For example, ‘bake’ and ‘take’ could become ‘baking’ and ‘taking’.
• This activity helps students understand how the dropping e rule can affect word rhyming and rhythm in poetry and songs.

Spelling Bee Variation

• Conduct a spelling bee that specifically focuses on words that require the application of the dropping e rule.
• Call out the base form of a word and ask the student to spell it in its transformed form, applying the rule. For example, say “drive” and the student must spell “driving”.
• This public speaking activity encourages quick thinking and reinforces students’ ability to apply the rule under pressure.

Creative Writing Challenge

• Assign a creative writing task where students must use a specific number of words that apply the dropping e rule in their story or essay.
• Encourage creativity by allowing any genre or topic, but require that the dropping e rule is correctly applied in their writing.
• After completion, students can share their work and discuss how the inclusion of these specific words affected their writing style and word choices.

Visual Aids and Resources for Drop ‘E’ Rule

Creating Engaging Visuals
Utilize visual aids like charts and diagrams that clearly depict the dropping e rule in action. Colorful visuals showing before-and-after versions of words can be particularly effective. These can be used as posters in the classroom or as handouts for individual study.

Leveraging Technology
Incorporate technology by using educational apps and online resources that offer interactive exercises on spelling rules. These digital tools can provide immediate feedback and a variety of examples, making the learning experience more dynamic.

Assessment and Reinforcement of the Drop ‘E’ Spelling

Evaluating Understanding
Regular quizzes and spelling tests can assess students’ grasp of the dropping e rule. Include a mix of straightforward examples and more challenging words to test their application of the rule in various contexts.

Ongoing Practice
For reinforcement, integrate the rule into daily writing exercises. Encourage students to be mindful of the rule during journaling or creative writing tasks. Regular exposure in different formats ensures that the rule becomes a natural part of their spelling knowledge.

Exceptions to the Drop ‘E’ Rule.

Teaching Exceptions to the Drop E Rule

Understanding that rules in English often have exceptions is crucial for students.

While the dropping e rule is widely applicable, there are notable exceptions that they should be aware of.

Introduce words where the dropping e rule does not apply.

For instance, ‘noticeable’ ‘agreeable’ and ‘peaceable’ retain their ‘e’ to preserve the soft ‘c’ soft ‘g’ and ‘s’ sounds.

These exceptions are not random but follow their own logic, often related to maintaining the original sound of the base word.

Exploring the Reasons Behind Exceptions

Discuss the reasons behind these exceptions.

For example, in ‘peaceable’, dropping the ‘e’ would change the soft ‘c’ to a hard sound (‘peacable’), altering the word’s pronunciation.

Understanding these reasons helps students grasp the complexity and richness of English spelling, and will help them keep their confidence up knowing that there are exceptions to almost all English Language rules.

Table of Drop ‘E’ Rule Exceptions

Base Word	Expected Form	Actual Form	Reason for Exception
notice	noticable	noticeable	Retains ‘e’ to preserve soft ‘c’
peace	peacable	peaceable	Retains ‘e’ to keep soft ‘c’ sound
argue	arguable	arguable	‘u’ is not a vowel in this context
true	truely	truly	Historical spelling convention
whole	wholey	wholly	Historical spelling convention
awe	awing	awing	‘e’ is kept to maintain pronunciation
dye	dying	dyeing	To distinguish from ‘dying’
singe	singeing	singeing	To distinguish from ‘singing’

There are of course many many more, but these highlight some of the more common.

Conclusion

Learning the drop ‘e’ rule is an important step in improving English spelling. Through a combination of clear explanations, engaging activities, and regular practice, teacher and parents can help their students get the hang of this tricky rule in no time!

FAQs on the Drop E Rule

1. What is the Drop E Rule?

• The Drop E Rule in English spelling is a guideline that suggests dropping the final ‘e’ in a word when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, such as -ing, -ed, or -able. This helps in maintaining the pronunciation of the base word.

2. Can you give examples of the Drop E Rule?

• Sure! For example, ‘hope’ becomes ‘hoping’, not ‘hopeing’, and ‘make’ becomes ‘making’, not ‘makeing’. The final ‘e’ is dropped to add the suffix.

3. Are there exceptions to the Drop E Rule?

• Yes, there are exceptions. Words like ‘noticeable’ and ‘peaceable’ retain the final ‘e’ to preserve the soft ‘c’ and ‘s’ sounds. Other exceptions include ‘arguable’ and ‘dyeing’.

4. Is the Drop E Rule used in both British and American English?

• Generally, yes. The Drop E Rule is followed in both British and American English. However, there might be slight variations in spelling for other rules or words between the two dialects.

5. How does the Drop E Rule affect pronunciation?

• Dropping the final ‘e’ often maintains the long vowel sound in the base word. For instance, in ‘hope’, dropping the ‘e’ in ‘hoping’ keeps the long ‘o’ sound.

6. Why is it important to teach the Drop E Rule?

• Teaching the Drop E Rule is important for accurate spelling and pronunciation. It helps students understand why certain changes occur in words when transforming them, especially when forming different tenses or adjectives.

7. Do any spelling rules conflict with the Drop E Rule?

• Generally, the Drop E Rule works cohesively with other spelling rules. However, understanding its exceptions is key, as they can sometimes seem to conflict with the expected application of the rule.

8. How can educators effectively teach the Drop E Rule?

• Educators can effectively teach the rule through a combination of clear explanations, examples, interactive activities, and regular practice. Emphasizing both the rule and its exceptions is crucial for comprehensive understanding.

Additional Resources

• https://www.lexialearningresources.com/athome/core5/ll/structural-analysis/LL_SA_Spelling_Rule_Drop_e_Lesson_2.pdf
• https://www.theliteracynest.com/2022/11/tips-for-teaching-the-drop-e-rule.html
• https://smartandspecialteaching.com/spelling-with-the-drop-e-rule/
• https://thisreadingmama.com/the-e-drop-rule/