Magic E at the Lake
Stars earned in this book
Jane and Dave smile by a sunny lake. Magic E, a friendly purple letter e with a star wand and a wizard hat, floats beside them. A grape cake sits on a picnic blanket.

Grade 1 · English Foundations · Long a with Magic E

Magic E at the Lake

Magic E

Hi! I am Magic E. I am quiet, but I have a big job. Come to the lake with Jane and Dave and find out what I can do!

Today I can…

  • hear and read Magic E words like cape and cake.
  • use he, she, it, we and they in place of a name.
  • read a story about Jane and Dave and answer questions.
  • make and write my own sentence.

Tip: tap any button to listen. Turn pages with the Back and Next buttons, by swiping, or with the arrow keys.

Phonics · Discover

Meet Magic E

  1. 👀 Notice
  2. 👂 Listen
  3. 🤔 Think
  4. 💡 Explain

The Magic E Machine

Pick a word. Tap Add Magic E. Listen to both words.

Words explored: 0 / 6

What do you notice?

Say cap … then cape. Say can … then cane. Did your mouth change?

When Magic E comes to the end, what does the a do?

Explain

Explore 3 words first (0/3), or answer the question.

Phonics · Practice

Blend & Sort

Use the Magic E rule to read new words. Every dot is one sound. The quiet e has no dot!

Blend it

Tap each sound. Then tap Say it fast.

Grown-ups: computer voices can only copy single sounds roughly. Model clean sounds yourself, for example /m/ not “muh”.

Sort it

Tap a word to hear it. Then tap the right basket.

Grammar · Discover

Pronoun Pals

  1. 👀 Notice
  2. 👂 Listen
  3. 🤔 Think
  4. 💡 Explain

Swap the names

Tap Swap. Listen. Which little word takes the place of the name?

Sentences swapped: 0 / 5

Think

What do the pink words do?

Explain

Swap 3 sentences first (0/3), or answer the question.

Pronoun moves

Tap a pal. Listen, say it, and do the move!

Tap a pronoun pal to see its move.

Grammar · Practice

Swap It!

Choose the pronoun that can take the place of the blue words.

Vocabulary & Sight Words

Word Treasure

Tap a card to hear the word and a sentence from our story. Then say it with me!

Magic E words for our story

Heart words

Heart words have a tricky part (♥). We learn that part by heart. Tap to hear, spell, and read each one.

Listen & Find

Decodable Story

Jane and Dave at the Lake

Or tap to hear one sentence, or tap any word.
Show helpers in the story

Think about the story

Production · Your turn

Make a Sentence

Use a pronoun and a Magic E word to tell about the lake day.

Build a sentence

Who?
Did what?
What?

Write your own

    Your writing stays on this device. Nothing is saved or sent.

    Interactive Review

    Magic E Check-Up

    Eight quick questions. If you make a mistake, read the hint and try again. Mistakes help us learn!

    Parent & Teacher Guide

    How to use this book

    This unit teaches one phonics pattern (long a with Magic E), one grammar point (subject pronouns), seven heart words and eight theme words, and then brings them together in one decodable story. It follows Presentation → Practice → Production. Plan two or three short sessions of 15 to 20 minutes.

    Six golden rules

    1. 🔍 1. Don't make children memorize words. Help them discover the rule.Let your child play with the Magic E Machine before you explain anything. Ask, “What do you notice?” and wait. When a child says the rule in their own words, it sticks. This is inductive learning.
    2. 👂 2. Let the child tap, listen and copy.Every word and sentence can be heard with one tap in a clear American English voice. Encourage your child to tap, listen, repeat it aloud, and then read it alone.
    3. 🏃 3. Connect grammar to movement.While reading the story, act out the action words: ran, swim, made a wave, tag, sat, ate. Point while you say pronouns: to yourself for I, to a partner for you, to a group for they.
    4. 💬 4. Ask open questions.“What do you notice?” · “Which letters make this sound?” · “Why did you choose that word?” · “Who is she in this sentence?”
    5. 🌟 5. Praise effort, self-correction and explanation.Not only right answers. Try: “You fixed that yourself!” or “I love how you explained the rule.”
    6. ⏱️ 6. Keep it short, positive and chatty.Stop while your child still wants more. Mistakes are part of learning, and this book never takes points away.

    How the unit works (PPP)

    StagePagesThe child…You…
    Presentation2 Meet Magic E · 4 Pronoun Palsexplores word pairs and sentence swaps, then discovers the ruleask “What do you notice?” before revealing the rule
    Practice3 Blend & Sort · 5 Swap It! · 6 Word Treasureblends sounds, sorts words, chooses pronouns, listens and finds wordsask “How do you know?”
    Production7 Story · 8 Make a Sentencereads the decodable story, acts it out, builds and writes sentencesread together, act out verbs, celebrate the child's own sentence
    Check9 Quizanswers 8 mixed questions with instant feedbackreview the “practice again” suggestions together

    Suggested sessions

    SessionPagesFocus
    1 · about 15 min1–3Discover Magic E, blend and sort. End by asking the child to explain the rule to you.
    2 · about 15 min4–6Pronouns with movement, then theme words and heart words.
    3 · about 20 min7–9Read the story twice: first with “Read to me”, then the child reads. Then create and check.

    Act it out

    WordMoveWordMove
    ranRun in placeI / youPoint to yourself / point to a partner
    made a big waveSweep both arms like a wavehe / she / itPoint to a boy / a girl / a thing
    swimSwimming armswePoint to yourself and a partner
    tagGently tap a shouldertheySweep a hand toward a group
    sat · ateSit down · pretend to eat cake and say “Yum!”

    Common Core alignment

    StandardWhat it meansWhere in the book
    RF.1.2aDistinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken wordsMagic E Machine, Sort It, Quiz 1
    RF.1.2bOrally blend sounds into single-syllable wordsBlend It
    RF.1.3b · RF.1.3cDecode one-syllable words; know final -e conventions for long vowelsPages 2–3, Story, Quiz 2–3
    RF.1.3gRead grade-appropriate irregularly spelled wordsHeart words, Story, Quiz 7
    RF.1.4a · RF.1.4bRead on-level text with purpose, accuracy and expressionStory with “Read to me” and repeated reading
    RL.1.1 · RL.1.3Answer questions about key details, characters and eventsStory questions, Quiz 8
    L.1.1dUse personal pronounsPronoun Pals, Swap It!, Make a Sentence, Quiz 4–5
    L.1.1j · L.1.2b · L.K.2aProduce complete sentences; capitalize the first word; use end punctuationBuild a Sentence, Write Your Own
    L.1.6Use words acquired through reading and being read toWord Treasure, Story

    For Grade 2 learners, use this unit as review or intervention before RF.2.3 work on vowel teams and L.2.1 grammar.

    What makes the story decodable

    The 90-word story uses only: short-vowel words (big, red, bag, sun, ran, tag, sat, yum, has, is), blends and digraphs (went, last, best, swim, then, shade), long a with Magic E (Jane, Dave, lake, came, cake, grape, plate, cape, made, wave, game, ate), the heart words the, to, said, look, was, come, of, and the pronouns he, she, it, we, they. The pronouns are taught on page 4; treat he, she, we and they as heart words for now. Note: come ends in a quiet e but is not a Magic E word, which is a great “Why?” conversation.

    Technical notes

    Works in any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox) on phones, tablets and computers. No internet in your classroom? Download the offline copy (one file, about 0.9 MB) and open it in any browser. Sound uses the device's built-in text-to-speech; an American English (en-US) voice is chosen automatically when available. Change the voice and speed under ⚙️ Sound. If no voice is available, read the words aloud yourself. Nothing plays until the child taps. Stars and progress are saved only on this device. The book needs no account and does not send children's answers, writing or names anywhere.

    ⚙️ Sound & display

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