Why don't we use 'magic e' any more?

[Pozzled]

And is it a problem if my child is taught in that way? I'm not very impressed (especially when I've already taught her 'split digraph') but want to know if it really matters.

using magic e though move would be m oh ve

our language has so many exceptions for everything. you could write an exception to every rule and incorporate it into some sort of official teaching methodology I am sure but in real terms there are just some exceptions you have to learn or try more than one strategy

I guess that's why the magic e doesn't work.

I don't think magic e was ever envisaged as a cast iron rule. I think it's just supposed to be a neat and clever way of introducing the fact to young children that a lot of words which end in e sound different from the way they would have sounded without the e at the end. Just like the cow didn't really jump over the moon and there is no tooth fairy.

Then the split digraph doesn't work either.

No TravelinColour the is the spelling for the /oo/ in move and prove and lose the o-e doesn't represent the oo sound

But the split diagraph way means its easier to have "exceptions to the rule" I think...

The problem DD had with the magic e (last year) was that she was fine with words like late, gate, make etc etc but when the e was not at the end of the word (as it was shown on alphablocks) she found it tougher ie later, maker etc.

I don't think she would have struggled with this (at the time) if she had been taught a/e o/e etc...

It doesn't advance the thread in any way but I have to say when I read threads about reading I have no idea what people are talking about with all this terminology. Is everyone on this thread a teacher because I don't know any parent who uses this kind of terminology.

I think we need to get away from the idea of rules

simpsin in later and maker the letter represents the sound /ai/ the sounds are /l/ /ai/ /t/ /er/ /m/ /ai/ /k/ /er/

No one needs to use the terminology Chubfuddler it's far easier to talk about sounds and their spellings.

Oh is it not a/e sound in later then?

Chub - I am not a teacher and my understanding of phonics is basic

'fraid not simpson

It's not ignorant

late
hate
mate
crate

I can't think of too many incarnations of the English digraph ae
sundae
Latin has a couple!

Apologies for a silly question but I'm sure I heard/read somewhere that 'when two vowels go walking, the first does the talking'.

Is this used? Have I dreamt it up? It seems to make sense but not sure if it's considered to be at all useful.

I just thought it was
Late r
Make r
Like s
Make s
Hate s

Etc etc...

You learn something new every day

Bean - that's the magic e.

Some people say it and others point out all the times that it fails to work. But English is a language in which you get a full time job pointing out when rules fail.

No magic E for us either, I've just taught mine it.

Magic, magic eeeeeee magic magic eeee. Pin becomes pine with me, din becomes dine with me, see what you do with me, I'm magic, magic E, magic magic eeeeeee.

Wordy anyone?

Thank you!

Apologies for a silly question but I'm sure I heard/read somewhere that 'when two vowels go walking, the first does the talking'.

It's from the Jolly Phonics book but there are too many words where it isn't true for it to be useful

Think break and bread etc

simpson it is
likes and hates and makes but not in later and maker and paper etc

I think part of the problem for ae as a recognisable digraph in English/Old English (not Latin where two distinct letters are now being used) is that in English the ligature Ash has most often been replaced by a single e.

^Apologies for a silly question but I'm sure I heard/read somewhere that 'when two vowels go walking, the first does the talking'.

Is this used? Have I dreamt it up? It seems to make sense but not sure if it's considered to be at all useful.^

You have heard it; you didn't dream it, but it is nonsense. Only works 50% of the time so totally useless.