75. Ms. Thom, a third-grade teacher, is designing for her class a spelling lesson on adding a suffix to words that end with the silent letter “e.” Ms. Thom would like to demonstrate a silent letter “e” pattern by first showing base words and then the new words to students, hoping they can discover the pattern along with her. To demonstrate, Ms. Thom selects the following words. Which of the following rules is Ms. Thom demonstrating with these words?
Answer: B
Ms. Thom is demonstrating the rule of dropping the silent “e” before adding a vowel suffix.
In her lesson, Ms. Thom is focusing on how base words that end with a silent “e” change when a vowel suffix is added; specifically, the silent “e” is dropped in this process.
A) Keeping the silent “e” when adding a vowel suffix
This option is incorrect because Ms. Thom is illustrating the opposite rule. When adding a vowel suffix to words that end with a silent “e,” the silent “e” is not retained; it is dropped to form the new word.
B) Dropping the silent “e” before adding a vowel suffix
This option is correct as it accurately reflects the rule that Ms. Thom is demonstrating. When a suffix that begins with a vowel is added to a base word ending in a silent “e,” the silent “e” is omitted. This is a common spelling convention that helps in phonetic pronunciation.
C) Dropping the silent “e” when adding any suffix
While this option suggests dropping the silent “e,” it is incorrect because it generalizes the rule to all suffixes. The silent “e” is specifically retained when adding certain consonant suffixes, making this statement misleading.
D) Keeping the silent “e” when adding any suffix
This option is also incorrect because it contradicts the specific rule being demonstrated. Ms. Thom is showing that the silent “e” is not kept when adding a vowel suffix, thus this statement is inaccurate.
Conclusion
Ms. Thom’s demonstration focuses on the specific rule of dropping the silent “e” when a vowel suffix is added, which is correctly represented by option B. Options A, C, and D fail to accurately describe this spelling pattern, confirming that B is the definitive correct choice.