L-I-K-E

Silent e.

This is quite an idea and a concept. When we see the e at the end of the word it tells the vowel to say it's name. Like is a great example. We hear the /l/ sound, we know we say long i because the e at the end of the words tells the vowel to say it's name, and the /k/ sound we hear too.

SO why do most kids write liek or lik? It's because we have to teach them this is the way 'like' looks, makes sense, and is. If we say it follows this pattern of "silent e" then why is 'love' with an e and 'have' with an e... (v has a buddy e...) but this is too many rules.

When I teach 'like'... just like all high frequency words, I drill it and kill it. We watch videos, we dance and sing it, but most importantly they write it. They can build it and practice it at word work stations and for homework. But they need to know when they write the word like it is not "lik" or "liek" because it DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT! Get your kids saying that! Empower them.

Adding like to a word wall is a great idea. I add words to word walls (like- in the the picture) using sounds as a color. We hear the l so I make it a color- red. The e connects to the i which is why they are both a color- yellow. We hear the k so I make it another color- green.

Rules are hard to teach and hard to follow. It's best to teach this is the way it looks. Don't try to establish rules, but yet remind them... this is the way it looks for it to make sense. Words need to look right to make sense and to sound right!