I love teaching magic-e to the kids. There are so many fun activities you can do with the multisensories for these lessons. 

The simplest magic-e activity is with our magic-e wand. If you haven't purchased one yet, you could make your own using glitter pipe cleaners. The pipe cleaners will not give the "magical" chime when waved like the metal magic-e wand does, but it is a great and cost-effective way to give your entire class a magic-e wand. Start out with the whole class showing examples of  CVC words (mat, tap, cut), then use your magic-e wand to transform the words with the magic-e (mate, tape, cute). Then provide your class with their own pipe cleaners to make their own magic-e wand pencil toppers (I would remove the red glitter pipe cleaners and reserve them for teaching a red word lesson). 

Now, invite four children up to the front of the class to hold cards from your card pack. (I usually give the four kids doing the demo a pile of cards - beginning sounds person would have a lot of single consonants as well as beginning blends - vowel person would have all five short vowels - and the ending sound person would have several single consonants like: p, m, n, t, b, and d. The magic-e person is placed at the end of the word and holds the card while slowly turning around and around. When magic-e faces away from the word, the other students change their cards and the audience says the short vowel syllable. When the magic-e faces the crowd and completes the magic-e syllable, the students wave their wands and say the new (long vowel) syllable.

Here are a few other ideas and games for teaching Magic-e:

The students could also be encouraged to wave their own personal wands during dictation.

They could use their wands to go on a magic-e hunt of things around the room that have magic-e.

They could do a charades game where their fellow students would have to guess what the magic-e word was they were acting out (they have to include their wand in the movement): wave, cave, hide, robe, kite, cane, slide, time, plane, and note.

The students could also wave their magic-e wands as you play Simon Says: Simon Says.....bite (they wave their wands); Simon Says.....clap (they hold their wands still). The students need to recognize the long sound of the vowel and that it will be a magic-e.

Do you have ideas, activities and tips to teach magic-e? Please share them!