During the Amazing Cape Interlude of 2013, a significant percentage of my class started to use long vowel spelling patterns - specifically, silent e - in their writing.
I was not teaching this; in fact, I don't teach it.
(Why? Silent e is hard conceptually and not enormously useful; I find that kids tend to learn it implicitly for reading by using context clues to read silent e words. Then they start extrapolating it a little in reading; I tend not to see it in writing. Other spelling patterns - r-controlled vowels, ee, and y says e - have been more successful for teaching and learning in my classroom. Open Court teaches silent e; my experience was that about half of the class at best would really get it and start using it. Now that I don't teach Open Court, I have chosen phonics topics that everyone can master - and come to think silent e is not necessarily developmentally appropriate.)
(That said, the Tom Lehrer song "Silent E" is fun.)
So why silent e all of a sudden?
The only place silent e was making an appearance was on capes, because everyone wanted to write SUPER in glitter paint.
Draw your own conclusions, but I know what mine is.
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