3rd grade the drop-e rule worksheets
Third graders drop the e without thinking and navigate the pairs where the drop-e word has a doubled twin: hoping and hopping, taping and tapping. Context picks the word; the rule picks the spelling.
Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.3.2.e.
A new sheet every click.
The kind of sentences you'll fix
Put the pieces together and write the whole word on the line.
-
bare + ly =
Fixed: barely
- write + ing =
- melt + ing =
Every print pulls a fresh set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.
What's on each sheet
- Fix it. Put the pieces together and write the whole word on the line. 8 sentences to fix per page.
- Choose the word. Circle the letter of the correct spelling. 10 questions per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Pair this sheet with the doubling rule and let the twins meet: hoping needs the dropped e, hopping needs the doubled p, and the vowel sound tells them apart. A child who can explain why "wipping" fails both rules has genuinely mastered the system, not memorized the words.
Watch for: The e isn't deleted forever; it returns when the ending starts with a consonant: hopeful, careless. Bakeing and rideing are never correct; in words like these, the e yields to -ing.
Common questions about the drop-e rule
- How is "hoping" different from "hopping"?
- Different base words wearing different rules. Hope drops its e: hoping, long o. Hop doubles its p: hopping, short o. The vowel sound is the audible clue, and the sentence's meaning is the final judge. These pairs are favorite test items precisely because both spellings are real.
- My child spells it "takeing." How do I fix it?
- The error means the base word is spelled correctly and the rule just hasn't attached yet, which is good news. Have them write the base, physically cross out the e, then add -ing, for a handful of verbs a day. The crossing-out gesture builds the habit faster than corrections after the fact.
Related worksheets
- 2nd grade the drop-e rule A step easier, same skill
- 3rd grade spelling words Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade the doubling rule Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade the y-to-i rule Same grade, nearby skill
- The drop-e rule, all grades The full progression
- All 3rd grade English worksheets Every skill at this level
- All 3rd grade worksheets Everything at this level
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Aligned to Common Core L.3.2.e. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 137, updated August 2026.
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