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© On the Mark Press • S&S Learning Materials 1 OTM-1817 • SSR1-17 Spelling Gr. 4

Spelling

Grade 4

Written by Margot Southall

Illustrated by Sean Parkes and Ric Ward

ISBN 1-55035-583-X

Copyright 1999

Revised January 2007

All Rights Reserved * Printed in Canada

Permission to Reproduce

Permission is granted to the individual teacher who purchases one copy of this book to reproduce the student activity material for use in

his/her classroom only. Reproduction of these materials for an entire school or for a school system, or for other colleagues or for commercial

sale is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording

or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. “We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada

through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for this project.”

Published in Canada by:

S&S Learning Materials

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Napanee, Ontario

K7R 1M4

www.sslearning.com

Published in the United States by:

On the Mark Press

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Niagara Falls, New York

14305

www.onthemarkpress.com


Section 1: Teacher Guide• Instructional Approach ................................................................................................................ 3

• Implementation of the Program .................................................................................................. 3

• Teaching Tip ................................................................................................................................ 3

• Word List ..................................................................................................................................... 3

• Introducing the Skill Activities ................................................................................................... 4

• Applying the Skill Exercises ....................................................................................................... 4

• Independent Practice Exercises ................................................................................................... 4

• Challenge Words: Syllabication Skills ....................................................................................... 5

• Review Activities ......................................................................................................................... 6

• Spelling Through Writing: Cue Cards, “Have a Go” Book, Spelling Journal,

Proofreading Checklist ................................................................................................................ 6

• Modified Programming - Remediation and Enrichment ............................................................ 7

• Assessment: Self-Corrected Testing Procedure; Scoring Student Spelling;

Recognizing Individual Progress; Error Analysis; Writing Records .......................................... 9

• Recording Student Development .............................................................................................. 11

• Expected Learning Outcomes; Placement and Review Tests ................................................... 12

• Tracking and Assessment Forms ............................................................................................... 13

• Scope and Sequence of Skills, Test Scores ............................................................................... 18Section 2: Thirty Six Unit Teaching Plans ................................................................................................... 19

Section 3: Introductory Activities ................................................................................................................. 69

Section 4: Independent Practice Exercises ................................................................................................... 73

Section 5: Review Activities ......................................................................................................................... 83

Section 6: Take Home Lists .......................................................................................................................... 87

Section 7: Forms for Activities and Games .................................................................................................. 93

Table of Contents


Teacher Guide Section 1

• Independent Practice Exercises

• Challenge Words

• Review Activities

• Assessment

• Teaching Tip

• Word List

• Introducing the Skill Activities

• Applying the Skills Exercises

Instructional Approach:

Recent analysis of the English language has determined that approximately 50% of words have perfectsound/symbol correspondence and 37% are predictable based on recurring structural patterns and rules. Theremaining 13% of our words do not have complete phonetic correspondence and must be learned through visualmemory as well. This program applies an integrated, phonetic, structural analysis and visual approach to spelling.Emphasis is placed upon recognition of patterns and classification of words according to their auditory andsemantic features. Word lists have been chosen that support these spelling patterns, in addition to words that arefrequently used in the written vocabulary of Grade Four students. To meet the diverse needs of students in anyone classroom, extensive remediation and enrichment activities are provided to facilitate individual programming.Assessment tools include error analysis forms for the teacher and student, in addition to cumulative records ofspelling development.

Implementation of the Program:

The instructional contexts include teacher directed discussion, whole group, small group and independentapplications. To build upon individual learning styles, the students’ attention is focused on the use of visual,auditory, kinesthetic and tactile strategies that are designed to ensure retention of modeled skills and vocabulary.The Unit Teaching Plan for each of the thirty-six units illustrates this in a concise format. This format may beadapted to a five, four or three day plan to suit timetabling requirements. A full description and pictorialrepresentation of each introductory, independent and review spelling exercise is in Sections 3, 4 and 5.

Each Weekly Teaching Plan consists of the:

t

save

late

rain

wait stay

�1. Teaching Tip:

Information regarding the phonetic, grapho-visual and semantic features is provided for the teacher underTeaching Tip. This allows the spelling pattern or principle to be modeled and explained to the students. Examplesare provided for whole group teaching.

clock

nature

worries

brushes

1 Teacher Guide


Section 1 Teacher Guide

2. Word List:

The vocabulary used in the lists represents spelling patterns and principles that may be categorized by thestudents according to their key features, in addition to high frequency vocabulary. These high utility words areindicated with a star (*). Many of these words cannot be completely encoded phonetically and need to be rememberedthrough visual memory. By selecting Independent Practice Activities that address the visual modality, such as WordPyramids, teachers will assist students in the long term retention of these irregular spellings. To meet the diverseneeds of the students in any one classroom, several levels of vocabulary may be presented for study. The first beingthe core list, the second the challenge words and the third optional format outlined in the Remediation section of theTeacher Guide. The Placement Tests in this section are designed to assist teachers in determining the appropriatelevel of word study for each student.

3. Introducing the Skill Activities:

Appropriate teaching strategies to introduce the skill are described in each unit. These include activities thatspecifically target the unit skill, as well as general introductory exercises that are described in full in Section 3. Theteacher may follow the suggested unit activities or choose from any one of the general introductory activitiesprovided in Section 3 of the program. An inductive or deductive approach is used to introduce the new concept,followed by activities that provide students with an opportunity to explore sound/symbol, structure and meaningrelationships.

4. Applying the Skill Exercises:

These exercises are designed to relate specifically to the skill presented in the introductory activities. Thewhole group exercises provide opportunity for students to develop understanding and gain proficiency in this skill.Applying the Skill exercises are fully explained in each unit.

5. Independent Practice Exercises:

Flexibility for the teacher and motivating choices for the students are provided through multisensoryIndependent Practice Exercises. These classroom-tested activities are designed to ensure the highest rate ofstudent success and long term retention of skills through incorporating auditory, visual and kinesthetic-tactileexperiences. Within each unit, independent activities are listed that provide opportunity to reinforce and extendstudent application of the target skill. A full description and model of each activity is found in Section 4. ThePractice Exercises may be used solely for teacher reference, as activity cards or displayed on a bulletin board as avisual reminder for students. A teacher may also choose some of the practice exercises for small group orlanguage center activities. In this way the program provides for flexibility in implementation. The simple languageand illustrations used in the exercises are designed to be student friendly, as well as providing a clear model forteachers. It is expected that students will use a notebook to record their spelling activities. Teachers may modelpage layout using the example illustrated in each of the practice exercises. Forms required for some of theindependent exercises are also included in Section 7.

Once the teacher has modeled a practice exercise, it may be listed by name on the chalkboard forsubsequent spelling sessions and independent practice, with a simple sketch beside it as a visual reminder ifnecessary. For example:



Spelling Exercises

1. Building a Pyramid2. Memory Clues3. Synonyms4. Dictionary Definitions

6. Challenge Words:

Syllabication skills are modeled and reinforced throughout the program with multisyllable challenge words.The students write syllables in sequence to form a dictated word and are involved in self-monitoring through theimmediate correction of errors. Challenge exercises consist of multisyllable words that contain the sound segmentand/or require application of the spelling principle. Segmentation and oral blending are two essential phonemicawareness skills. Students who have difficulty with spelling in the upper grades often omit syllables or represent themincorrectly. Through this activity you are developing their phonemic awareness skills and preparing them for a higherdevelopmental stage of spelling. A number of challenge words are provided, so that some may also be used as aword list for students requiring enrichment opportunities.

Format for Challenge Words Activity:

1. Orally introduce the challenge word without a written reference in the form of a riddle related to its meaning orstructure. This may require several clues before a correct student response.

2. Have students clap the syllables they hear in the word with you as they slowly articulate them. Ask students toidentify the number of syllables in the word.

3. Request that students record possible spellings for the word in the Challenge Word or Have a Go section oftheir notebooks against the left margin, leaving space for the correct version. Invite the sharing of student spellingattempts and record each one on the chalkboard. Record at least four versions underneath each other, with thesyllables aligned in columns if possible.

4. Focus on the easiest syllable first and underline each version of this syllable offered by the students i.e. eachrepresentation of that syllable in all of the words. This means you may not proceed in sequential order through theword. Take a class vote or simply identify the correct version of the syllable. Proceed to the next hardestsyllable, ending with the most challenging to spell.

5. When the last correct syllable has been identified and the challenge word revealed, focus on more detailed aspectsof this word, such as the number of vowels. Point out that each syllable must contain at least one vowel. You maywish to focus on further spelling elements within the word. Complete the activity by having students record thecorrect version next to their attempt in their notebook.

Example: in cred a ble am in alin cred i ble an a malin cred ble an i malin cred a bel an i mel



7. Review Activities:

Review opportunities for each unit include spelling games and activities for the whole class and pairs ofstudents, as well as independent practice. A complete description and examples of these can be found in Section5. Forms required for some of the review activities, such as spelling games, are found in Section 7. Someexamples of review activities include: Proofreading, Wordo Game and Extended Dictation. Regular review ofspelling patterns and principles can be introduced through choosing representative vocabulary from each unit to beused for cumulative review and testing. For example, every four units you may wish to review the skills taughtup to that point by presenting three or four words from each unit in the form of Independent (Section 4) andReview Activities (Section 5), then having a quiz. The Take Home Lists in Section 7 can be used for home studypurposes, group work or independent classroom practice.

Spelling Through Writing:

Spelling is a skill that applies throughout the curriculum. By providing opportunities for students to integrateboth meaning and structural knowledge, both will develop simultaneously. There are many possible formats fordeveloping spelling skills through writing: menus, riddles, newspaper articles, advertisements, tongue twisters,recipes, tall tales, conversations (dialogues), poetry, letters, questionnaires, play scripts, report, descriptive andnarrative writing.

The following strategies are suggested to assist students in transferring their spelling skills to the writingcontext.

• Spelling Cue Chart: To assist students in developing self-monitoring strategies and increase risk taking inspelling, discuss the following list of steps to complete when spelling an unfamiliar word. Provide each studentwith a copy of the cue card in Section 7 for reference during writing time:

1. Say the word slowly2. Listen for each syllable and count them3. Think of other words with the same sounds, letter patterns and meaning4. Try spelling the word two or three ways and choose the one that looks right5. Check the spelling with a dictionary

• “Have a Go Book”: As a follow up to the cue card, provide students with an exercise book in which they canrecord their attempts to spell words. These can be recorded in three columns, with the first two being their twoattempts and the third the correct spelling. The word can then be added to their personal dictionary. You may wishthem to use the back of the book for this purpose and the front as a spelling journal.

• Spelling Journal: This is where students will record spelling patterns and connections they have observed intheir reading and writing, practice new words and record any problems they encountered. To address “spellingdemons”, a format of three columns can be used, where the first one includes the Words to Learn (causingdifficulty), the second column their Key Features and the third a Memory Aid or way they can remember thespelling. They may also record words related by meaning, words that are interesting, unusual or theme related.These may be added to the class list for practice. The spelling journal provides a context to practice wordanalysis and self-monitoring skills, as students record questions they have about spelling for future class discussion.The spelling journal is also an excellent opportunity to review what has been learned and engage students inestablishing goals for future learning. Suggested headings for unit reviews include: What I Have Learned (know),What I Want to Learn and What I Am Not Sure About.



• Magic Line: To encourage risk taking in writing, encourage students to draw a line or space when they areunsure of the specific letters or sound segment. For example, because could be represented as bec__s. Thespaces can then be completed by a peer or teacher when the student has completed their piece of writing. In thisway, fluency and creativity is not inhibited and the student is encouraged to extend themselves in their writing.

• Personal Dictionary: By recording the words they use often in their daily writing activities, students will build upa word bank of familiar vocabulary that has meaning for them. A reproducible personal dictionary is availablefrom the publisher. Alternatively, a notebook can be alphabetized.

• Proofreading Errors: The ability to proofread requires continual modeling of self-monitoring strategies.Teachers need to verbalize this process as they edit a passage on the chalkboard or overhead and pose thefollowing questions:

• How do I know if it is wrong?• What confused me when I spelled this word?• How do I correct the spelling?

• Locating Errors: Some students will have difficulty locating errors. Provide a series of steps for them to follow.For example:

• Use a ruler to guide your proofreading for each line of the text.• Start at the bottom and proofread line by line up to the top of the page or proofread by checking

from right to left (this helps overcome the tendency to “read” from memory and prediction cuesrather than attending closely to each word in isolation).

• Underline words you are not sure of.• Check each syllable. Have you recorded each one?• Try spelling the word two or three ways and decide on the best one.• Use a dictionary or ask someone to proofread your spelling.

Modified Programming: Remediation and Enrichment

Remediation:

Implementing Developmentally Appropriate Programming:

Spelling is a developmental process. In any one class there will be students who represent a range ofdevelopmental levels. To assist each student to progress to their next developmental stage, it is essential thatprogramming be provided at their instructional or functioning level, rather than grade expectations. The vocabularypresented in lessons needs to correspond to their reading level and address skills they are “using but confusing”, such asa misuse of silent or marker-e. For example, writing bote for boat demonstrates a readiness for the direct teaching ofthis skill. To meet the needs of students whose spelling represents an earlier stage of development, the teacher maychoose to provide the program at an earlier grade level. The consistent format and flexible components of this spellingseries enable teachers to achieve this with a minimum of additional preparation.



Identifying Individual Needs:

Students experiencing difficulty in spelling may not have developed automaticity in hearing and recording lettersounds in sequence or recognize key features of words, such as phonetic, visual, semantic and derivational relationships.The development of these skills is often best addressed through the modeling of word analysis and self-monitoringstrategies supported by tactile experiences. The error analysis procedures described under Assessment provide usefultools for the teacher and student to identify specific areas of weakness for remediation. A pattern of recurring errors,such as phonetic substitutions for irregular spellings and confusions due to incorrect pronunciation clearly illustrates thestrategies neglected and the focus for individual practice.

Instructional Strategies:

The following remediation activities are suggested to address modified programming requirements:

• Modified Word List: The Placement Tests in this section are designed to identify students who require amodified word list for study. The word list with each unit can easily be modified by either reducing the number ofwords presented or providing representative vocabulary of lesser complexity. Students who are experiencingdifficulty achieve mastery more consistently when only presented with one to three words to practice in a session,instead of all the list words at once. Students achieve mastery when they can correctly spell the word in threeconsecutive peer dictations. Once these words are mastered, the next set is provided. The second optioninvolves selecting words that illustrate the Skill Focus, but that contain fewer challenges in terms of soundsegments or number of syllables. By choosing less challenging words and reducing the number required formastery, you are incorporating both program modifications. Approximately 50% of our words are spelled witheither short vowels or use the marker-e, so these two areas are important. Words with diphthongs (oi, oy, ou,ow), r-controlled vowels, contractions and homophones usually pose the most difficulty and require additionalpractice.

• Kinesthetic/Tactile Reinforcements: Spelling requires remembering the sequence of a series of movements(visual-sequential memory) in order to form words. Automaticity in writing facilitates spelling by enabling thestudent to concentrate on the spelling of the word and the sentence structure, rather than on the physical processof forming the letters. To assist the student to develop automaticity in writing the word, have them focus on thephysical sensation of forming the word by using their finger on their desk or chalkboard (not in the air). By“feeling” the word this way, they are more likely to remember the sequence of letters. This is similar to developingtouch typing skills. Modeling and practicing handwriting forms and having a handwriting guide on the desk is alsohelpful.

• Analyzing Errors: The self-correction and analysis of error patterns is an important learning opportunity forstudents. The Self-Correcting Errors and Error Analysis forms are described in full under Assessment in thissection.

• Word Sorts: The word sort introductory activity provides a tactile basis for recognizing and applying spellinggeneralizations. By classifying words according to sound, structure and meaning, students will be able torecognize and articulate a spelling generalization that will enable them to spell further words through analogy.

• Word Games: It is important that students experiencing difficulty are provided with a number of differentcontexts in which to experiment with language. The games in Section 5 are easily adapted to be less competitiveby making them into a team or paired format and recognizing each attempt.



• Spelling Cue Chart (see Spelling Through Writing)

• Visualization Exercise (see Review Activities)

• Spelling Study Card (see Review Activities)

• Magic Line (see Spelling Through Writing)

• Personal Dictionary (see Spelling Through Writing)

• Spelling Journal (see Spelling Through Writing)

Enrichment:

In addition to challenge words, a spelling through writing approach can provide a variety of enrichmentopportunities. Teachers may also choose to provide the next level in the spelling series to meet the needs of students at amore advanced stage.

Activities that allow for enrichment include:

• Word Webs: Students brainstorm and record a semantic web centering on a list word. Words may be related onthe basis of sound, structure or meaning. A thesaurus is a useful tool for this activity. Compare word webs ofdifferent students in a group sharing session.

• Memory Aids - Word Jokes and Silly Expressions: Ask students to create one of these that would helpothers to remember the spelling of the word. This is a mnemonic strategy or memory aid. Example: a friend tothe end, dessert has two s’s because you want two, RU cold in February?

• Spelling Journal: A journal provides an ongoing context for recording discoveries, words of interest andquestions for class discussion (see Spelling Through Writing).

• Writing Connections: By writing alliterative sentences, riddles, poems, newspaper articles, advertisements andletters that require application of specific spelling skills students are able to extend their skills in a relevant context.

• Spelling Games: The games in Section 5 provide a variety of formats for extending student knowledge. Youmay wish students to create a word bingo of the list words, wordsearch, crossword puzzle or board gamerequiring correct oral spelling of the target words.

• Bonus Challenge Words: The challenge words provided in each unit may be extended to include furthermultisyllabic words that require application of the spelling principle or are based on current Science or SocialStudies topics. Students may also choose to study words of interest to them.

Assessment:

The use of a spelling journal, “Have A Go Book”, pieces of unedited writing and tests will provide the teacherwith a basis for assessing students’ spelling development. The assessment procedures and forms in this section providetools for both teacher tracking of individual student progress and self-monitoring by the student.



Self-Corrected Testing Procedure:

• Testing Procedures: A test-study-test process in the form of pretest, study exercises then post test is one optionfor assessing the progress of students using this program. However, the central purpose of the test dictation is forstudents to have the opportunity to retrieve practiced spellings and analyze their own errors. The term “preview”may be a better term than pretest and be less stressful for students when the purpose is explained. The purposeof “testing” is to identify the knowledge, skills and strategies students:

• know and are able to apply• confuse (as a focus for programming)• neglect to apply (not yet developed or introduced, see Error Analysis)

The “preview” is completed at the beginning of the unit so that students are able to identify the remaining wordsposing difficulty and their Independent Practice Exercises are focused only on those words they do notknow. This is important in establishing student motivation and purpose. The final step is the test dictation.Possible formats for test dictations are as follows:

• Present the word alone, in a sentence, again alone.• In the final test, substitute some of the list words for other words that represent the same principle. In this

way, you are assessing students’ ability to generalize the principle to further vocabulary.• Present a written cloze exercise for students to complete with list words. It is important to read the

sentences or passage to the class so that it is not a test of reading comprehension. This allows for assessingspelling within a writing context, and is especially useful for identifying incorrect use of homophones.

Individualized programming can be achieved through peer dictation or by dictating to groups of students accordingto the needs identified in the error analysis.

• Scoring Student Spelling: Immediately after the “preview” and final test, students are to score their spellingsand rewrite any words with errors by copying the model on the chalkboard (see Self-Correcting Errors Form).Partial credit can be awarded by allocating or allowing them to give themselves a mark for each 1) correct letter,2) sound segment or 3) syllable in the list words. A simple check mark over each correct word part indicates thescore. For example, if giving credit for each correct letter, frend for friend would be a score of 5/6. A score foreach test is then given for the number of correct words as well as the total number of correct letters, soundsegments (letter clusters) or syllables.

• Self-Correction of Errors: The majority of student learning occurs during the process of analyzing and self-correcting their own errors. The Self-Correcting Errors Form enables students to pinpoint the word segmentthey need to correct. A cloze procedure is used with students recording their misspelling in the first column,followed by the same misspelling, but with blank lines where the incorrect or omitted letters occurred. The finalcolumn is where the student records the correct spelling. For example: gril, g _ _ l, girl. To assist in developingthe students’ visual memory, they may use color or exaggerate the size of the corrected letters. The student thenscores their own attempt by recording the number of letters in the correct sequence out of the possible total. Forexample, gril for girl would be a score of 2/4. After students have identified their errors and completed the form,Independent Practice and Review activities may be completed.

• Recognizing Individual Progress: It is important that students have a visual record of their progress, such as a



graph or chart. Tracking of individual pre- and post-test scores can be recorded on the Scope and Sequence ofSkills Tracking Form. You may wish to make copies of these for student files or portfolios. Reward individualimprovement with the Certificate of Spelling Achievement.

If you do not wish to use a test format, by focusing on error analysis and individual progress, you will haveprovided necessary information for reporting purposes.

Error Analysis:

• The Error Analysis Record provides a basis for the teacher to analyze student misspellings. The categories forrecording are representative of the most frequently occurring errors by elementary students. As each type of erroris located in the selected piece of writing or spelling test, record it with a check mark in the appropriate column.After several analyses, a pattern will emerge that provides direction for future programming. Neglected spellingstrategies and confusions then become the focus for teacher modeling and independent practice.

• The Student Error Analysis form is for the students to analyze their misspellings in the same manner and identifytheir strengths and areas of need.

• A Writing Record enables teachers to assess the transfer of spelling skills to the writing context. This procedureinvolves dictating a short passage that is at the students’ reading level or composed from words representing thetarget skills of previous spelling units. Students are to write on alternate lines to allow room for proofreading andscoring. Allow students five to ten minutes to proofread their writing, by rewriting the word above, with noerasing permitted. Provide the proofreading checklist as a guide for the editing process (see Spelling ThroughWriting). Score the student on the number of correctly spelled words in percentage form. Count the number ofaccurate corrections and record these as the number of self-corrections out of the total number of misspellings.For example, three self-corrections out of seven errors, or 3/7. Use the Error Analysis and Record of StudentDevelopment forms as a guide for recording both the strengths (strategies demonstrated on first attempt andproofreading) and weaknesses (strategies neglected as demonstrated in the error patterns and absence of self-corrections). The same passage can be dictated again later to determine progress. An alternative format is atimed writing period of ten minutes using a sentence starter or topic provided as the basis for analysis. It isrecommended that pieces of writing and tests be analyzed a minimum of every four to six weeks to maintain anongoing record.

Recording Student Development:

The Record of Spelling Development is a useful reference for programming, reporting and parentcommunication. Entries will include samples of student misspellings and observations. The information obtained fromthe error analysis form provides the entry under Application of Spelling Strategies. These include the use of:

1. Phonetic spelling where the sound/symbol correspondence is achieved as in the word big.2. Visual patterns such as ight, ough.3. Meaning where understanding of the base word is applied to the spelling of words with prefixes and

suffixes, such as in care, careful, in the spelling of homophones, and in compounds where there is a logicalconnection, as in snowball.

4. Functional patterns where the student demonstrates understanding of how the word is used in a sentence,such as contractions, possessives, plurals, compounds and abbreviations.



Expected Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to:

• compare, contrast and categorize vocabulary based on their orthographic patterns, sound and meaning.• apply phonetic, grapho-visual and semantic strategies to encode unfamiliar vocabulary.• segment words into syllables with VCV and VCCV pattern.• proofread and analyze their spelling errors by reference to a visual model.• expand their personal word bank of high frequency vocabulary.

Placement and Review Tests for Grade Four Level:

Test A is a placement test and is designed to survey the developing spelling knowledge of your students. It isbased on sample words from the program at the previous grade three level. Present the first test in dictation format atthe beginning of the program. If the student scores:

• between approximately 50 and 70% of the words correctly, they are appropriately placed on the grade orlevel four program’s core word list.

• 50% or fewer words, they may require a modified word list as outlined in the Remediation section.• over 75% of the words correctly, include the Challenge words in each unit with their word study list.

Tests B and C are based on the grade four program and can be used as mid-year and end-of-year assessments.Test B consists of sample words from Units 1 to 18 and Test C is for Units 19 to 36.

Test A Test B Test C

back across laughplant spring questionsfinish handle watchinglunch fetch copiedthose charge hardestgave paid higherteam mean themselvesside bright withouttube grew anywherestart piece somebodysort north happenedfirst perhaps peoplecoins square personsmall measure milliondinner voice they’recutting clouds disappointthat’s almost exploresomething because powerfulnight know thoughtlittle whose would


Sample of Student’sSpelling Miscue

Error Analysis Record

Name: ___________________________________

Use ofPhoneticStrategies

for IrregularSpelling

Confusionof Lettersor Words

that SoundSimilar

IncorrectPronunciation

Sequencingof Letters,

SoundSegments

Omissionor Insertionof Letters




Number of Words: ____________ Number of Misspellings: ____________

Accuracy: ____________% Number of Self-Corrections: ____________

Strategies Used: (circle)

sound-symbol visual patterns function meaning

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Writing Record

Name: ___________________________________


Demonstrated:

Record of Spelling Development

Name: ___________________________________

Date: _____________________ Date: _____________________

Increased bank ofknown words

Sequencing ofsound segments,syllables

Representation ofspelling patterns,syllables

Application of spellingstrategies:• sound/symbol• visual patterns• meaning• functional patterns

Ability to recognizeand correct errors(proofread)

Ability to identify keyfeatures and makegeneralizations

Comments:__________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________




Why I misspelled the word:

Student Error Analysis

Name: ___________________________________

1. I left out a letter(s).2. I added a letter(s).3. I misspelled a part with an

irregular spelling.4. I misspelled a part with a

regular spelling.

How I will remember:

5. I put the letters in the wrongorder.

6. I confused two words with thesame sound.

7. I mispronounced the word.8. My handwriting was not clear.

A. RulesB. PatternsC. Words Like ItD. Memory Clues

Dictation Corrections ErrorCode

StrategyCode


Misspelling

Self-Correcting Errors

Name: ___________________________________

Spaces for Errors ScoreCorrect Spelling

bilt b _ ilt built 3/4




1 Consonant blends2 Consonant clusters3 Vowels with ch, tch, ge, dge4 Hard and soft c, g5 Short and long vowel a6 Short and long vowel e7 Short and long vowel i8 Short and long vowel o9 Short and long vowel u

10 ie or ei11 Vowels + r: /ar/, /or/12 Multiple spellings of /er/13 /air/ and /ear/14 Words with ure15 Diphthongs oi, oy16 Diphthongs ou, ow17 /ô/ spelled au, aw, al and wa18 Silent consonants19 /f/ spelled ph, gh and /kw/ spelled qu20 Suffixes ed, ing, doubling consonants21 Silent e, y with suffixes ing, ed, es22 Comparative suffixes er, est23 Regular and irregular plurals24 Compound words25 Syllable pattern VC/CV26 Syllable pattern V/CV, VC/V27 /el/ spelled le, al, el28 / n/ spelled en, in, on, ain29 /shun/ spelled ion30 Contractions31 Singular and plural possessives32 Prefixes dis, in, non, un33 Prefixes ad, ex, pre and pro34 Suffixes ly, ful, less, ness35 Irregular verbs36 Homophones

NOTE: The concept of nouns, verbs and adjectives is also incorporated within units.

Unit Skill Pre-Test Post-Test My Progress

Scope and Sequence Tracking Form

Name: ___________________________________

e


Unit Teaching Plans Section 2

clock

nature

worries

brushes

2.1 Consonant Blends

Teaching Tip:

A letter sequence of two consonants may form a consonant blend. In a consonantblend, you can hear each letter sound. The list words have l, r and s blends at thebeginning or end of the word. The final consonant sound in track is /k/. The letters ckare used after a short vowel. Long vowel words like speak and words with consonantsbefore the ending like thank use k. Words with more than one syllable end in ic moreoften than ck. Example: picnic, panic. When a suffix is added, ck is used. Example:panicked, picknicking.

Word List: Word List Challenge Words

*clock *complete *traffic *panicked*front *stood address plastic*against *across transport plenty*spend *flight blanket attacktrack *problem *blood *climate*grandfather *standing

*high frequency vocabulary

Introducing the Skill:

1. Oral Language: Present each list word orally and ask students to identify the sound/spelling they hear at the beginning, middle or end of the word, depending on thelocation of the blend.

2. Syllabication: Have students read each word slowly, tap the syllables they hear and statethe number of syllables in each word.

3. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence. Use the strategy “Say It Wrong to Spell It Right” toreinforce the silent letters in flight.

4. Categories - Closed Word Sort: Use these key words for each category heading:crack, fresh, print, trap, block, clam, flag, plum, spill, stop. Students are to sort thelist words by examining their consonant blends and comparing these to the key wordheadings. Brainstorm further vocabulary with these blends and record under eachcategory. Open Word Sort: Students now decide upon other possible categories togroup the words, such as number words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, words with ck, etc.They may need to have an exceptions or miscellaneous category for words that do notcorrespond to any of the categories.

Example: nouns verbs adjectives

clock stood plenty


Section 2 Unit Teaching Plans

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Review the Teaching Tip for spelling words with ck.Students are to sort the following words under the categories _k and _ck and make astatement summarizing the spelling features of each category. One category of wordswill have a short vowel before the /k/ and be spelled with ck. The other will have along vowel sound or have a consonant before the /k/ and be spelled with a single letterk. Word List: pack, sneak, bake, park, attack, quick, cheek, ask, thank, check,trucker, weak, strike, spoke, hockey, lake, joke, lucky, trick, pocket.Example:

_k _ck

sneak pack

2. Idioms: Students are to explain the meaning of the expressions “in a pickle” and“spending time” in writing. They may also wish to illustrate both literal and figurativemeanings.

3. Word Hunt: Within a timed period, students or groups of students are to search andrecord words with l, r and s blends. The object is to find as many as possible.Reference sources may include novels, newspapers, magazines, dictionaries and textbooks. These are shared and their spelling features discussed. Optional: Repeat thisprocess for words with k and ck. Words can be recorded without being categorized,then exchanged for a partner to discover the categories and sort accordingly.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Skeleton Words2. Ask a Question

Challenge Words: (See Section 1)

Review Activity: Dictated Word Sort(using vocabulary in the Independent Word Sort)

Teaching Tip:

A letter sequence of three consonants together in a word forms a consonant cluster.Consonant clusters occur in one syllable. Words with scr, spl, spr, mbl, mpl and ndlhave three letters with three sounds that can be pronounced in sequence. Words withnch, nth, rch, chr, shr and thr are built on the digraphs ch, sh, th and usually occurwith n or r. They have three letters but only two sounds.

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2.2 Consonant Clusters




struggle *strange scribble sprinklecrumble thrilling assemble crumple*month splash mumble *strengthsample throat screwdriver splendidscream branch scrape threat*straight *spring



1. Oral Language: Present each list word orally and ask students to identify the sound/spelling they hear at the beginning or end of the word.

2. Oral Cloze: Present an oral sentence where each list word is omitted for students tocomplete.

3. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence. Use the “Say It Wrong to Spell It Right” strategy toreinforce the silent letters in the word straight.

4. Closed Word Sort: Use the key word headings scrub, split, spray, street, throw,mumble, simple and bunch. Students sort the list words by examining their consonantclusters and comparing these to the category headings. Brainstorm further vocabularyunder each category.

Applying the Skill:

1. Sort by Vowel Sound: Students are to sort the list words according to the twocategories long vowel and short vowel. Example: The list word straight has a longvowel sound, while branch has a short vowel sound.

2. Word Pictures: Students are to draw something that represents the meaning of eachlist word. These may be labelled or shared with a partner who is to guess the word andlabel the picture.

3. Word Hunt: Students search and record words containing the consonant clusters listedin Teaching Tips and student brainstorming sessions. These are shared with the classand their spelling features examined.

4. Idioms: Students complete a written explanation of the expression “straight from thehorse’s mouth”.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Write a Riddle2. Listening to Ending Sounds


Review Exercise: Cue Cardst

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Teaching Tip:

When a short vowel comes immediately before the /ch/ sound, try tch. Exceptions: much,such, sandwich, rich, which, attach. When a short vowel comes immediately before the /j/sound, use dge. In summary, it can be stated that short vowel words often use the three letteroption to represent the /ch/ or /j/ sound. Note that diphthongs (ou, oi, ow, ou) and vowels +r are considered long vowels in this generalization.


switch stretch village budge*edge *kitchen stranger pitcherbridge *huge cottage *stomachcoach change message damagestage fetch bandage *college*touch porch



1. Oral Language: Read the words with ch, then tch and ask students to listen for a short orlong vowel sound. They are to give the thumbs up signal for a long vowel and thumbs downfor a short vowel sound. Repeat for ge and dge.

2. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key word headings peach, patch,cage and badger for the four categories. Students are to sort the list words by examining thespelling of the /ch/ or /j/ sound and comparing these to the key word headings. Ask them tofocus on the vowel sounds preceding the /ch/ or /j/ sounds. They are to make a statementsummarizing the spelling generalization for the different spellings based on the vowel sound(refer to Teaching Tips). Brainstorm and list further words with the same sound/spellings.Create an Exceptions category for words like such and much and use a question mark asthe heading.

Example: peach patch cage badge

touch switch stage edge

3. X-Ray Eyes Activity:

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Review the spelling generalization and ask students to sort thefollowing vocabulary according to the categories Short Vowel + tch, Long Vowel + ch,Short Vowel + dge and Long Vowel + ge. Word List: beach, fudge, coach, edge, wage,pinch, large, fridge, couch, sketch, ketchup, torch, launch, spinach, march, village,search, sponge, arrange, judge, lodge.

Example: Short Vowel Long Vowel Short Vowel Long Vowel+ tch + ch + dge + ge

sketch beach fridge wage

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2.3 Vowels with ch, tch, ge, dge


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2. Comparison Venn Diagram: Students are to draw a Venn Diagram to illustrate thedifferences and similarities between the lake and the beach.

3. Movie Title: Students use at least one spelling word to write a title for a movie. Example:“The Bridge Between Two Worlds”.

4. Colorful Vowels: Students copy the list words and write the vowels in color.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Build a Pyramid2. True or False


Review Activity: Proofreadingt

Teaching Tip:

Hard g is usually found before the letters a, o or u. Soft g and c are usually followed bythe letters i, y or e. This can be summarized in the phrase i, y and e soften c and g. Notehow g is followed by a silent u in guide and the initial /w/ sound in once.


*chance *once recognize America*since *science voyage *generalcourage *practice *message language*control *guide surface *recentlygiant magnet decorate Canadagarbage *charge



1. Oral Language: Read the list words chance, since, control, once, science, giant,magnet and guide. Ask students to listen for a soft or hard c and g sound. Studentsgive the thumbs up for the hard c or g, down for soft c or g. Note: The rest of the listwords have both sounds.

2. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key word headings cent, coin,gym and game. Students are to sort the list words according to the soft or hard soundof c and g. Some list words will belong in both categories. These are courage,garbage and practice. Ask them to focus on the vowel sounds before or after c and g,making a statement summarizing the spelling generalization for the different soundsrepresented by the same letters (refer to Teaching Tips). Brainstorm and list furtherwords with same sound/spellings.

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2.4 Hard and Soft c, g



Example: cent cabin gym game

chance control charge guide

3. Minimal Cues Activity:

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort the following vocabulary under the headingsHard C, Soft C, Hard G, Soft G and make a summary statement based on the lettersequences that justify their categorization for each of the four lists. Open Sort: Whenthey have completed this they are to create categories of their own and sort the wordsaccordingly. Example: Categories could include places, time words, nouns, verbs, numberof syllables, end with marker-e-, etc. Word List: cedar, place, gone, ginger, garden,garage, recent, since, voice, camp, cave, city, guitar, clap, care, fancy, trace, service, orange,gave, gate, buy, corner, force, cash, cure, card, cute.

2. Larger Than Life: Students are to copy the list words and exaggerate the size of thevowel in each one.

3. Idioms: Students provide a written explanation of the expressions to “take a chance”,to “jump at the chance”, to “stand a chance” and “a once in a lifetime chance”.

4. Word Hunt: Students search and record further examples of each of the fourcategories in reference materials.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Little Words Inside2. Word Machine


Review Activity: Tic Tac Toet

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Teaching Tip:

Long vowels say their name. Double Vowel Rule: The majority of long vowel soundsrequire two letters. If a one-syllable word has two vowels, the first one often has the longsound and the second is silent. Example: boat. Silent e Rule: If a word has one vowel atthe end, it often gives the word a long vowel sound. Example: gave. Exceptions: thewords paper, bagel, basin, baby, apron, gravy, bacon, potato, tomato only have one a but along vowel sound. The letters ey can represent the long a sound as in they and gray. Theword said has two vowels but a short e sound.

2.5 Short and Long Vowel a




*fact paid available *remain*break *half amazing behave*danger *safe tomato raisin*animal *yesterday claim chocolate*add *main *escape anaconda*afraid holiday



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask them to listen for a short or long a sound.Students give the thumbs up for long vowel, down for short vowel.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they would expectto see in sequence.

3. Model the Silent e and Double Vowel Rule: Use the examples of hat - hate, mad -made, tap - tape, snack - snake, lack - lake, gap - gape, plan - plane, scrap - scrape tomodel how the addition of silent or marker-e changes a short vowel word. Use the examplesof mad - maid, ran - rain, pad - paid to illustrate the double vowel rule.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key word headings bran and brainas category headings. First they are to sort by long or short vowel sound. The second sortis by the different spellings of the long vowel sound under the category headings a_e, ai, ay,a. Brainstorm and list further words with these sound/spellings. Create an Exceptionscategory for words like break and they where ea, ey have a long a sound. Example:

bran brain ?

fact yesterday break

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by 1) Short or LongVowel Sound and 2) Spelling Pattern under the category headings a_e, ai, ay, a using theIntroductory Activity as a model. Word List: gain, stay, glad, claim, waste, save, great, prey,paper, steak, laid, raise, grade, last, plant, shave, land, vase, range, brake, after, crash, fabric,matter, happen, math, above, ask, bacon, baby.

2. Verb Tense, Homophones: Students are to use the words pay and paid, brake andbreak in sentences to illustrate their meaning.

3. Dangerous Animals: Students 1) List five dangerous animals; 2) record two facts abouteach one; 3) explain why they are dangerous and 4) describe an escape plan.

4. Idioms: Students provide written explanations of the expressions “hitting the hay” and“raising the roof”.

5. Word Hunt: Students locate and record further vocabulary with long vowel a spellingpatterns.

Independent Practice Exercises 1. Word Search Puzzle2. Antonyms: paid, fact, afraid, add, breaksave

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Teaching Tip:

Review the silent letter e and double vowel rule in Unit 5. The long vowel sound can bespelled with a single e, as in we, she, erase, equal, before, became, began, because, rememberand between. The letters ey are a less common spelling of the long vowel sound. Theme andscene are examples of the e_e pattern. Exceptions: The letters ea can spell the long vowelsound in mean or the short vowel sound in ready. The addition of r or l changes the soundof ea as in hear, fear, real and meal. In the word people, eo is a rare spelling of the long esound. (See Unit 10 for ie, ei spellings.)


*mean *easy result *evening*money *least company degree*reached *remember athlete *electricityasleep *empty *enemy compete*ready *forest *repeat estimate*spread *agree



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to listen for a short or long e sound.They are to give the thumbs up for long vowel, down for short vowel.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence.

3. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key words end and begin ascategory headings. First students are to sort the list words by long or short vowel soundunder these two headings. The second sort is by the different spellings of the long vowelsound using the category headings ea, e_e, ee, ey, e, y. Brainstorm and list further wordswith these sound/spellings. Create an Exceptions category for words with ea as shortsound and for the list words ready and empty which have both the short and long vowelsound as well as words with ie or ei (see Unit 13).


Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by 1) Short or longvowel sound and 2) Spelling pattern under the categories ea, e_e, ee, ey, e, y using theIntroductory Activity as a model. Some words will need to be in both short and long


Review Activity: Extended Dictation

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2.6 Short and Long Vowel e


vowel categories. Example: penny. Word List: bend, slept, steam, screen, east, teeth,present, dentist, forget, began, knee, speech, interest, September, pentagon, them, wedding,penny, reason, forest, dream, complete, theme, valley, monkey, please, treat, coffee, greed,tease, team, ahead, death, deaf, bread, speak, spread, seem.

2. Memory Aids: To help remember words with the different spelling patterns for thelong e sound, students are to create and record phrases using two words with the samepattern. Example: eat-meat, feel-sleepy, seen where you’ve been, neat-clean. Theycan use the dictionary and the category charts created in the Introductory Activity as asource of vocabulary.

3. Homophones: The words seen and scene are homophones. To remember theirdifferent meanings, students are to use them in a sentence or sentences.

4. Idioms: Students write explanations of “burying your head in the sand” and “easy as pie”.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Skeleton Words2. Spell-a-Shape


Review Activity: Wordot

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Teaching Tip:

Review double vowel and silent e rules in Unit 5 by using the examples quit-quite, rid-ride,pin-pine, win-wine, lick-like, pick-pike. Note that the list word live can have a short orlong vowel sound depending on the meaning. Example: live in a town, a live performance.Exceptions to silent e rule: give, live.


*mind *island *alive *favorite*child goodbye finger wildlifeidea live exciting exercisebright *type appetite publish*while *finish entire vitamins*life *decide



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to listen for a short or long i sound.They are to give the thumbs up for long vowel, down for short vowel.

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2.7 Short and Long Vowel i


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2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they would expectto see in sequence. Use the “Say It Wrong to Spell It right” strategy to reinforce the silentletters in the words night (gh), while (h), island (s).

3. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key words think and find ascategory headings. Students are to sort the list words by 1) Long or short vowel soundunder the two key words and 2) The different spellings of the long vowel sound under thecategories i, i_e, igh, ye, y. Brainstorm and list further words with these sound/spellings.Create an Exceptions category for any words with ei (see Unit 10) or ui as in build andguide.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by 1) Short or longvowel sound and 2) Spelling patterns i, i_e, igh, ye, y using the Introductory Activity as amodel. Some words will need to be in both short and long vowel categories. Word List:slim, rapid, tonight, hidden, wild, winner, think, fright, switch, shift, five, invite, lying, midnight,spin, city, quit, divide, strike, beside, prize, outside, print, might, item, hyena, tie, lie, diet, ski,spaghetti.

2. Memory Aid: Have the students create a phrase to assist in remembering the spelling of thelist word island. Example: An island is land surrounded by water.

3. Story Impressions: Using the list words island, idea, life, mind, decide, type and live,students are to compose a story. These are then shared to compare the similarities anddifferences in stories resulting from these core words.

4. Letter Subtraction: Students copy each list word, then recopy, removing one letter eachtime and replacing it with a space until there is just a row of spaces representing thesubtracted letters (like X-Ray Eyes Introductory Activity).

5. Word Hunt: Students are to search and record further vocabulary with different spellings ofthe short and long vowel i. These are shared and recorded on a class chart.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Words of Fortune2. Build a Pyramid


Review Activity: Visualization


Teaching Tip:

Review the silent e rule using the example not - note. Demonstrate the doubling rule whereadding one silent vowel changes the short vowel to a long sound with the examples cop - cope,dot - dote, glob - globe, rob - robe. A number of words use the vowel pair oa. Some commonwords only have one o at the end, such as go, no. A few words use oe as in toe, poem. Notethe silent letter w in whole and gh in though. Discuss the different meanings of plot. Exceptions:done, none, gone, love, mother, come, some, does, wonder, oven and son all have a short usound.


*tomorrow *only elbow explode*follow *alone *moment stereo*also *suppose narrow oceanplot goal *window olympichold *whole *belong bungalow*long *shown



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to listen for a short or long o sound.Students give the thumbs up for long vowel, down for short vowel.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they would expectto see in sequence. Use the ‘say it wrong to spell it right’ strategy to reinforce the irregularspellings and silent letters in the words though and whole.

3. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key words rose and gold ascategory headings. Students are to sort the list words by 1) Long or short vowel soundusing the two key headings and 2) Different spellings of the long vowel sound under thecategories o, oa, oe, ow ough. Brainstorm and list further words with these sound/spellings.Create an Exceptions category if necessary.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by: 1) Short or longvowel sound and 2) Spelling pattern under the categories o, oa, o_e, ow using theIntroductory Activity as a model. Word List: most, toast, vote, stone, bolt, toes, zone,coach, rock, pond, strong, cross, fold, roast, radio, omit, toe, poem, chose, hello, motor,broken, below, flop, hollow.

2. Picture Words - Homophones: Students are to illustrate the difference in meaning of wholeand hole by drawing and labeling a picture representing each word.

3. Irregular Verb Tense: The words chose and choose, throw and threw, steal and stoleare to be used in sentences to reinforce present and past tense of this verb.


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2.8 Short and Long Vowel o


Teaching Tip:

Model the long vowel rules as they apply to the list words. Example: confuse representsthe silent e rule, continue illustrates the double vowel rule. The letters ui are a less commonspelling of the long u sound, as in fruit and cruise. Exceptions: build has a short i sound andthe words beautiful, movie, view, truth (single u), Europe and group are all unusual spellings ofthe long u sound. The letters ou can also spell the short u sound as in couple, cousin, would,could and should. (See Unit 8 for further exceptions). Note that suit is a homograph wherethe same spelling has more than one meaning.


*continue *through excuse usual*rescue *until couple value*should during humid countrygrew *whose beautiful afternoonlose suit cousin amusingthrew confuse useless



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to listen for the short or long u sound.They are to give the thumbs up for long vowel, down for short vowel.

2. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Using the key words sun and music ascategory headings, students are to sort the list words by short or long vowel sound. Thesecond sort is by the different spellings of the long vowel sound under the categories u, ui,ou, u_e, ue, o_e. Brainstorm and list further words with these sound/spellings. Create anExceptions category if necessary. Example: words with oo as short or long u sound andthe exceptions listed in Teaching Tips.

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4. Word Hunt: Students are to search and record further vocabulary with different spellings ofthe long vowel o. These are shared and recorded on a class chart.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. The Meaning of Words2. Word Search Puzzle


Review Activity: Cue Cards

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2.9 Short and Long Vowel u



Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by: 1) Short or longvowel sound and 2) Spelling pattern using the Introductory Activity as a model. WordList: cartoon, juice, album, munch, sum, crumb, some, chew, stupid, caribou, through, roof,loose, boot, true, value, junk, should, beautiful, trunk, fuss, mood, cruise, stuff, huge, rule,use, build, soup, could, cube, country, touch, young and trouble.

2. Picture Words - Homophones: Students are to illustrate the difference in meaning ofthrough and threw by drawing and labeling a picture representing each word.

3. Homographs: The word suit is to be used in two separate sentences to show the differentmeanings of the same spelling.

4. Confusing Spellings: The words lose and loose are commonly confused. Have studentsuse both words in a rhyming phrase. Example: I choose to wear it loose. Whose turn is itto lose?

5. Idioms: Students explain the expression “well suited for the job” and illustrate the literalmeaning.

6. Word Hunt: Students are to search and record further vocabulary with different spellings ofthe short and long vowel u. These are shared and recorded on a class chart.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Dictionary Definitions(for usual, mood, excuse,amuse and accuse)

2. Ask a Question


Review Activity: Extended Dictation

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Teaching Tip:

The letters ie can make the long i sound in pie or the long e sound in piece. The letters eican sound like long e in receive, long a in weigh, or long i in height. Rule: Use i before e,except after c and when it sounds like a in weigh. Many of the words using these lettersequences must be remembered individually. Example: friend, their. Exceptions: diet hasboth a long i and short e sound, as does the word quiet. The words neither and either arealso exceptions. They are spelled with the letters ei, are not after a c, and have a long esound. Other exceptions include seize, protein, weird and names like Keith and Neil. Notehow the letter r changes the sound in words like fierce, their, weird and cashier.

2.10 ie or ei


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achieve *eight Fahrenheit protein*weigh height patience efficientreceive diet achieve eighteenbelieve *their deceive neighbor*piece *neither relieved ceilingeither *chief



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to listen for the vowel sound of i, e ora and state which one they hear.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they would expectto see in sequence. Use the ‘say it wrong to spell it right’ strategy to reinforce the irregularspellings and the silent letters in the words weigh, height and eight.

3. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list words byspelling, using brief and weight as the key word headings for ie and ei. The second sort isby the three vowel sounds, long i, e and a. Brainstorm and list further words with thesesound/spellings. Make a list of “except after c” words to illustrate this rule using the key wordheading deceive. Example: receive, conceive, perceive, receipt, deceit, conceit, ceiling.Use an Exceptions category for words such as either and neither.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by: 1) Long vowelsound - i, e or a and 2) Spelling pattern under the category headings ie and ei. WordList: field, niece, thief, relief, died, priest, vein, reins, veil, sleigh, eighteen, freight, eighty, brief,grief, shriek, relieve, yield, shield, chow mein.

2. Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives: Students are to sort the words in the first activity into thesethree categories.

3. Homophones: Students are to illustrate the difference in meaning of vein and vain, eightand ate, their and there by using them in sentences.

4. Idioms: Students are to illustrate an amusing, literal interpretation of the expression “throwingyour weight around”. Example: a hippo or elephant.

5. Word Hunt: Students search and record further vocabulary with ie and ei within a timedperiod. These are shared and recorded on a class chart.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Memory Cues (for their, there, friend)2. Graph Paper Word Shapes


Review Activity: Dictated Word Sort(using vocabulary from Applying the Skill #1 under ei, ie)

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Teaching Tip:

The addition of r to a vowel changes the sound. Example: spot - sport. The letter sequence aris often added to stems ending in l, li, and g. Example: dollar, familiar, beggar, sugar. Theletters or are added to multisyllabic words and titles of occupations that end in ate, ct or ss.Example: professor, narrator, doctor. Note how the addition of e changes the sound, as in car- care (see Unit 13 for the different spellings of /air/). Most errors occur when ar is usedinstead of er. Exceptions: The /ar/ sound spelled ear in heart, the /or/ sound spelled our inyour, course, behavior and the /or/ sound spelled ar in war and warm (see unit 17).

Word List: Word List Challenge Wordssmart *force memory history*toward *anymore factory popularnorth *order enormous marvelousargue *separate tornado carnivore*course *short omnivore similarreport sorry



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to listen for the /ar/ and /or/ sounds.They are to give the thumbs up for /ar/, down for /or/.

2. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key word headings far and for ascategory headings. Students are to sort the list words by examining their spelling features andcomparing these to the key word headings. First they are to sort by vowel + r sound. Thesecond sort is by the different spellings of the two sounds under the headings ar and or.Brainstorm and list further words with these sound/spellings. Create an Exceptions categoryif necessary (see Teaching Tips).


Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by: 1) the sounds/ar/ and /or/ and 2) Spelling pattern under the categories ar and or using the Introductoryactivity as a model. Word List: party, army, scar, sport, sort, start, sword, charm, torn,store, march, starve, acorn, harm, alarm, large, hard, storm, snore, score, bore, heart, war,warm, of course, pour, core, arm, sailor, border, your, north.

2. Word Building: Students build and record words using these word families: ore, oar, oor,our.

3. Word Hunt - Occupations: Students record as many occupations as they can find using thespellings ar and or. These are recorded on a class chart.

4. Verb Tense, Homophones: The words wear and wore, bored and board are to be usedin sentences.


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2.11 Vowels + r: /ar/, /or/


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Teaching Tip:

The letters er are the most common spelling of the /er/ sound. This sound can bespelled a number of ways, including our in journey, ear in learn, ur in surprise, ir inthird, or in word, ar in dollar, ere in were. Rule: When w is followed by the lettersor, it usually says /wer/ (worst, worth). Exceptions: worry, wore.


*early *learned journey concerned*perhaps *heard *energy modern*whether *earth *average characterworld curve percent bother*different *together disturb purchase*purpose *circle



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to identify the common soundthey hear in each word.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence. Model the different spellings of /er/ (ear, or, our, ar).

3. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key words her, turn, bird,work, search as category headings. Students are to sort the list words under theseheadings according to the different spellings of the /er/ sound. When this is completed,add the key word headings journal and dollar and brainstorm further words with thesesound/spellings (Example: journey and liar).


Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by spellingpatterns under the categories er, ir, ur, ear and ar using the Introductory Activity as a


5. Homographs: Have students use the word course in sentences demonstrating the differentmeanings of the same spelling. Example: five course meal, “of course”, golf course, coursein karate, race course.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Spell-a-Shape2. Synonyms

(smart, important, force, separate, order)


Review Activity: Picture It

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2.12 Multiple Spellings of /er/



model. Word List: proper, birth, nurse, temper, corner, herb, further, worm, Saturday,urgent, matter, circus, curl, search, liar, closer, service, worse, turkey, yesterday,feather, thirst, surf, squirt, concert, every, several, learn, concern.

2. Word Hunt: Model how the addition of e changes the sound of a word with theexample fir - fire. Ask students to locate more words with the ire spelling pattern.

3. Homophones, Verb Tense: Students use the words whether and weather in sentencesto illustrate their meaning and the words hear and heard to represent the present andpast tense.

4. Word Hunt - Occupations: Students record as many occupations as they can findusing the spelling er. These are recorded on a class chart and compared to the listcreated in Unit 11. The spellings er and or are the most common, with ar beingrelatively rare.

5. Business Card: Students decide upon one of the occupations recorded in the previousactivity and create a business card for themselves stating their name, position, skills andlocation.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Words of Fortune2. Word Machine


Review Activity: Visualizationt

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Teaching Tip:

The sound /air/ can be spelled air as in pair, ear as in bear, are as in care and ere asin there. The sound /ear/ can be spelled ear as in near and eer as in steer. Lesscommon forms include ayer in prayer, aer in aeroplane and eir in weird and ier inpier. The /air/ list words include: there, share, parents, airport, rare, scare, spare,wear, square and compare. Near and career are /ear/ words.


share wear barely repair*there *near airlift aeroplane*parents rare farewell rarely*compare spare fearful nearest*scare career sincere bewareairport *square


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2.13 /air/ and /ear/



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1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask them to listen for the two sounds /air/ and/ear/ in each word.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence. Model the different spellings of /air/ and /ear/.

3. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Use the key word headings hair, hear,hare, here and deer as category headings. Students are to sort the list words accordingto the different spellings of the /air/ and /ear/ sounds. Brainstorm and list furtherwords with these sound/spellings (see Teaching Tips for answers).Example:

hair hear hare here deer

airport near share there career


Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by spelling patternunder the categories air and ear. Word List: *gear, *fear, hair, care, repair, beware,prepare, spare, stairs, dare, fare, fair, *steer, air, *sincere, there, *cheer, *year, *peer,*dear, *near, *weird (* = /eer/ sound, rest are /air/ words).

2. Homophones: Students use the words bear and bare, stare and stair, pear, peer andpair, hear and hair, hear and here, cheer and chair in sentences.

3. Dialogues - Memory Aid: To assist in retaining the spelling of where and there, havestudents use both in a dialogue or conversation. Example: “Where are the videogames?” asked Kim. “They are over there on the coffee table,” said Mark.

4. Prepare for a Career: Students are to choose a career they are interested in and writea paragraph describing the challenges and rewards of this job and how they will preparein terms of training and experience.

5. Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives: Students are to sort the list words according to thesecategories.

6. Idioms: Written explanations are required for the expressions “walking on air” and“getting into someone’s hair”.

Independent Practice Exercises 1. Ask a Question2. Build a Pyramid


Review Activity: Word Sandwiches



Teaching Tip:

The letter sequence ure at the end of a word can sound like /cher/ in capture, /shoor/ inpressure, /jer/ in injure, /yoor/ in failure and /zher/ in measure. The /cher/ sound canalso be spelled cher, as in catcher. The suffix _ure means ‘as a result of’. Example:failure means as a result of failing, departure is a result of departing. Note the short ein pleasure and the long e in creature.

Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsmixture *measure temperature literaturenature *sure manufacture signatureadventure creature puncture miniaturefuture pleasure lecture culturepressure injure departure insecurefailure capture



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to identify the sound they hear atthe end of each word, noting the different pronunciation of ure as in the Teaching Tips.


3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students areto identify the number of syllables in each word.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list wordsaccording to the different sounds at the end of each word, using the categories listed inTeaching Tips (/cher/, /shoor/, /jer/, /yoor/, /zher/). Brainstorm and list further wordswith these sound/spellings.Example:

/cher/ /shoor/ /jer/ /yoor/ /zher/

capture pressure injure failure measure

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by the twospellings of /cher/: cher and ture. Word List: puncture, lecture, rancher, posture,butcher, mature, furniture, catcher, teacher, treasure, picture, archer.

Example: cher ture

rancher puncture

2. Syllabication: Students are to record the number of syllables in each of the followingwords in chart form. Read through each one before beginning. Word List: departure,furniture, literature, manicure, temperature, agriculture, texture.

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2.14 Words with ure


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Teaching Tip:

A diphthong refers to two vowels that blend together to form a new sound. Thediphthong oi is the most common spelling of the /oi/ sound. The sound /oi/ is usuallyspelled oi at the beginning or in the middle of a word, while the /oi/ sound is almostalways spelled oy at the end of a word. Exception: oyster.

Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsnoisy enjoy appointment employ*voice voyage enjoyment asteroidpointed soil employment royaldestroy loyal rejoice poisonjoint moisture sirloin turmoilroyal broil



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to identify the common sound theyhear in each word.


3. Syllabication: Students read each list word slowly, tap the syllables and identify thenumber of syllables in each word.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list words 1)according to the different spellings of the /oi/ sound using the key words toy and noiseas category headings; 2) whether /oi/ occurs in the beginning, middle or end of theword; 3) by the number of syllables. By examining the location of the /oi/ sound

3. Movie Plot: Using at least three ure words, students are to write an outline of a storyor movie plot, listing the title and details describing the who, what, where, when andwhy. Example: ‘The Creature Feature’, ‘The Prehistoric Creature’, ‘Alien Creature’,‘Animal Adventure’ are possible titles.

4. Future Shock: Students are to describe how they see themselves living five, ten andtwenty years in the future in paragraph format. Areas to include are: where they areliving, family and friends, occupation, travel, interests and hobbies.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Write a Riddle2. More than One


Review Activity: Around the World

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2.15 Vowel Diphthongs oi, oy



within each list word, students will make a summary statement regarding the mostlikely spelling (see Teaching Tips).

Example: toy coinloyal noisy

Middle Endvoice destroy

voyage enjoy

One Syllable Two Syllablesjoint destroy

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by 1) the twospellings oi, oy and 2) the location of the /oi/ sound within each word - Middle, End.Word List: oyster, employ, poison, enjoy, decoy, soil, avoid, coin, annoy, spoil, oil,poise, void, convoy, boiler, foil, toys.

2. Employment Predictions: Students use their thinking skills to predict the types ofemployment we will need in the future. Example: in health care, education, industry,marketing, technology (robotics, space travel) etc. They are also to identify which jobsthey think will no longer be needed.

3. Voyage of Discovery: Each student describes a voyage they would like to undertakeunder these headings: Destination, Purpose, Preparation; Equipment or Luggage, Listof Activities (itinerary upon arrival).

4. Word Hunt: Students are to search through books and newspapers to locate furtherexamples of words with oi or oy. This is a timed activity and lists are shared andcompared in length and complexity.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Antonyms(spoil, annoy, destroy, enjoy, join)

2. True or False?


Review Activity: Word Shape Challenge

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Teaching Tip:

Review the term diphthong explained in Unit 15. The diphthongs ou and ow can make the /ou/you hear in out and down. The letters ou are the commonest way of spelling this sound in themiddle of a word. It can also make the long /o/ sound in although, the broad /o/ sound inbrought and the short and long /u/ sound in country and group. The letters ow can be a vowelpair and make the long o sound in shown. (See Units on each vowel sound.)

2.16 Diphthongs ou, ow



Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsallowed amount fountain announce*mountain *ground boulder outrageousthousand *clouds shoulder surround*however *flower coward allowance*borrow *lower powder account*power proud



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to identify the common sound they hear.


3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students are toidentify the number of syllables in each word.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list words1) according to the different spellings of the /ou/ sound using the key words house and townas category headings and 2) by the different sounds represented by ow using the key wordsplow and snow. A summary statement regarding these spellings is to be recorded in theirnotebooks (see Teaching Tips). The Exceptions category may include such words as hour,our, sour, four and pour where the letter r changes the vowel sound and journal, which havean /er/ sound (see Unit 12).

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by the two spellingsou and ow and 2) by the different sounds ow can make within a word /ou/ and /o/ using thesame key word headings as in the Introductory activity. Word List: shower, yellow, own,know, growl, throw, narrow, frown, clown, window, slow, owl. grown, fowl, bowl.

2. Homophones: The words aloud and allowed, foul and fowl, hour and our are to be usedin sentences to illustrate their meaning.

3. Word Building: Students build as many words as possible using the following word families:ounce, own, owl, outh, out, ouse, ound, ount, oud, ouch and oil.

4. Mountain Real Estate Brochure: Using a folded piece of 8-1/2 x 11” paper, students areto create a real estate brochure that describes a mountain property. Details need to includewhere it is, what is looks like and why someone should buy it. The list words mountain,ground, thousand, flower and lower are to be used.

5. Word Hunt: Students are to search through books and newspapers to locate furtherexamples of words with ou or ow. This is a timed activity and lists are shared and comparedin length and complexity.

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Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Little Words Inside2. Skeleton Words


Review Activity: Words of Fortune


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Teaching Tip:

Vowel digraphs au and aw make the /ô/ sound. The letter sequence au does not comeat the end of a word. There are several other possible spellings of this sound. Thespelling a is usually followed by _ll, as in all. The letters wa also represent this sound,as in water. The letter r changes the sound of the vowel in words such as war andwarm. Note: the words warm, toward and war are exceptions to the r + vowel soundassociated with ar (see Unit 11).

Word List: Word List Challenge Words*water *warm automatic cautious*almost *drawn exhausted forward*toward crawl reward audience*cause *because applaud laundrynaughty daughter auction Augusttaught *also



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to identify the common soundthey hear.


3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students areto identify the number of syllables in each word.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students sort the list words according tothe different spellings of the /ô/ sound using the key words draw, author, watch, talkas category headings. A summary statement regarding these spellings is to be recordedin their notebooks (see Teaching Tips).

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2.17 /ô/ Spelled au, aw, al and wa



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Teaching Tip:

Words with silent consonants cannot be completely decoded phonetically and must also belearned by sight. These spellings are a result of changes in the English language, borrowingfrom other languages and their origins. Silent letters in list words include k in knew, knock, win write, wrote and answer, t in often and listen, ght in sight, m in climb, l in walk, b indoubt.


*knew *wrong thumb wrist*wrote *often whistle soften*know sight wrestle ghetto*answer *climb knapsack wriggledoubt knock wrecked wrinklelisten walk



1. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they would expectto see in sequence. Use the ‘say it wrong to spell it right’ strategy by pronouncing each wordphonetically to highlight the silent letters.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by the differentspellings of the /ô/ sound using the same category headings as in the Introductory activity.Word List: lawn, auto, claw, straw, small, dawn, haul, haunt, pause, autumn, yawn,crawling, thaw, war, wash, want, always, sauce, launch, laundry, outlaw, salt, walk, draw,wall.

2. Book Titles: Students choose two or more list words and use them in a book orchapter title. Example: ‘Cause of War Almost Caught’.

3. Homophones: The words mall and maul, pour and paw are to be used in sentences.

4. Story Building: Choose five of the list words and ask students to use these in a story.Before students begin to write, ask several volunteers to predict what they think willhappen given these words. Share and compare students’ written predictions. Thesecould be represented in a Venn Diagram.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Dictionary Definitions2. Graph Paper Word Shapes


Review Activity: Words of a Kind

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2.18 Silent Consonants



2. Closed Word Sort: Students are to sort the list words according to the different silentletters listed in Teaching Tips using the key word headings: castle, (t), thumb (b), knee (k),wrist (w) and night (gh). Brainstorm further words with these silent letters. Have studentsunderline or circle the silent letters in each word.


Applying the Skill:

1. Highlight the Pattern: Students copy the list words and use color to highlight the silentletters.

2. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words using the same silentletter categories as in the Introducing the Skill activity, as well as the letter h using the keyword rhyme. Word List: crumb, flight, knuckle, ghost, what, rhyme, whistle, wrestle,wreck, who, write, knit, knight, knife, knew, know, comb, lamb, limb, soften, calf, half, chalk.

3. Verb Tense: The words know and knew, fight and fought, write and wrote are to beused in sentences.

4. Word Hunt: Using literature and newspapers as a resource, students are to locate andrecord further examples of vocabulary with silent letters in a specific time period.

5. Idioms: The following expressions are to be explained in writing: “getting up on the wrongside of the bed” and “two wrongs don’t make a right”.

Independent Practice Exercises 1. Listening to Ending Sounds2. Memory Clues


Review Activity: Peer Testingt

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Teaching Tip:

The /f/ sound can be spelled f as in after or ff as in offer. Sometimes it is spelled ph as inphoto and graph or gh as in laugh. The letters ph are found at the beginning, middle or endof a word. The letters gh as /f/ are only found in the middle or end of a word. Example:ghost has the /g/ sound. In the /kw/ sound, the letter u almost always follows q.

2.19 /f/ Spelled ph, gh and /kw/ Spelled qu


Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsrough telephone equal elephantenough tough autograph requiregraph *laugh equator quarrelquiet quite liquid orphanquarter *questions alphabet nephewphotograph trophy



1. Oral Language: Read the words and ask students to listen for the sounds /f/ and /kw/.


3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students are toidentify the number of syllables in each word.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list words accordingto 1) the two sounds /f/ and /kw/ under the key words fun and quick and 2) the two letterpatterns representing the /f/ sound, ph and gh, using the key word headings: photo andcough. Brainstorm further words with these letter patterns. Have students underline or circlethe silent letters in each word.Example:

photo cough

graph laugh


Applying the Skill:

1. Highlight the Pattern: Students copy the list words and use color to highlight the letter pairsthat represent /f/ and /kw/.

2. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words according to 1) thesounds /f/ and /kw/ and 2) the letter patterns that represent these two sounds, using the keyword category headings phone, rough and quiz, as well as the key word dough as thecategory heading for gh as a silent letter pair. Word List: high, elephant, quit, queen,nephew, fought, orphan, alphabet, sight, bought, through, tough, square, squash, gopher.Example:

phone rough quiz dough

elephant tough square through

3. Building on Roots: The word graph is a Greek word that means to write. Using the baseword graph, which is derived from this Greek root, students are to create a semantic web ofrelated vocabulary. Example: autograph, biography, geography, photograph are all wordsbased on the same root and could be recorded in a web around the word graph.


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4. Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives: Students sort the list words into these three categories.

5. Movie Titles: Using at least two words with the spellings gh, ph or qu, students compose amovie title. Example: ‘The Last Quarter’, ‘Tough Questions’.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Words of Fortune2. The Meaning of Words



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Teaching Tip:

Double consonant rule (1-1-1 rule): If a root word has one syllable, ends in oneconsonant and has one vowel, double the consonant before adding a vowel suffix, suchas ed, es or ing. Example: hop - hopping. When there are two consonants at the endof the base word, as in jump, do not double the consonant.


watching *yelling subtracted controlledhoped hopped sorted wrappingtaped tapped listened finishedstared starred *swimming knowingscared scarred planned interestedadded stopped



1. Oral Language: Present each list word orally in two - three forms. Example: hope,hoped, hoping. Ask students to identify how the sound and meaning changes in eachform. Discuss present and past verb tense.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence. Use the ‘say it wrong to spell it right’ strategy to highlightthe silent w in wrapped.

3. Model the Rule: Model the importance of the doubling rule by illustrating the differencein meaning that occurs in these examples: filing - filling, riding - ridding, robed -robbed, pined - pinned, scraping - scrapping and the list words where the doubleconsonant changes the meaning, such as taped and tapped.

4. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables. Students are toidentify the number of syllables in each word. Note how the addition of a suffix adds asyllable.

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2.20 Suffixes ed, ing, Doubling Final Consonants



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5. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list wordsaccording to whether the doubling rule is applied or not applied using the key wordcategories jumped and running. Examine the features of each list word according tothe 1-1-1 rule to determine why it fits the category. Brainstorm further verbs in presentand past tense. Have students underline or circle doubled consonants.Example:

jumped running

watching stopped

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the list words according tothe base word and suffix. Further vocabulary from the class brainstorming may also beincluded. Explain that base words are recognizable on their own. This is to be recordedin chart form.Example:

Base Word Suffix List Word

hope ed hopedstar ed starred

2. Add a Suffix: Students are to add the suffixes ing and ed to the following base words.They are to examine the letter sequence in each word to determine if they double theconsonant. Word List: map, miss, hug, plan, add, shop, wash, fill, pack, cut, sort.Example:

Base Word Double Consonant No Change

map mappingmiss missing

3. Irregular Past Tense: Students use the words begin and began, run and ran, swimand swam, eat and ate, win and won in sentences, noting how the vowel changes.

4. Homophones: The following homophones are to be used in sentences: fined, find,passed, past, mind, mined, side, sighed.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Build a Pyramid2. Strong or Silent


Review Activity: Picture It


Teaching Tip:

When a word (verb) ends in a silent e, drop the e before adding a suffix that begins with avowel, such as ed, es or ing. Example: divide, divided, dividing. When a word ends inconsonant plus y, change the y - i before adding ed or es, but not ing.Example: try - tries - trying. If the word ends in vowel + y, keep the y.Example: play - playing.


losing promised refused miningracing bored proving practicingworries staying wasting invitingdancing becoming *supposed scoredhiding carried *caused *includedflies *living



1. Oral Language: Present each list word orally in two - three forms. Example: promise,promising, promised. Ask students to identify how the sound and meaning changes in eachform. Discuss present and past verb tense and the concept of verbs as action words.


3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students are toidentify the number of syllables in each word. Note how the addition of a suffix adds asyllable.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort the list words accordingto 1) present or past tense using the key word headings today and yesterday and 2)whether the silent e or consonant + y rule applies. Examine the key features of each wordaccording to the two rules to determine why it fits the category.Example:

Today (Present) Yesterday (Past)

dancing carriedhiding promised

Base Word Drop e Change y - i No Change

lose losing stayingfly flies


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2.21 Silent e, y with Suffixes ing, ed, es



Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the following words according tothe application of the silent e and consonant + y rules as in the Introducing the Skill sortingactivity, as well as the doubling rule examined in Unit 20. This is to be recorded in chart formusing the category headings Drop e, Change y - i, Double Consonant and No Change.Word List: stepped, married, served, spotted, leaving, completed, cried, surprised, hurried,worried, shopped, promising, saved, traded, ended, forcing, treated, trained, needed, yelled,tried, buried, scored.

2. Three Sounds of /ed/: The suffix ed has three sounds: /ed/ as in acted, /t/ as in asked and /d/ as in called. Students are to sort the following words in chart form according to the soundthey hear at the end of each word: Word List: picked, jumped, yelled, rained, needed,forced, started, arrested, chased, trapped, dressed, treated, ended, trained, mailed, cared,traded, raised.Example:

acted (ed) asked (t) called (d)

started chased picked

3. Irregular Past Tense: The word pairs hiding, hid and become, became are to be used insentences. Note how the medial vowel changes in the second pair.

4. Word Hunt: Students are to use reference sources to locate examples of the three rules:drop the silent e, y - i, double the consonant. These are to be recorded in theirnotebooks under the three categories.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. True or False?2. Spell-a-Shape


Review Activity: Word Wall Quizt

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Teaching Tip:

The suffix er is used when you want to compare two things. Example: long, longer. Thesuffix est is used when three or more items are compared, as in the longest story. It isimportant to examine the letter sequences in the base word to determine whether to doublethe consonant, drop the e, change the y to i, or just add the suffix without any changes (seeUnits 20, 21). Example: strong, stronger and strongest does not require any changes.Funny, funnier and funniest requires the y - i rule. Focus also needs to be upon the change inmeaning accompanying each sufffix. Note all the list words are adjectives.

2.22 Comparative Suffixes er, est



hardest craziest happier closestlatest nearest safest friendliestnoisier strongest hungriest silliergreatest earlier littlest coolesthigher dirtiest smoothest tastiestbusiest younger



1. Oral Language: Present each list word orally in three forms. Example: hard, harder,hardest, funny, funnier, funniest. Ask students to identify how the sound and meaning changesin each form. Discuss the number of items or situations being compared in each form - two ormore than two and the concept of adjectives as words that describe.


3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students are toidentify the number of syllables in each word. Note how the words that require the y - i rulehave three syllables and the rest only two.

4. Closed Word Sort: Students are to sort the list words according to 1) the rule applied usingthe category headings: Double the Consonant, Drop the e, y - i, No Change and 2)whether they compare two or more than two items or situations using the category headingsTwo and More Than Two. Examine the key features of each word according to the rules todetermine why it fits the category.

Applying the Skill:

1. Adding Suffixes: Students are to add both the suffixes er and est to the list words inaddition to the vocabulary below. Word List: funny, lazy, tiny, healthy, pretty, large, hot, low,sleepy, dark, sad, long, wide, tall, sunny.Example:

Base Word + er + est

hard harder hardest

2. Independent Word Sort: Students sort the vocabulary in the previous activity according to1) whether they apply to two or more than two and 2) the application of the doubleconsonant rule (1+1+1, Unit 20), drop the silent e or consonant + y or no change as inthe Introducing the Skill sorting activity. This is to be recorded in chart form.Example:

DoubleDrop e y - i No ChangeConsonant

hotter later healthier tallerhottest latest healthiest tallest


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3. Sort By Vowel: Students are to sort the list words according to the vowel patterns:

2 Vowels Together 2 Vowels Not Together More Than 2 Vowels

4. Illustrating Irregular Comparatives: The comparative forms of the following words areirregular. Students are to use each of the three forms in a comic strip format, where each formis illustrated and labeled in sequence. Word List: good, better, best; bad, worse, worst;some, more, the most.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. How Many Syllables2. Words of Fortune


Review Activity: Proofreading

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Teaching Tip:

The majority of words can be made plural by simply adding the letter s. If a word endsin ch, sh, s, x or z, we add es. Example: wish - wishes. If a word ends in consonant +y, we change the y to i and add es. If a word ends in vowel + y, we just add s. Wordsending in f or fe often form plurals by changing the f to v, then adding es. Example:wife - wives. Words that end in o may add es, as in potatoes, or just s, as in radios.Irregular plurals, such as women and teeth need to be memorized individually. Notebrushes, bosses, radios, matches and mixes can be both nouns and verbs.


Canadians countries volcanoes Americans*themselves copies sandwiches waitressesradios halves circuses tomatoeseyelashes bodies categories batteriesmixes matches groceries videosbrushes bosses



1. Oral Language: Present each list word orally in both singular and plural form.Example: themself, themselves. Ask students to identify how the sound/spelling andmeaning changes in each pair of words.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Students dictate each word, giving the letters they wouldexpect to see in sequence. Discuss the rules in the Teaching Tip as they apply to list wordsand review the concepts of nouns and verbs.

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2.23 Regular and Irregular Plurals


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3. Syllabication: Read each list word slowly and tap the syllables together. Students areto identify the number of syllables in each word. Note how the addition of es addsanother syllable to the base word.

4. Closed Word Sort: Students are to sort the list words according to whether s or es isadded to the base word using the key word headings videos and beaches and 2) theapplication of these rules: y - i, using the key word hobbies, f - v, using the key wordwives. Examine the key features of each word according to the rules to determine whyit fits the category.

Example: videos beaches stories wives

radios mixes copies halves

Applying the Skill:

1. Adding Suffixes, Independent Word Sort: Students are to 1) make the followingwords plural and 2) sort them according to the application of the s, es, f - v, y - i or NoChange categories as in the Introducing the Skill sorting activity. This is to berecorded in chart form. Word List: yourself, ourself, scratch, video, class, hero, wolf,dress, glass, hobby, box, family, wife, fox, leaf, bus, knife, month, minute, guy, fish,sheep.

Example: s es f - v y- i No Change

months scratches ourselves families sheep

2. Irregular Plurals: The following words have an irregular plural form. Students are torecord both the singular and plural form of each word: man, woman, foot, tooth,mouse, child, goose, sheep.

3. Word Hunt: Students are to locate five words that end in consonant + y and five thatend in vowel + y. These are copied in their notebooks with the plural form written nextto each one. Example: monkey - monkeys, day - days.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Skeleton Words2. Word Machine


Review Activity: Word Sandwiches


Teaching Tip:

Different words combine in different ways to form new words. A compound word ismade of two or more words. Most compound words include all the letters in eachword. Example: nighttime retains both letter t’s. Compounds with the word all maydrop the second letter l, as in always. Many high frequency words are compounds.Each word in a compound contributes to the meaning of the whole word.Example: bedroom, leftover, notebook, daylight.

2.24 Compound Words




downtown *anything earthquake hardware*himself anywhere network supermarketeverybody somebody nighttime sweatshirtyourself *something outstanding upsidedown*anymore everyone insideout*without lifetime



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to identify what they all have incommon. Discuss the concept of a compound word and the meaning of each wholeword.

2. Syllabication: Students are to read the list words slowly, tapping and counting eachsyllable in sequence.


4. Closed Word Sort: As each word is presented, students are to divide them into theircomponent words. These are listed in two columns: Word # 1, Word # 2. Create asecond categorization activity by sorting the list words with common components, suchas compound words constructed with every, self, some, body and any.

Applying the Skill:

1. Divide by Syllable: Students are to divide the following words into syllables andrecord this in chart form. Word List: paperback, watermelon, toothbrush, cardboard,skateboard, notebook, pushover, sweatshirt, highway, daylight, cupboard, friendship,understood, driveway, outdoors, backyard, airplane, railroad.Example:

1st Syllable 2nd Syllable 3rd Syllable 4th Syllable

pa per backwa ter mel on

2. Word Building/Word Sort: Challenge students to construct as many compounds asthey can using the following words and others that they find themselves. When theyare created, the compound words are to be sorted under these headings: Time, Place,Person, Weather and Food. Word List: some, out, sun, back, any, side, day, where,time, body, thing, way, light, room, self, shine, break, look, corn, butter, cake, berry,one, night.

Example: Time Place Person Weather Food

nighttime outside anyone sunshine popcorn

3. Literature Connections/Nonsense Words: Ask students to think of two nonsensecompound words to describe a food. Refer to the giant in Roald Dahl’s BFG, who usedsuch phrases as ‘strawbunkles’ (strawberries) as an example.

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2. Listening to Ending Sounds


Review Activity: Words of Fortune

Teaching Tip:

A syllable is a group of letters that has a single vowel sound. In a word with two or moresyllables, each syllable has a vowel. VC/CV Rule: When two or more consonants occurbetween two vowels, divide the word between the consonants. Example: pub/lish, din/ner.Blends and digraphs stay together and are not divided. Example: sub/tract. In the VC/CVsyllable pattern, the first vowel will usually be short because it is in a closed syllable. A closedsyllable 1) has one short vowel and 2) ends in a consonant. Example: hap in happen is aclosed syllable. Schwa Sound: When two closed syllables are combined to make a word,the vowel in the second syllable often has a schwa sound, which sounds like a short u. Theschwa sound is the same for all vowels and is found only in unaccented syllables. It is markedwith the symbol of an upsidedown e in the dictionary. Example: kit/ten.

Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsperfect correct fantastic establish*bottom *sentence Atlantic connectmistake include mammal object*number member contest *husband*matter wonder suggest pollutehappen *twenty



1. Syllabication: Students are to read the list words slowly, tapping and counting each syllablein sequence.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Record each list word by syllable, with volunteers copying theword in two parts on the chalkboard. These syllables are then examined according to theVC/CV rule in Teaching tips and any corrections made.

3. Word Sort/Recording Syllables: Present the list words for students to sort according tothose that do or do not have double consonants, as in bottom, matter, correct and happen,using the key word headings sister and dinner.

4. Three Syllable Words: Model how to divide three syllable words, Challenge Words, suchas fan/tas/tic, bad/min/ton, es/tab/lish, At/lan/tic according to the rule.


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2.25 Syllable Pattern VC/CV



Teaching Tip:

V/CV Rule: When a single consonant is surrounded by two vowels, you usually dividethe word before the consonant and make the first vowel long. Example: a/go, hu/man,e/ven, be/gun. VC/V Rule: If the V/CV rule doesn’t make a recognizable word, divideafter the consonant and give the vowel a short sound. Example: cab/in, sol/id.


solid *even topic minus*upon silent wagon methodnotice moment event studentlater total basic product*open equal *planet saladfinish behind talent



1. Syllabication: Students are to read the list words slowly, tapping and counting eachsyllable in sequence.

Applying the Skill:

1. Divide by Syllable: Students are to record the syllables of the following vocabulary in chartform. Word List: ribbon, signal, mitten, picnic, mammal, blanket, selfish, insect, connect,umbrella, husband, public, dentist, magnet, subtract, object.Example:

First Syllable Second Syllable Third Syllable

rib bonum brel la

2. Sort by Vowel: The list words are to be sorted by their first vowel under the five categoriesa, e, i, o and u.

3. Syllable Match Up: Mix up the syllables in the list words and write on the board forstudents to reassemble: in, clude, per, fect, cor, rect, bot, tom, sen, tence, mis, take,num, ber, mem, ber, mat, ter, un, til, hap, pen, twen, ty

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Ask a Question2. Wordsearch Puzzle


Review Activity: Word Building Bingot

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2.26 Syllable Pattern V/CV, VC/V



2. Student Dictated Spelling: Record each list word syllable by syllable, making anynecessary corrections.

3. Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Present the list words for students to sortaccording to the two syllabication rules, using the key word headings bacon and cabin.Students are to decide where they would be divided into syllables by saying them aloudand tapping the syllables. These syllables are examined according to the V/CV andVC/V rules in Teaching Tips. Answers: The list words solid and finish are the onlyVC/V; the rest are the V/CV syllabication pattern.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sorts: 1) The following vocabulary is to be sorted according tothe V/CV and VC/V rules. Word List: lemon, model, comic, menu, comic, never,present, music, secret, hero, later, tiger, minus, hotel, habit, visit. 2) The V/CV, VC/Vand VC/CV syllabication rules are to be applied in order to sort these words: elbow,recent, river, butter, offer, zero, omit, erase, yellow, bacon, navy, decide, lazy, item,happen, topic, cover, event, promise, clever.

2. Math Problem: Students are to write a math problem and solution using the list wordsequal and total.

3. Video Title: Using at least two list words, students are to compose a title for a video.Example: ‘Final Moment’, ‘A Silent Moment’.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Synonyms(silent, open, clever, final, finish)

2. Antonyms(same vocabulary)


Review Activity: Word Shape Challenget

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Teaching Tip:

The sound /el/ can be represented by different letter sequences. Consonant + leSyllabication Rule: Consonant + le is a final syllable. The e is silent and the syllablesounds like consonant + /el/. The last consonant in the syllable is included. Example:In table, the last syllable is ble. One way to divide it is by counting back three lettersfrom the end of the word. Note: If the ending /el/ is added to the end of a recognizableword, the spelling will probably be al. The al ending is added to words to make nounsand adjectives. Example: arrive - arrival, sign - signal. The el ending comes after‘short’ letters, such as c, n, m, r, s, v (cancel, novel). The le spelling is the mostcommon and is found after ‘tall’ letters, such as b, d, f, g, p, t, z (castle, rifle) except inwords that end in cle, like circle. Trouble has a short u sound and people is an unusualspelling of the long e sound.

2.27 /el/ Spelled le, al, el




*hotel novel personal mineralsignal *several *hospital incredible*numeral *travel comfortable parcel*able *example capital terrible*vowel *people horrible invisiblenormal *trouble



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to identify the common sound atthe end of each word.

2. Syllabication: Read the words slowly together and tap each syllable. Students are tostate the number of syllables in each list word. Note how the /el/ spellings represent aseparate syllable. Refer to the syllabication rule in Teaching Tips and examine itsapplication to words ending in consonant + le.

3. Student Dictated Spelling: As each word is recorded, encourage students to examinethe different spellings of the /el/ sound.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Using the key word headings middle,cancel and final, sort the list words according to the different spellings of the samesound, le, el, al. Brainstorm and list further words with the /el/ sound at the end of theword. Have students categorize these words according to the spelling of the finalsyllable, or consonant + /el/: ble, cle, dle, gle, ple, tle, zle, el, al. Open Sort:Students may then examine these words to determine further categories based onmeaning or structure. Example: The base words associated with the al spelling, nounsand verbs, such as novel and cancel.


Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words according to 1) thespelling patterns le, el, al and 2) the spelling of the final consonant + /el/: ble, cle, dle,gle, ple, tle, zle and 3) whether the first syllable has a short or long vowel sound. WordList: cuddle, jungle, puzzle, gentle, simple, needle, title, cycle, squirrel, maple, angel,shovel, level, candle, tumble, cable, whistle, bottle, canal, camel, middle, crumble, nickel,bundle, eagle, barrel, uncle, handle, rifle, muscle.

Example: le el al

cuddle camel canal

ble cle dle gle ple tle zle

cable cycle bundle jungle simple title puzzle

Short Vowel Sound Long Vowel Sound

cuddle cable

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2. Divide by Syllable: Students examine the spellings of the following vocabulary todetermine where to divide into syllables. Review the syllabication rule in TeachingTips before beginning. In words ending in el or al, try accenting the first syllable. Ifthis does make a recognizable word, accent the second syllable. Word List: animal,decimal, horrible, capital, mineral, comfortable, channel, arrival, general, sample,puddle, tunnel, criminal, metal, purple, paddle, rattle, little, bottle, label, caramel.Example:

First Syllable Second Syllable Third Syllable

an i malgen er alpud dle

3. Homophones: Students use the homophones principal and principle in sentences.

4. Story Building: Students use the list words hotel, people, able, trouble and travel towrite a short story. Compare the different stories created from the same word bank.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. The Meaning of Words2. Graph Paper Word Shapes


Review Activity: Transformations (several to example)


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Teaching Tip:

The letters en, in, on and sometimes ain can represent the sound / n/. The sound / n/ isan unaccented schwa sound. The schwa sound is the same for all vowels (see Unit 25).Note: Words with ine can also have the / n/ sound, as in determine and examine.


fallen spoken mistaken lighten*common *certain straighten determine*person *reason imagine bargainwritten happened engine chickencaptain *frightened lengthen strengthencabin eaten


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2.28 / n/ Spelled en, in, on, ain


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2. Student Dictated Spelling: As each word is recorded, encourage students to examinethe different spellings of the / n/ sound.

3. Syllabication: Read the words slowly together and tap each syllable. Students are tostate the number of syllables in each list word. Note how the / n/ spellings represents aseparate syllable.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Using the key word headings curtain,shorten, napkin and cotton, sort the list words according to the different spellings ofthe / n/ sound. Brainstorm and list further words with the / n/ sound at the end of theword. Have students categorize these according to their spellings.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Students are to sort and recordthe words by: 1) The different spelling patterns representing the same / n/ sound: en,in, on, ain. Word List: fountain, sharpen, raisin, lengthen, lighten, lesson, button,poison, mistaken, bargain, million, villain, mountain, engine. 2) By the two differentsounds represented by the letter pattern ain, using the category headings plain andcurtain. Word List: gain, main, complain, grain, drain, captain, bargain, curtain,certain, captain.

2. Written Dialogue: Students use the list words spoken, person, reason andfrightened in a conversation between two people. This may be in the form of a comicstrip.

3. Bargain Basement: Using a journal style of writing, students are to recall and describethe best bargain they have or would like to have purchased.

4. Idioms: Students explain in writing what they think the following expressions mean:“a dime a dozen”, “six of one and half a dozen of the other”, “cheaper by the dozen”.

5. Word Hunt: Students are to use reference sources to record further vocabulary withthe multiple spellings of / n/ under the four categories en, in, on, ain.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Building a Pyramid2. Strong or Silent?


Review Activity: Dictated Word Sort(using vocabulary from Applying the Skill #1)

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Teaching Tip:

The spelling tion is used in nine out of ten words that end with ion. This pattern isadded to words with _t, _ct, and _pt. Example: completion, collection,consumption. The ending sion is often added to words or roots ending in _ss, _se,_de, _end. Example: discussion, confusion, decision, comprehension. Fashion andcushion are the only shion words. The sound of /a-shun/ is spelled ation. Many ofthe ion and ian words have a different sound, as in division and Russian. Note howverbs can be changed to nouns with the addition of ion. Example: act to action.

Word List: Word List Challenge Words*vacation opinion illustration introductionmillion position affection productionaction *nation explosion occupationconfusion fashion competition admissionfraction fiction explanation definitionconclusion relation




2. Syllabication: Read the words slowly together and tap each syllable. Students are tostate the number of syllables in each list word. Note how /shun/ represents a separatesyllable.

3. Student Dictated Spelling: As each word is recorded, students are to examine thedifferent spellings of the /shun/ sound (see Teaching Tips) and the syllabicationpattern represented, such as CV/VC, VC/V and V/CV. Ask volunteers to record eachlist word in its separate syllables on the chalkboard. Write the syllable pattern next to itas a model for the Independent Activities.

4. Closed Word Sort - Compare and Contrast: Using the key word headings onion,station, cushion and division, sort the list words according to the different spellings ofthe /shun/ sound, ion, sion, shion, tion. Brainstorm and list further words with the/shun/ sound at the end of the word. Have students categorize these according to theirspellings.

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Students are to sort and record the words by: 1) Thespelling patterns ion, sion, tion using the same category headings as in the IntroductoryActivity and 2) The syllable pattern each one represents: VC/CV, VC/V and V/CV.Word List: billion, mission, division, erosion, caution, question, lotion, motion,section, invention, mansion, inspection.


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2.29 /shun/ Spelled ion


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Teaching Tip:

A contraction is a short way of saying two words. They represent the way we speak andneed to be recorded in writing the same way. We use an apostrophe to show where theletters have been left out. To reinforce the position of the apostrophe, have the studentsstop writing at the point where the apostrophe is inserted, make it and then continuewriting.


wouldn’t doesn’t o’clock who’llthey’ll you’ve it’ll don’tyou’d they’re mustn’t when’swon’t couldn’t where’s isn’twe’d *that’s here’s there’s*I’ll shouldn’t



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to identify the meaning of eachword. Discuss the information in Teaching Tips about contractions.


Example:ion sion tion VC/CV VC/V V/CV

billion mission caution billion question erosion

2. Nouns and Verbs: Change the verbs to nouns by adding tion. You may need to add orchange letters. Example: add - addition. Word List: collect, invent, direct, inform,suggest, converse, instruct, illustrate.

3. Memory Aid: Students are to compose a phrase or saying to assist them inremembering the spelling of million. Example: ‘millions of lions’

4. Instruction Manual: An instruction manual is needed for people who are new toNorth America to show them how to use a candy machine (vending machine). Studentsare to write the instructions in six clear steps with a small illustration for each one.

5. Greeting Card: Using the word ‘congratulations’, students are to create a greetingcard for a friend or relation, congratulating them on an achievement.

6. Word Hunt: Students are to use their reading materials to locate vocabulary with ion.This is to be recorded in their notebooks under the categories ion, sion and tion.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. How Many Syllables2. Dictionary Definitions


Review Activity: Peer Testing

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2.30 Contractions



2. Model the Use of Apostrophes: Use the list words to model the deleting of letters andreplacing them with apostrophes. Explain that apostrophes are also used to showpossession (Unit 31), but not plurals. Example: the girl’s hair, three girls.


4. Word Sort: Sort the list words: 1) By first, second and third person under theheadings: I, we; you; he, she, they and 2) Under the categories representing their fullform: not, will, have, would, should, could, are and is. Brainstorm furthercontractions under these six headings and record.

Applying the Skill:

1. Word Sort - Full Form/Short Form: Students copy and sort the list words in theirfull and shortened form in a chart.Example:

Full Form Short Form

will not won’t

2. Missing Letters: Students sort the list words according to the number of letters thatwere replaced by an apostrophe (deleted) to form the contraction.Example:

Replaces 1 Letter Replaces More Than 1 Letter

wouldn’t they’ve

3. Homophones: The following homophones are to be used in sentences: wear, we’re,where; they’re, their, there; its, it’s, your, you’re, whose, who’s.

4. Word Hunt: Within a ten minute time limit, students are to record all the contractionsthey can find in their reading materials. These are then shared with the class.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Words of Fortune2. Spell-a-Shape



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Teaching Tip:

Singular Form: The possessive form of a singular noun is made by adding ’s, as incat’s. If the word already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the last s, as in class’.Plural Form: The possessive form of a plural noun is made by adding an apostropheafter s or es, as in classes’ and cats’. For irregular plurals, such as women, children,people and men, that don’t end in s or es, add apostrophe s, as in women’s.

2.31 Singular and Plural Possessives


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Word List: Word List Challenge Words*friend’s countries’ armies’ Americans’families’ women’s Canadians’ secretaries’*people’s government’s scientist’s genius’person’s men’s umpire’s artist’schildren’s town’s president’sgroups’ teacher’s



1. Oral Language: Read the list words in the context of a sentence and ask students toidentify the ending sounds and possible meanings of each word.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Inform students whether the list word refers to one ormore than one. As each word is recorded, students are to examine the different positionof the apostrophe and its relation to whether it is referring to one or more (singular orplural). Discuss the information in Teaching Tips about possessives.


4. Word Sort: Sort the list words according to the following categories:

Singular Plural Ending in s, es Irregular Plural

(add ‘s) (add ‘ after the s, es) (add ‘s)

Applying the Skill:

1. Independent Word Sort: Sort the contractions and plurals into two separatecategories: won’t, don’t, we’ll, it’s, you’ve, schools’, cousins’, haven’t, child’s,friends’. Example:

Contractions Plurals

won’t schools’

2. Demonstrating Purpose: Using the vocabulary from the previous activity, studentscopy the words and explain the purpose of the apostrophe in each one alongside it.Example: school’s - The apostrophe shows that something belongs to the school.

3. Creative Writing: Using the topic ‘Our Family’s Vacation’, students are to create astory web outlining the name of the place they visited, how they got there, what it lookslike, what they did there and how it made them feel.

4. Rebus Sentences: Students compose sentences using pictures for five of the list wordsin a rebus format.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Little Words Inside2. Ask a Question


Review Activity: Words of a Kind (person)

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Teaching Tip:A prefix is a syllable placed before a base word. Prefixes do not change the spelling ofthe base word, but they change the meaning and sometimes the pronunciation of thebase word. The prefix dis means the opposite of, as in disagree; in means into or not,as in incorrect; non and un both mean not, as in nonsense and unable. The prefix inis changed to im before words beginning with m or p. Example: impolite, import,immobile, immoral.

Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsimpossible nonsense unprepared unbeatenunfinished disappoint dishonest unexpectedunknown discover import impressinvite uncommon unnecessary impatientunusual nonfiction discount disloyalincorrect disappear



1. Oral Language: Read each list word as a base word and then with a prefix.Example: able, unable, agree, disagree. Ask students to explain how each wordchanges in spelling and meaning.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: As each word is recorded, students are to examine thedifferent prefixes and their meanings. Discuss the information in Teaching Tips.

3. Closed Word Sort: Use the key words unkind, dislike, non-fat, incomplete andimpolite as category headings for students to sort the list words according to theirprefixes. Examine how the prefix does not change the spelling of the base word, butthe pronunciation and meaning does. Note that removing the prefix may result in itsantonym. Example: disappear - appear.

Applying the Skill:

1. Word Structure: Each list word is to be recorded in three columns: Whole Word,Prefix used and the Base Word without the prefix.Example:

List Word Prefix Base Wordunable un able

2. Word Building - Creating Opposites: Remind students to always add a prefix to awhole word to avoid omitting letters in words like reenter and misspell. At least oneof the prefixes un, dis, im and non are to be added to the following words. Challengestudents to try and add more than one prefix to the same base word. Example: unable,disable. Word List: able, cover, like, lucky, please, fair, even, wrap, wise, real, happy,button, tie, lock, certain, polite, patient, moveable.

3. Disappearing Tricks: Students write a possible solution to the question: “How domagicians make objects disappear?”


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2.32 Prefixes dis, in, non, un


Teaching Tip:

The prefix ad means to or toward, ex means out of or former, pre means before and promeans in favor of or toward. The letter o in pro can be short or long depending on thesyllable structure. Example: in promise, the closed syllable prom has a short vowel sound.In protect, the open syllable pro has a long vowel sound.


admit advice preview projectexplore expect adjust progressprovide protect proceed advanceexplain program advertise exchangepromise *products extreme expandprepare preserve



1. Oral Language: Read the list words with common prefixes. Example: admit and advice.Ask students to tell how they sound alike.

2. Syllabication: As students tap or clap each syllable, draw their attention to the fact that allthe list words have two syllables.

3. Student Dictated Spelling: As each word is recorded, students are to examine the differentprefixes and their meanings. Discuss the meaning of each prefix in relation to the whole word(see information in Teaching Tips).

4. Word Sort: Use the key words adjust, exit, pregame and profit as category headings forstudents to sort the list words according to their prefixes.

Applying the Skill:

1. Word Structure: Each of the following words is to be recorded in three columns: WholeWord, Prefix Used and Meaning. Students may use dictionaries for this activity. WordList: progress, preview, excuse, adjust.


4. Base Words: The related words appear, disappear and reappear are to be used insentences.

5. Word Hunt: Using their reading materials as reference sources, students are to findten words that use one of the prefixes dis, un, non or in.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Write a Riddle2. Synonyms (disappear, disagree,

unusual, discover, unknown)


Review Exercise: Wordst

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2.33 Prefixes ad, ex, pre and pro



Example:

Whole Word Prefix Used Meaningprogress pro moving forward in growth

2. Adverbs: Discuss the meaning of the term adverb and how it is used in writing. An adverbtells how, when and where the action happens. Most adverbs end in ly, such as quickly andslowly. Other adverbs refer to a place or time, as in sometimes, later, here and anywhere.Ask students to list two adverbs under each of the headings how, when and where and usethem in sentences. See Unit 34 for further adverbs.

3. Word Hunt: Using their reading materials as reference sources, students are to find as manywords as they can that use one of the prefixes ad, ex, pre and pro. This may be a paired orgroup activity.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Dictionary Definitions2. Strong or Silent


Review Activity: Mystery Wordt

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Teaching Tip:

By adding a suffix, we change the meaning of a word. The suffix ly means in a certain way,ful means full of, less means without and ness means a state of being. A number of the listwords are adjectives or adverbs (see Word Sort under Introducing the Skill).


helpful hopeful hopefully carelessreally *suddenly weakness thoughtlesshappily happiness worthless wonderfulluckily hopeless harmless painfuldarkness powerful deadly forgetfulawful *safely



1. Oral Language: Read the list words with common suffixes. Example: forgetful, hopeful,powerful, awful. Ask students to tell how they sound alike.

2. Syllabication: Students tap or clap the syllables and state the number in each word.

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2.34 Suffixes ly, ful, less, ness


Teaching Tip:

A number of verbs do not use the word ending ed to show past tense. In irregular verbs,the vowel sound often changes in the past tense. Example: mean, meant, buy, bought.The letter sequence pt is also used to show the past tense of verbs. Example: keep -kept, sleep - slept.

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3. Student Dictated Spelling: Record each word dictated by students, examining the differentprefixes and their meanings. Discuss the meaning of each suffix in relation to the whole word(see information in Teaching Tips). Examine how the spellings of some base words changewhen a suffix is added. Example: in lucky - luckily, the y is changed to i.

4. Closed Word Sort: Use the key words friendly, playful, tasteless and sweetness ascategory headings for students to sort the list words according to their suffixes. Discussadjectives and adverbs. Adjectives describe a noun or pronoun by telling what kind, whichone or how many. They add interest and information to our writing. See Unit 33 for adverbs.Ask students to identify the list words that correspond to each of these two categories.

Applying the Skill:

1. Word Structure: Each of the list words is to be recorded in three columns: Base Word,Suffix and Whole Word including suffix.Example:

Base Word Suffix Whole Word

forget ful forgetful

2. Word Building: Add both suffixes ful and ly to the following words. Example: hope + ful+ ly = hopefully. Word List: hope, faith, cheer, play, care and peace.

3. Descriptive Phrases: Students locate and record five descriptive phrases from their readingmaterial. These may describe a setting or a character. Example: stars shining brightly, agraceful flamingo, deep blue waters.

4. Colorful Vowels: Students copy each list word using color for the vowels.

5. Character Study of a Powerful Hero: Students create a character web of a herodescribing his/her name, age, looks, actions, qualities or powers.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Memory Clues2. Build a Pyramid


Review Activity: Affix Race

2.35 Irregular Verbs



Word List: Word List Challenge Wordsmeant kept dealt foughtslept felt spilt gonesent heard crept wokeate *built broke broughtwon *began caught lent*thought bought



1. Oral Language: Read the list words and ask students to identify what they have incommon. Many of the words end in /t/.

2. Student Dictated Spelling: Ask the students to describe the sounds they hear and theletters they would expect to see in each list word. As each word is recorded, examine thedifferent forms of the past tense, including changes in vowel sound. Discuss how thisrepresents the way we speak by putting ed on the list words to illustrate the inappropriatenessof such word structure. Example: mean - meaned, keep - keeped.

3. Word Sort: Sort the list words according to their present and past tense using the keyword headings Today and Yesterday. Have students use each form in an oral sentence.Example:

Today Yesterday

build built

Applying the Skill:

1. Verb Pairs: Students are to use the present and past tense of each list word in the samesentence or pairs of sentences. Example: Susan slept until seven yesterday morning.Today she wants to sleep until eight.

2. Memory Aid: Students are to create a phrase to assist in remembering the spelling ofbuild. Example: You and I build a house.

3. Past and Present: The following irregular verbs are to be copied and the present tenserecorded beside each one. Word List: fought, taught, brought, lent, swept, knelt, grew,spilt, wrote, caught.

4. Idioms: The meaning of the expression “swept him/her off their feet” is to beexplained in writing.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Graph Paper Word Shapes2. Antonyms

(slept, bought, grew, kept, began)Challenge Words: (See Section 1)

Review Activity: Visualizationt

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Teaching Tip:The term homophones refers to words with the same sound, but different spelling andmeaning. Homographs are words that are spelled the same and have differentmeanings, as in a kind of food and a kind person.

Word List: Word List Challenge Wordswould wood aloud allowed*close clothes steel stealchews *choose eight ate*week weak tail tale*past passed through threw*write right



1. Student Dictated Spelling: Present each word in a sentence to give a clue to itsmeaning. Ask the students to describe the sounds they hear and the letters they wouldexpect to see in each list word. As each pair of words is recorded, examine thedifferences in spelling and meaning.


Applying the Skill:

1. Editing a Mixed Up News Report: Using incorrect homophones, students tell aconfusing news story. They will need to decide upon which section of the paper it willbe written for. Choices include the local and international news, sports, health care,auto news, business and entertainment. Each article will need to consist of: a Headlinethat will attract attention; a Dateline that tells where the story came from and when itwas written; a Slugline that introduces the story with a punch; and the Body of thenews story that answers the questions who, what, where, when, how and why. Beforethey begin, each homophone pair they plan to use inappropriately is to be recorded.They may choose from the word list, spelling words or use others located in thedictionary. Provide newspapers as a model. When they are completed, have studentsexchange them with a partner who acts as editor by proofreading the story andrecording the spelling of the correct homophones underneath. Word List: jeans/genes,hole/whole, board/bored, not/knot, to/too/two, would/wood, knight/night, eight/ate,hare/hair, by/buy, wait/weight, plane/plain, mist/missed, road/rowed.

2. Picture Words: Students are to illustrate and label the pairs of list words.

Independent Practice Exercises: 1. Word Machine2. The Meaning of Words


Review Exercise: Proofreading

clock

nature

worries

brushes

2.36 Homophones


1. Categories: Closed and Open Word Sorts (deductive and inductive thinking)

Closed Sort (deductive thinking): In a closed sort, the teacher provides the categories and the studentsare asked to sort the words according to these by comparing and contrasting spellings. For example,categories may include words with a specific sound segment, letter sequence, prefix or suffix, number ortype of syllables and different spellings for the same sound. The list of words to be examined andcategorized may represent two or three contrasting key features, such as the letters that represent thedifferent sounds of the same spelling, two spellings of the same sound, etc. In the first sessions, model thereasoning process for categorizing each word. Ask students to summarize with a statement about eachcategory of words. The procedure is as follows:

• Present the key words or spelling pattern provided in the lesson as category headings. Write them on achart or copy on word cards.

• If appropriate, reinforce the graphophonic correspondence of spellings by asking students to identify:- the letters they would expect to see in ____. Example: /shun/ (sound-symbol)- the sound they hear in ____. Example: ion (symbol-sound)

• Write the word list provided on the board or present on cards for students to examine. Encourage them toexplore, compare and contrast the features of the categories (sound, spelling pattern or meaning).

• Ask students to verbalize what it is they have in common and either place the cards or write the words underthe corresponding key word headings. Doubled tape or a solid sticky adhesive can be used to attach wordcards in categories.

• A miscellaneous or “exceptions” category may also be necessary.

• Students record the categories in their notebooks.

Further Applications:

• Independent Word Sort: Once this has been done as a whole class activity, groups of students orindividuals can be given word cards or lists of words to sort and present their justification to the class.

• Word Hunt: Novels, poetry, newspapers and subject content material provide authentic contexts forstudying words with common phonetic, visual, semantic and derivational patterns. Students use theseforms of literature to locate words that represent the categories. Then they write a statement for eachgroup of words explaining how they relate to the category. This can be a timed activity.

• Word Pictures: Students draw and label a picture that represents vocabulary they located in the wordhunt, or that is provided by the teacher.

tion

action

sion

division

shion

fashion

3 Introductory Activities


Section 3 Introductory Activities

• Poetry: Once the list words have been categorized and further words with the same pattern have beenrecorded, you can have students apply this to creating a poem. It may be a nonsense rhyme, theme poemor descriptive poem. Begin by providing the first line for students to build on, if necessary.

Open Sort (inductive thinking): In an open sort, teachers do not provide the categories. Students are toexamine the words carefully to identify the categories and sort the words accordingly. This type ofactivity stimulates divergent and inductive thinking. You may present a list of words with a specificproblem for the students to solve, such as identifying the rule they represent or simply ask them to decideupon the categories and then sort the words. Categories could include: number of syllables, syllablestructure, vowel sounds, nouns, verbs or adjectives, specific prefixes or suffixes, different forms of acommon base word and concept categories that are meaning based. In this way, students are able to formtheir own generalizations that can be applied to unfamiliar vocabulary with the same features. The wordlists may come from sources such as books, dictionaries or curriculum vocabulary. A miscellaneouscategory is often necessary to address exceptions, such as words like “done” where the silent e rule doesnot apply.

2. Oral Language (Phonemic Awareness):

In order to spell, students need to have developed the ability to analyze a word into smallercomponents, such as sounds and syllables. By asking students to discriminate between differentspoken sounds and syllables, we are developing their auditory analysis skills which will assistthem in encoding new vocabulary. This knowledge of how sound units are used to form spoken

words is called phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is a strong indicator of reading and spellingsuccess. A number of units have an Oral Language Introductory Activity.

3. Introducing the New Vocabulary:

It has been found that introducing the spelling words in isolation and in printed form is preferable than inthe context of sentences. This allows more detailed analysis of the words themselves. It is important toarticulate each word carefully and have students do the same to avoid errors from mispronunciation. Forregular spellings, draw students’ attention to the sound/symbol correspondence or structural characteristicsthat will help them to spell that word. For irregular spellings, use visual techniques, such as the X-Ray Eyesactivity or reinforce with the “Say It Wrong to Spell It Right” strategy described in the Student DictatedSpelling Activity in this Section.

4. X-Ray Eyes:

This is a form of progressive cloze. Begin by printing the list words on the chalkboard.Students will use their “x-ray eyes” to read deleted letters. Ask a student volunteer whichletter they would like deleted. This letter is then erased from every word that contains it inthe list. Students choral read using their x-ray eyes to see the missing letter. Another

volunteer chooses the next letter to be erased and the process is repeated. No letters are replaced, so that theletter cues become progressively reduced.

usual

unusual


i-s-l-a-n-d

Introductory Activities Section 3

5. Minimal Cues Message:

This is an excellent warm up activity to a lesson or daily review of the spelling/reading connection at thebeginning of each day. On the chalkboard write a message, riddle or joke where target spelling patterns areomitted. For example, you may choose to omit all the medial vowels or suffixes. Students are to “read” andcopy the message in complete form using their knowledge of spelling strategies and sentence structure in anintegrated manner. Allow five to ten minutes for the task and invite student discussion on the possiblespellings. In this way students are verbalizing the strategies and reasoning they used in generating theirspelling, enhancing their ability to generalize from familiar spelling concepts and vocabulary to newcontexts. In the English language, there are only a certain number of letter sequences that are possible.This activity highlights this fact by challenging the student to apply prediction skills to identify what letterwill come next. For example, W _ _ t p _ _ m c _ n y _ u f _ _ i _ s _ _ _ e? A u _ _ v _ _ _ e. (Whatpoem can you find in space? A uni-verse.) Alternatively, factual information or local news providesrelevancy for this cloze activity.

6. Student Dictated Spelling:

Before presenting the word list on the chalkboard or chart, say each word and ask studentsto dictate the letter they would expect to see at the beginning, middle and end of the wordas you print it. You may wish to use this opportunity to discuss spelling patterns andirregular spellings. If the word has an irregular spelling pattern, you can use the strategyof ‘saying it wrong to spell it right’. When a word cannot be correctly decoded

phonetically, such as “would” and “said”, have the students (mis)pronounce it phonetically to identify theirregularity. (Example: pe o ple - pee-o-pull-ee.) Regular spelling patterns can be addressed through thestrategy of “sound it, blend it, say it”. In this way you are addressing the critical decoding (reading) andencoding (spelling) skills of segmenting and oral blending that are necessary for student success.

7. Shared Writing:

When students have choral read the list ask them to help you create a story that uses eachword. Provide a sentence starter if necessary. (Example: One day ... Yesterday thefunniest thing happened when ...) You may wish to brainstorm ideas under who, what,where and when before beginning to provide a story structure. Once a theme or five W’shas been decided upon, have students use the sentence starter to begin the story. This is a

good opportunity to model and encourage students to verbalize editing, as well as spelling and sentencestructure skills.

8. Oral Cloze:

To focus on the integration of meaning and the recognition of spelling patterns, a sentence is presented bythe teacher for students to complete with the correct list word. This can also be used in the form of poetryor stories, where a word containing the same spelling element or principle is omitted.


Section 3 Introductory Activities

9. Literature Vocabulary:

In this pre or post reading activity, students use their knowledge of common lettersequences and the main elements of a novel to predict spellings using the minimal cuesprovided. Choose six to eight words from a current novel study that represent the keyelements, such as vocabulary referring to the main event, an action, setting or charactertrait. These should be polysyllabic words. On the blackboard, write the numbers one

through eight in a column. Next to each number, write the first letter of each word and a line for eachmissing letter. This is similar to the Words of Fortune review game. Students copy these in their notebooks.Progressively add letters, one at a time, inviting students to guess a word at any point during the process. Iftheir guess is incorrect, simply continue adding letters, with students continually copying these until thesolution is predicted. This is an important learning opportunity to discuss probable and improbablespellings in terms of word structure and letter sequences.

10. Dictionary Respellings:

Demonstrate the use of the dictionary pronunciation guide found beside each word.Examine the different symbols and what they mean, such as long vowel signs and the dotsor “bullets” that indicate where the word is divided into syllables. Have students copy theserespellings next to their list words and model how students may apply this strategy for bothreading and writing unfamiliar vocabulary.

11. Word Board:

Provide slips of paper and a word box. Students are to record interesting, challenging wordsthey find in their daily reading. These words may be from novels, texts, magazines, etc.Words are drawn from the box each day, or at the end of the week and examined. You mayask the student who recorded it to give a reason why they chose the word and the context inwhich it was used. These words may be used for the Challenge Word activity in Section 1 toreinforce the recognition and spelling of polysyllabic vocabulary. Another possible formatis to have a wipe off board or chart paper posted in the room on which students may recordtheir chosen words during the week.

blockbuste

r

phenomenon

infinite

enigma

dilemmaephemeral


Antonyms

• Choose five list words.

• Find words that mean the opposite of each one.

• Use a dictionary or thesaurus to help you.

• Record each antonym next to the list word.

Example: open - close

join - separate

Build a Pyramid

• Build a pyramid with each list word.

• Write the first letter at the top.

• Under this write it again.

• Then write the next letter.

• Add on one more letter each timeuntil you have spelled the whole word.

• Draw a triangle around each word.

pp o

p o wp o w e

p o w e r

Example:

4 Independent Practice Exercises


Section 4 Independent Practice Exercises

Synonyms

• Find words that have the same or almostthe same meaning as five words on yourspelling list.

• Use a thesaurus or dictionary to help you.

• Record the synonyms in a web around the list word.

Dictionary Definitions

• Choose five words from your list.

• Look up their definitions or meaningin the dictionary. Write one definition.

• Use the word in a sentence.

Example:

List Word: certainDefinition: sure to happenSentence: I am sure that I will spell my words correctly.

Example:rare

strange

peculiar

oddspecial

unusual curious


Ask a Question

• Use each of your spelling words in a sentencethat asks a question.

• Underline the spelling word in each sentence.

Example: Do you collect hockey cards?

How Many Syllables?

• Read each list word slowly. Listen to each partof the word or syllable.

• How many syllables do you hear? Can you tapyour fingers for each one?

• Write the list word, then record each syllable.

Example:

Independent Practice Exercises Section 4

SyllablesList Word 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

perfect per fectimportant im por tantmultiplying mul ti ply ing



Write a Riddle

• Make a list of your spelling words bywriting one word under the other.

• Next to the list, write a clue for each word. Mix up the clues so theyare not in the right order.

• Share your word riddles with a partner and see if they can match upthe words with the clues.

Example: Spelling Words Clues

measure an exciting experienceadventure to find out the size of something

Little Words Inside

• Write each of your spelling words.

• Look closely at each one to find small words.

• Circle the small words that you can find.Write the little words next to the spelling word.

Example:

thousand sand, and, an, a

sentence sent, ten


Listening to Ending Sounds

• Choose five words fromyour list.

• Write a sentence for eachone using only words that endwith the same sound.

Example:

List Word: decid e

Sentence: Emus eat enormous easter eggs.

Word Search Puzzle

• Make a word search for a partner. Use the Word Search form.Copy each list word across and down. Fill in any spaces with littlewords and letters.

• Write the words you used on the lines at the bottom of the form.

• Ask your partner to find the list words and circle them.

Example:


r e m l de s o g wa g r e ed o w x hy o p w s


More Than One

• Choose the words in your list that can be written in the pluralform to show more than one.

• Write the list word and the plural form next to each other.

Example: List Word Plural

plant plants hundred hundreds problem problems


Word Wheels• Use your spelling words to play Words of Fortune with

a partner. Draw a wheel on a piece of paper. Choose aspelling word from your partner’s list. Draw a blankspace for each letter in the word next to the wheel.

• Ask your partner to guess a letter that could be in the word. If theletter is in the word, write it in the space where it is spelled in theword. If the letter is not in the word, write it inside the wheel.

• When the word is complete, it is the partner’s turn. Thewinner is the player with the fewest letters inside the wheel.

s t___ ___ ___ ___y

e

w


Skeleton Words

• Take away letters from your spellingwords to show only the “bare bones”.

• Write every other letter of the spelling words.

• Show it to a partner and see if they can put the body back on the“bones”.

Example:remember r _ m _ m b _ r

The Meaning of Words

• Use each of your spelling words in a sentence that shows itsmeaning. You may use two spelling words in a sentence.

• Underline the list word in each sentence.

Good Example - shows meaning:

The climbers reached the top of the tallest mountain in the country.

Poor Example - does not show meaning:

The people lived on a mountain.




Graph Paper Word Shapes

• Find a sheet of 1 cm. graph paper.

• Make a word shape of each spelling word. Write the lettersinside the squares of graph paper. Tall letters will go into the rowof boxes above. Letters with tails will go into the row of boxesbelow.

• Draw an outline around the words with a colored pencil.

Example:

thought complete

photograph disappear

Spell-a-Shape

• Use your spelling words to make an interesting shape or design.

• Think of a shape you would like to create. It could be a topic yourare studying, an animal, a place, a vehicle or a plant. Write thewords at least two times to form an outline of your shape.

• You can use different sizes of letters and color to give it detail.

agreeeasy mea

n money rememberready

reachedemptybetween

least

spread second


Memory Clues

• Some words have groups of letters that arehard to remember.

• Choose three list words. Look at the orderof the letters in each word. Find the partthat is hard.

• Think of words that begin with each letter. The words should forma sentence. This will help you remember the order they are spelledin.

Example: beautiful - Big elephants aren’t ugly.

Word Machine

• Choose three words from your spelling list.Look closely at the letters in each word.Use the letters in each word to make five new ones.

• Check your new words in the dictionary.

• Score 1 point for three and four letter words. Score 2 points forwords with five or more letters. What is your score?

Example: separate - pear, tear, ape, tea, peas, PeterScore 7 points




True or False?

• Use each spelling word in a sentence thatmakes a statement. Some of the sentenceswill say true things. The others will be false or not true.

• Share them with a classmate and see if they can tell which are trueand which are false.

Example: Catfish are creatures that live in the ocean.

Smog is a mixture of smoke and fog.

Strong or Silent?

• Sort your spelling words. Listen toall the vowel sounds in each word.Are they short, long or silent?

• List them under Short, Long and Silent.Some words will be in more than one list.

Example: Short Vowel Long Vowel Silent Vowel

hopped hoped science


1. Dictated Word Sort: In this variation of a word sort, the teacher or peer dictates a list of words for students torecord under the key words or spelling patterns that represent the categories. This is a way of reinforcing andassessing students’ ability to recognize spelling features in words and categorize accordingly.

2. Extended Dictation - Spelling Through Analogy: Reinforce connections between words by dictatingadditional words with the same spelling pattern, structure or meaning. The strategy ofspelling through analogy is particularly useful here and requires students to applyclassification and problem solving skills, rather than simply relying on visual memory, whichhas its limitations. For example, if right is spelled r- i - g- h- t, then night would be spelled________.

3. Cue Cards: Model the step-by-step study process outlined in the Spelling Study Card (Section 7). Havestudents follow these steps with you using a list word as an example. Students are then to apply this process inreviewing the vocabulary that posed difficulty for them and have a peer testing session as a follow up, recordingtheir progress. Partners are to take turns until each one has mastered their “spelling demons” in three subsequentpeer dictations.

The Spelling Cue Card (Section 7) should also be reviewed regularly. Model this process by verbalizing eachstep as you complete it with a list word. Students are then to join you on the second example and “talk” throughthe process as they do so.

4. Visualization: This is a visual memory strategy that is useful in mastering irregular spellings of high frequencywords that may not be spelled through analogy and challenging multi-syllable words. It assists withvisual encoding and word retrieval. Lead the students through this visualization technique. Presenta word that is a common misspelling in your class’ writing on the chalkboard. Ask students to lookup or straight ahead and imagine they see a large outdoor screen, such as they would see at aballpark, with the words printed in bright, colorful letters. When they have done this, ask them tosee the letters being progressively erased, yet they can still recall what the word looked like, or

visual image (similar to X-Ray Eyes activity in Introductory Activities). Students are to read each of its letters, notjust look at them, but say each letter name forwards and backwards. This may be done to a rhythm, which istransferred to when the students record the spelling by writing the word. The steps in the visualization strategyassist students to maintain the visual image longer and allow processing to occur.

5. Proofreading (See Spelling Through Writing in Section 1):

Whole Group Practice: To provide practice in proofreading skills, write a passage on the chalkboard or worksheetcontaining errors in target sound segments, structural features or meaning elements for the students toedit. You may wish to use an overhead for the first sessions to model proofreading strategies andinvolve students in the problem solving. Provide feedback in subsequent sessions by having studentsoffer and discuss possible solutions to the editing and the concepts that were required to recognizeand correct the errors. Through recognizing the mistakes of others, students reinforce and apply

world

might

night

sight

fright

right

5 Review Activities


Section 5 Review Activities

spelling knowledge and skills. Errors may consist of inverted letters as in gril for girl, incorrect vowel sounds ororder of vowels within a word as in siad for said, or omission of letters, as in hom for home or rite for write.Teachers may choose to present sentences or single words for editing on the chalkboard, as a daily exercise inspelling and punctuation or as a specific review exercise for one or more spelling units.

Game Format: Proofreading or Goof Proofing can be adapted to a team game format. Write misspelled listwords on the board in two columns. Misspellings may differ in each list word. Divide the class into two teams.Each team is to proofread and correct the errors in their column of words by erasing and rewriting letters. Teammembers may only change one letter. In this way, it is like a relay game. The team that is first to correct each wordin their list wins, or simply congratulate each team for their accurate proofreading.

Cloze: Provide a series of sentences or passages where the list words have been omitted for students tocomplete. Discuss how the context of the sentence provides clues to identifying the correct list word.

6. Words of Fortune: You can use post its and chart paper for this activity. Write the spelling words on chart paperand cover each letter with post its. If you do this on the chalkboard, simply draw spaces for the lettersin each word. Focus on one word at a time. Ask a student to choose a letter they think may be in theword. If they have chosen one that is present in the word, remove the post it to reveal the letter, or

print it in the space where it appears in the word. The student may continue guessing another letter (or choose aclassmate to continue) until an incorrect guess is made. Incorrect letters are recorded beside the word. Then theteacher or student chooses the next contestant. Continue until all the list words have been revealed and reviewed.This activity can also be used for math terms and theme words as a time effective skill builder.

7. Spelling Tic Tac Toe: Draw a tic tac toe square on the chalkboard. Divide the class into teams for X and O.Dictate a list or review word to each team in turn. If they are able to write it on their side of the tictac toe square with the correct spelling it may remain there. To make this a cooperative game, haveteam members help each other to verify the spelling. Encourage the use of strategies by askingstudents if it looks right and sounds right when they decode it. If the word is spelled correctly, theymay draw an X or O on the tic tac toe . When the first team has three X’s or O’s in a row theywin.

8. Wordo: Wordo is a form of bingo where the squares may be filled with either spelling patterns or whole words.To review the unit sound segment, prefix or suffix, have students record these onthe Wordo form. The teacher then dictates words using these spelling patterns.Students either put an X through the pattern or use a bingo chip. A similarprocess is followed for playing with whole words from current unit lists.Students copy these words on the form in random order and the teacher readsthem aloud as they mark them on their form. A vertical, horizontal or diagonalrow is a “Wordo”. Play the game until every student has at least one if possible.

9. Picture It!: Provide word cards with vocabulary based on previous and current spelling units. Pairs of studentsare given a card and a set time to draw something that will provide the class with clues for theword. No letters or words are to be used. Only drawings. The student who correctly guessesthe word and their partner take the next turn.

x o

x

o

n _ t _ r e

_ture _ion dis_ un_ non_

pro_ pre_ post_ _ment ex_

_ance _ful _ly _ness _less

_able _ible _ence _ize _ory

_our _ally _al super_ _ive


Review Activities Section 5

JEOPARDY

Short Vowels Long Vowels Prefixes Suffixes Odd Balls

100 100 100 100 100

200 200 200 200 200

Strange,

Uncommon

UNUSUAL

To go onholiday

VACATION

Job you

will do

CAREER

10. Homophone Hangman: Choose a pair of homophones, such as close and clothes (see word list). Divide thestudents into two teams. One player from each team becomes the artist for that homophone. Their job is to drawa picture that represents the homophone. The first team to identify the homophone, spell it correctly and explainthe meaning of each word pair wins the point. The number of guesses is limited by the hangman drawingor similar character. Word List: sale, sail; break, brake; aloud, allowed; meet, meat; threw, through;some, sum; ate, eight; right, write; week, weak; wood, would; guessed, guest; past, passed; not, knot;poor, pour; medal, meddle; tail, tale; knew, new; steel, steal; board, bored; course, coarse; creak,creek; son, sun; heard, herd; due, dew; straight, strait; side, sighed; mist, missed; doe,dough; which, witch; main, mane; waist, waste; plain, plane; one, won; cell, sell; need,knead; groan, grown; cruise, crews; chews, choose; piece, peace; wear, where; tow,toe; bear, bare; pail, pale; haul, hall; hour, our; stair, stare; sore, soar; deer, dear.

11. Affix Race: Write the prefixes and suffixes the students have practiced on cards. Each team picks a card from acontainer. They are to write as many words as they can with that prefix or suffix within a set time limit (Example:five minutes). Teams may use dictionaries and other aids to help them generate their list. When the time is up,teams read their words aloud and gain a point for each real word. The team with the most points wins the round.This may be repeated by having teams pick another card.

12. Word Study Jeopardy: Create categories such as Short Vowels, Long Vowels, Prefixes, Suffixes and Odd Balls.Students or helpers can create the word clue cards for each category based on vocabulary from previous units.

Clues can be the form of a riddle,letter clues, cloze sentence orrhyming word, etc. Order thecards in difficulty and award valuesfrom $100 to $400. To begin, rollthe die to see which team goes first.They choose a category and value.

Answers must be given in the form of a question and include the correct oral spelling of the word. Limit two turnsper team. Continue until all the clue cards are used. The team or player with the highest amount wins. Shuffle thecards for the next game.

13. Word Sandwiches: Present only first and last letters and ask the students to suggest possible ‘fillings’ (in the formof medial letters) to form new words. This could be done as a whole group or small group task, withthe challenge to create the largest number of possibilities. The use of a dictionary would be ofassistance to group work. For example, s___d - separated, started, etc.

14. Mystery Word: This is a variation on the I Spy game. Model the process by choosing a word from the list and givingthe students a graphophonic clue, definition, rhyming word or synonym that will assist them in predictingcorrectly. (Example: A set of clues such as “a country with __ vowels and __ consonants, or a capitalcity, state, province, etc.) Students are to ask five questions. If they do not guess it then, the “riddler”

gets the point, tells them and chooses the next player. The student who guesses the word is next to select a word thatcorresponds to the unit skill focus and repeat the process. Discuss the criteria for good questions that will eliminatecategories of words. This can be a group or whole class activity.

special

???????


Section 5 Review Activities

g h k i d

l o e c b

m p q w h

j o u y f

i l s g x

person

personal

personally

personality

impersonal

practice

happen

lappen

leppen

lespen

lessen

lesson

15. Around the World: This game is played in teams. The goal of the game is to correctly spell the words called outby the teacher so they may circle the globe. When this is accomplished, a team gains 500 kilometers(310 miles). The first team to win 10,000 kilometers (6 213 miles) and travel around the world wins.You may wish to have students draw a world map with 500 kilometer (310 mile) increments marked onit so they can plot their progress.

16. Peer Testing: Have peers of students take turns dictating the words posing difficulty in the pre-test or words thatindividuals have added to their list such as challenge words or subject terms. When each partner has dictated theother’s list, they score it together using their Self-Correcting Errors form and give a point for each correct letter.The process is repeated with the other partner now dictating the words and assisting with the scoring.

17. Transformations: Start with a word and change a letter each time to produce the target new word. The newword will have one letter that is the same and have the same total number of letters as the first one. Thenumber of changes required will be the number of letters, minus one. For example, happen to lesson willtake five moves.

18. Word Building Bingo: Dictate 24 letters for students to record in random order on the Wordo form. Someletters, such as vowels , may be repeated. The 25th letter is a free choice. The object is tomake as many words as possible from these letters in a specified period of time, scoring onepoint for words with three to four letters and two points for words with 5 or more letters. Tomake this easier, you can reduce the number of letters to 15 or 20. A further alternative is tohave students choose their own letters.

19. Words of a Kind: Write the root or base form of a list word on the board. Team members or student volunteerswrite as many derivatives of this word as they can underneath it. A time limit of two to three minutes isrequired. Teams or the whole class receive a point for each correctly-spelled derivative. A target scorecan be established for the whole class to achieve in this activity.

20. Word Shape Challenge: Draw a wordshape on the chalkboard, emphasizing the tall letters and letters with tails.This could be on large grid paper. Challenge students to write and outline as many words asthey can that match the shape. They may use reading materials for reference. This game can beplayed by pairs, teams or the whole class.


Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3clock struggle switchfront crumble edgeagainst month bridgespend sample coachtrack scream stagegrandfather straight touchcomplete strange stretchstood thrilling kitchenacross splash hugeflight throat changeproblem branch fetchstanding spring porch

Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6chance fact meansince break moneycourage danger reachedcontrol animal asleepgiant add readygarbage afraid spreadonce paid easyscience half leastpractice safe rememberguide yesterday emptymagnet main forestcharge holiday agree

�6 Take-Home Lists


Section 6 Take-Home Lists

Unit 7 Unit 8 Unit 9mind tomorrow continuechild follow cousinidea also rescuebright plot shouldwhile hold grewlife long loseisland only throughgoodbye alone untillive suppose duringtype goal whosefinish whole suitdecide shown confuse

Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12achieve smart earlyweigh toward perhapsreceive north whetherbelieve argue worldpiece course differenteither report purposeeight force learnedheight anymore hearddiet order earththeir separate curveneither short togetherchief sorry circle

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Unit 13 Unit 14 Unit 15share mixture noisythere nature voiceparents adventure pointedcompare future destroyscare pressure jointairport failure royalwear measure enjoynear sure voyagerare creature soilspare pleasure loyalcareer injure moisturesquare capture broil

Unit 16 Unit 17 Unit 18allowed water knewmountain almost wrotethousand toward knowhowever cause answerborrow naughty doubtpower taught listenamount warm wrongground drawn oftenclouds crawl sightflower because climblower daughter knockproud also walk

�Take-Home Lists Section 6



Unit 19 Unit 20 Unit 21rough watching losingenough hoped racinggraph taped worriesquiet stared dancingquarter scared hidingphotograph added fliestelephone yelling promisedtough hopped boredlaugh tapped stayingquite starred becomingquestions scarred carriedtrophy stopped living

Unit 22 Unit 23 Unit 24hardest Canadians downtownlatest themselves himselfnoisier radios everybodygreatest eyelashes yourselfhigher mixes anymorebusiest brushes withoutcraziest countries anythingnearest copies anywherestrongest halves somebodyearlier bodies somethingdirtiest matches everyoneyounger bosses lifetime

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Unit 25 Unit 26 Unit 27perfect solid hotelbottom upon signalmistake notice numeralnumber later ablematter open vowelhappen finish normalcorrect even novelsentence silent severalinclude moment travelmember total examplewonder equal peopletwenty behind trouble

Unit 28 Unit 29 Unit 30fallen vacation wouldn’tcommon million they’llperson action you’dwritten confusion won’tcaptain fraction we’dcabin conclusion I’llspoken opinion doesn’tcertain position you’vereason nation they’rehappened fashion couldn’tfrightened fiction that’seaten relation shouldn’t

�Take-Home Lists Section 6



Unit 31 Unit 32 Unit 33friend’s impossible admitfamilies’ unfinished explorepeople’s unknown provideperson’s invite explainchildren’s unusual promisegroups’ incorrect preparecountries’ nonsense advicewomen’s disappoint expectgovernment’s discover protectmen’s uncommon programtown’s nonfiction productsteacher’s disappear preserve

Unit 34 Unit 35 Unit 36helpful meant wouldreally slept woodhappily sent closeluckily ate clothesdarkness won chewsawful thought choosehopeful kept weeksuddenly felt weakhappiness heard pasthopeless built passedpowerful began writesafely bought right

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7 Activity and Game Forms


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