Unit 8: Words ending in -le
Look at the word ‘purple’ on the paint pot and the word ‘shuttle’. They both end with the l sound spelt -le. So today I’ve decided to explore words with the l sound spelt -le.
Check the sound box!
Say the sounds. After three: one, two, three... Go!
l |
l |
ll |
le |
Play My turn/Your turn to say the words with l spelt -le.
After three: one, two, three... Go!
rattle simple
triangle middle
giggle table
purple bubble
jingle shuttle
tickle kettle
Well done! Did you notice that all of the words (except triangle) had two syllables? Say these words after me:
tickle
jingle
bubble
Most words with two syllables that end in the l sound, like kettle and bubble, are spelt with -le.
Can you hear a weak little uh sound before the l sound in these words?
purple
kettle
middle
table
We can add the suffix -n-e-s-s, ness, to a root word to make a noun:
sad + ness makes the word sadness. Today we are going to look at adding the suffix -ness to words.
Let’s add -ness to some more words to make nouns.
root word | root word + suffix -ness |
sad | sadness |
late | lateness |
kind | kindness |
foolish | foolishness |
good | goodness |
Let's play My turn/Your turn to say the new words.
sadness
lateness
kindness
foolishness
goodness
Did you notice that we didn’t have to swap, double or drop any letters when we added the suffix -ness?
Here is the rule:
The suffix -ness is usually added straight on to a root word. There are no letters to swap, double or drop.
Well, back to spelling! Did you notice that the word ‘monkey’ in the picture ends in the ee sound spelt -ey? Today we are going to look at words with the ee sound spelt -ey. Let’s look at the ee sound box.
e |
ee |
e-e |
ea |
e |
y |
ey |
Now let’s play My turn/Your turn to say all of the words with ee spelt
-ey. Repeat them after me.
After three: one, two, three... Go!
key money
donkey journey
chimney turkey
honey trolley
monkey alley
Well done!
Did you notice that all of the words except one have two syllables? Which word has just one syllable?
Turn to your partner and then tell me.
It is easy to make words ending in -ey into plurals. Just add the
suffix -s.
root word | root word + suffix -s |
key | keys |
monkey | monkeys |
trolley | trolleys |
Let’s say our suffix rhyme together:
Is there a letter I need to swap?
Is there a letter to double or drop?
Let’s find out.
If a word ends in a short vowel + a consonant, double the consonant before adding -er or -est.
Turn to your partner and say:
Double the consonant before adding -er or -est.
Go!
Let’s watch what happens to our adjectives when we follow the rule:
hot
hotter
hottest
big
bigger
biggest
fat
fatter
fattest
Here are some more words ending in a short vowel + a consonant.
Let’s double the consonant before adding -er or -est.
root word | double the consonant before adding |
thin | thinner thinnest |
sad | sadder saddest |
fit | fitter fittest |
slim | slimmer slimmest |
When we compare two things we can add -er to adjectives:
I am tall, but you are taller.
You are quick, but he is quicker.
When we compare more than two things, we can add -est to adjectives:
I am tall, he is taller, but she is the tallest.
You are quick, she is quicker, but he is the quickest.
Of course you know that when we add -er or -est, we might need to change the root word.
Let’s say our suffix rhyme together:
Is there a letter I need to swap?
Is there a letter to double or drop?
Let's find out. For some adjectives we need to swap a letter before we add -er or -est.
This is what I mean:
If a word ends in y, swap the y for an i before adding -er or -est.
Turn to your partner and say:
Swap the y for an i before adding -er or -est.
Go!
Let’s watch what happens to our adjectives when we follow the rule:
jolly
jollier
jolliest
tricky
trickier
trickiest
silly
sillier
silliest
lucky
luckier
luckiest
Here are some more words ending in y.
Let’s swap the y for an i before adding -er or -est.
root word | swap y to i before adding -er or -est |
chilly | chillier chilliest |
tidy | tidier tidiest |
funny | funnier funniest |
scary | scarier scariest |
When we compare two things we can add -er to adjectives:
I am cold but she is colder.
She is slow but he is slower.
When we compare more than two things, we can add -est to adjectives:
I am cold, he is colder, but she is the coldest.
She is slow, he is slower, but I am the slowest.
There are lots of root words that do not have to be changed before we add -er and -est:
tall hard
taller harder
tallest hardest
fast warm
faster warmer
fastest warmest
Sometimes when we add -er or -est, we might need to change the root word.
Let’s say our suffix rhyme together:
Is there a letter I need to swap?
Is there a letter to double or drop?
Let’s find out…
If a word ends in e we must drop the e before adding -er or -est.
Turn to your partner and say:
Drop the e before adding -er or -est.
Go!
Let’s watch what happens to our words when we follow the rule:
nice
nicer
nicest
fine
finer
finest
close
closer
closest
large
larger
largest
wise
wiser
wisest
Do you love finding out about sounds. Let's explore the r sound. There are quite a few words with r spelt wr.
Say the sounds in the r sound box.
r
r
rr
wr
Now say all of these words with r spelt wr.
wrap wrong
wreck wrist
wriggle wrote
wrinkle wrestle
write
wrist
wriggle
wrote
wrinkle
wrestle
Poor old w has been told it can stay in these words as long as it stays silent! We just have to remember to write wr when we spell them.
Ah, a homophone alert!
Remember that words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings are called homophones.
Homophone alert!
wrap/rap write/right
I have made up a sentence using the first pair of homophones. Here it is:
Wrap your coat around you and rap at the window