Adding Endings Definitions:
Base Word: The base is the main word without adding anything to the beginning or end of the word. For example “tie” is the base word for: tied, untie, retie, and tying. “Soft” is the base word for softly, softer, and softest.
A Suffix is a group of letters that has meaning and when added to the end of a base word changes that word’s meaning. For example the suffix -ed changes the base word word “paint” to mean it happened in the past. The suffix -ly changes soft to describe how you are doing something.

• Schwa Cover Sheet

Once open, click FILE, then DOWNLOAD, and download in Microsoft PowerPoint for the formatting to be correct.

PowerPoint from -ed video
PowerPoint from Adding Endings video
PowerPoint from -ed spelling video

It is important to explain that the ending -ed means that something already happened.  The tricky part is that the ending -ed says three different things at the end of words: /d/, /t/ or /ĭd/.

-ed says:
/d/ after a voiced sound like the /b/ in grabbed
/t/ after an unvoiced sound like the /p/ in stopped
/ĭd/ after the letters d or t like the word planted

This list is in an order to teach these skills in

1 Teach adding endings to base words that end in a vowel visual, directions and list

2 Intro adding endings to various base words directions and list
– -ed Says /t/, /d/, or /id/ -ed Word List by Sound
– -ed Says /t/, /d/, or /id/ -ed Flashcard Sort Using these sort cards have students sort the -ed words under the correct heading /d/, /t/ or /id/.
– Doubling rule guided practice Doubling Rule Practice adding endings to cvc words activity
– Doubling rule activity adding endings to cvc words Draw My Puppy activity
– Doubling rule game adding endings to cvc words Spinner game
– Read and Spell list cvc and vce with endings -ed, -er, -ing, -y, Dinner
– Read and Spell list any syllable with endings -ed -ing -er -est -ly Lovely Endings
– Endings Game in sentences Hoping to Hop

3 Teach adding endings on words that end with y directions and list

4 Teach adding -s or -es directions and list

– -tive Ending list Words ending with -tive Effective advanced
– -tive game Words with ending -tive game Positive or Negative

Morphology – building words with meaningful chunks. While learners start to become more comfortable with longer words and word parts, it is a good time to practice noticing that words are be built by adding prefixes and suffixes to a base word. This is the beginning of the study of morphology. Morphemes are the smallest units that have meaning (ie. incoming has 3 morphemes: in, come, ing).

Finding Morphemes and Making Words With Long Vowel Cheater Chunk -igh:
Click here for the -igh says the long /i/ sound worksheet.
Directions: Highlight the -igh chunk in each title word. For the words below the title word, underline the title word and highlight the additional morphemes. (The title words on this page are each a single morpheme.) See Picture.

Written Story and Directions

Schwa Definition:

Schwa The schwa sound is /ŭ/ (the unaccented short ŭ sound – sometimes it sounds like it disappears altogether) and is represented with this symbol: Ə. Any vowel or vowel combination in any syllable might have a schwa sound and say /ŭ/. An example is the letter “e” in the word “the.” In words with 3 or more syllables, the vowel sound in one of those syllables often has a schwa sound. (The vowel sound in the second syllable in eagle, and the second and third syllables in elephant are schwa sounds.)

Written Story

Schwa Story as told in video

Once open, click FILE, then DOWNLOAD, and download in Microsoft PowerPoint for the formatting to be correct.

• PowerPoint: Schwa as in teaching video

Schwa words Bundle!

Schwa Beginning Bundle Schwa words

See Highlighting Word Lists.

Draw a schwa symbol (Ə) over the schwa sound in each word. The goal is to hear the schwa sound, not necessarily real all these words.

Schwa 25 Most Common Ə Words list
Schwa 25 Most Common Ə Words and Phrases
Schwa Ə Phrases with the 25 Most Common Ə Words

Often Used 2+ Syllable Schwa words:
Schwa Mega Soda (When the letter a is alone as the first syllable in a word it is often a schwa.)
Schwa 48 Common Ə Words list challenge

Common Schwa Word Flashcards

The goal is to notice the schwa sound in words learners are already spelling.

* One way to remember challenging schwa words is to use a ‘spelling voice’. Pronounce the word the way it would be pronounced if the vowel sound was stressed, or the word followed the rules. (Many of us learned to spell Wednesday this way, by pronouncing it “wed” “nes” “day”). Schwa word examples: about = /ā bout/, mother = /mŏth er/ etc.

Advanced: * Vowels are often schwa sounds in unaccented syllables. Often a derivative of a word with a different syllable accented will have the vowel pronounced correctly and help with spelling. For example the a in “human” can be heard in “humanity.”

Play detective!   While reading keep a lookout for schwa words.  How many can you find?

Schwa list and story Young Puppy
Closed CVC and Schwa multiple syllable list and story The Strict Top Ninja

-tion, -xion, -cion, -sion, -xion, -cial, -tious, -cious, -xious, -cient, -ture, -age
(These are also found in Step 10)

Learners are ready to move on to Step 7 without being able to read any of the challenge words below.

Schwa endings Bundles

Challenge Schwa -al Endings Bundle -al multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa -ally Endings Bundle -ally multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa -tion Endings Bundle -tion multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa -sion Endings Bundle -sion multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa -ture Endings Bundle -ture multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa -ous, -ious Endings Bundle -ous, -ious multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa -age Endings Bundle -age multiple syllable words
Challenge Schwa –tive Endings Bundle -tive multiple syllable words bundle

Schwa endings individual sheets

Challenge Schwa Endings -ti si ci xi say sh teach and practice sheet
Challenge Schwa Endings –tion wordlist
Challenge Schwa Endings -ture wordlist
Challenge Schwa Endings -cial wordlist
Challenge Schwa Endings -age words and phrases: Some Words Don’t Act Their Age
Challenge Schwa Endings –tion, -cial, -sion, cient, -ture Common words with endings -tion, -cial, -sion, -cient, -ture
Challenge Schwa Endings Lists by ending and syllable type -sion, -tion, -tious, -cious, cial, -xious, -tient, -cient, -cion, -xion