Anchor Chart (BLM 1) Word Cards (BLM 4) Classroom Activity (BLM 7) Spelling Dictation (BLM 10) Directions: Read each sentence and then write the correct form of the word on each line. Category Cards (BLM 2) Word Cards (BLM 5) Take-Home Activity (BLM 8) Spelling Peer Check (BLM 11) Parent Directions: Have your child write the correct form of the word on each line. Directions: Work with a partner. Follow the directions from your teacher to use this BLM to write your spelling words. Word Cards (BLM 3) Take-Home Activity (BLM 6) Reading Passage (BLM 9) Parent Directions: Have your child sort each word into the correct category that shows how irregular plural words are spelled. Then ask your child to write the singular form next to each word in the lists. WordStudy Vocabulary 1Start Irregular Plurals Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Lesson Objectives Understand that irregular plural words have different rules for their plural spellings Understand that words with f or fe change the f or fe to v before adding -es Understand that some words change the vowels and/or consonants to form the plural Understand that some irregular plural words have no spelling change and are both singular and plural Use singular and plural words in oral sentences Write plural forms of words Recognize and understand the rules for spelling both the singular and plural words Explain how to spell the plural words based on the rules for plurals Sort both singular and plural words Materials: Anchor Poster BLM 2: Category Cards BLM 3: Word Cards BLM 6: Take-Home Activity Teacher Category Cards fe or f > ves, Letter Changes, Teacher Word Cards same as BLM 3 Recognize the singular and plural spellings of irregular plural words Sort singular and plural words into the correct categories Complete the classroom activity Materials: BLM 2: Category Cards BLMs 4 5: Word Cards BLM 7: Classroom Activity BLM 8: Take-Home Activity Teacher Category Cards Singular, Plural Teacher Word Cards mouse, hoof, scarves Recognize irregular plural words in the reading passage Write and spell the singular and irregular plural forms of the words in the reading passage Correctly spell the dictated spelling words Correctly spell the dictated sentence Materials: BLM 9: Reading Passage BLM 10: Spelling Dictation BLM 11: Spelling Peer Check Correctly spell the irregular plural words Materials: Quick-Check Assessment Spellings for Irregular Plurals Words ending in the letter f: Change f to v and add -es one loaf f + v + es = two loaves one wolf f + v + es two wolves Words ending in fe: Change fe to v and add -es one wife fe + v + es two wives one knife fe + v + es two knives Some irregular plural words change letters: one mouse one child Anchor Chart (BLM 1) Category Cards (BLM 2) Word Cards (BLM 3) Word Cards (BLM 4) Word Cards (BLM 5) Take-Home Activity (BLM 6) Classroom Activity (BLM 7) Take-Home Activity (BLM 8) Review Words New Words Sentence two mice two children Some words have the same spelling for singular and plural: one salmon two salmon one scissors feet foot hoof hooves loaf loaves mice mouse two scissors Finish the Sentence The of the mayor wanted to invite all the in the community to the picnic. wife wives Did you read the story about how make shoes? I wonder how an can do that. elf elves I saw the next door walking down the street with two other on our street. woman 4. As Taylor was putting the and forks on the table, she dropped a. knife knives 5. Have you ever heard that a cat has nine and a dog has just one? life lives 6. The of bread that I made was better than all the the baker made. loaf loaves 7. The smallest escaped under the fence while the rest of the watched. sheep sheep Spelling Dictation scarf scarves shelf shelves wolf wolves woman Spelling Peer Check Second Try (if needed) Spelling Dictation (BLM 10) Spelling Peer Check (BLM 11) 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. fe or f > ves bison calves children clothes dozen elves firemen fish First Try Plural Finish the Sentence Mom cut the pizza in but that wasn t enough. We needed four more to feed everyone. half halves The were all gathered around to hear the story except for one who was still sitting at her desk. child children I spotted a big by the lake. Then Dad spotted about three more on the edge of the forest. moose moose 4. EEK! yelled my mom. There s a in the garden. I sure hope there aren t any more around. mouse mice 5. Before I went out to play in the snow, I put on a ; then I decided that I needed a couple more because it was so cold. scarf scarves 6. When the are born, my dad says I can have a to raise by myself. calf calves 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Letter Changes geese ourselves oxen salmon scissors shorts thieves wives 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Singular Correct Spelling deer half halves knife knives leaf leaves life Pattern Sort Word Bank leaves firemen moose halves teeth selves feet lives knives deer hooves children calves bison dozen fe or f > ves Letter Changes The Old Cabin lives man men moose self selves teeth tooth Long ago, when my grandfather was a boy, he used to visit his grandfather on a farm up north. On part of the farm, cows roamed with their calves. Grandfather says he used to like to follow the prints of their hooves in the mud as he walked down to the pond with his cousins. On the other side of the pond lay some woods. He told me how he and his two cousins found an old cabin in the woods. Of course they went inside. I must have looked surprised when he told me that because he added, In those days, kids went more places by themselves. Besides, the pond and the cabin were part of our grandfather s farm. Still, this cabin looked like no one had used it in a long time. An old rocking chair sat in the middle of the room. A pile of leaves filled one corner; someone had built a set of shelves along one wall. The only thing on the shelves was an old pair of scissors. What was it doing there? The children took turns guessing. All three of us wondered if the old cabin was magical, Grandfather told me. We decided elves might live there and use the scissors to make their clothes. Or maybe the cabin belonged to a family of wolves. My cousin Molly said that the pile of leaves was a comfortable bed for wolves. She went to sit on the leaves, and a pair of mice ran out of them across the floor. After that, the children returned to the cabin every day. They made it into their clubhouse for the rest of the summer. We got to know those mice so well, my grandfather said, that they would eat pieces of cracker right from our hands. Reading Passage (BLM 9) Additional Materials: Word Study Notebooks Pocket Chart Unit 8 B e n c h m a r k E d u c a t i o n C o m p a n y
Day One Supporting ELs Help ELs understand the concepts of irregular plurals by using objects such as bookshelves, dinner knives, scissors, scarves, leaves, children, etc., to demonstrate one thing and more than one. Students can match the word cards to the objects. Blending Practice If some students have difficulty reading the words, help them blend both the singular and plural forms of each word. For example, point to the words loaf and loaves on the chalkboard. Show how you blend the sounds together for /l/ /ō/ /f/ and /l/ /ō/ /v/ /z/. Continue to support students who need help with blending throughout the week, using the example words used in the lesson. Review Adding Plural Endings -es, -ies Focus Words: guesses, dimes, pennies Write the following sentence on the chalkboard and read it aloud: Josh makes guesses about the number of dimes and pennies in his bank. Remind students that words with plural endings can end in -s, -es, and -ies. Ask students to tell you which words in the sentence have plural endings and what the rule is for adding plural endings. Ask them to brainstorm some example words for each of the endings. Introduce Irregular Plurals Model Write the words leaf and life on the chalkboard and circle the final f in leaf and the fe in life. Tell students that some plural words are irregular and don t follow the rules for adding plural endings. Say: When words end with fe or f, the fe and the f are changed to v before adding the -es plural ending. The word leaf ends with an f. I need to change the f to v and add -es to make leaves. Write the word leaves on the chalkboard next to leaf. Life ends with fe so I ll change the fe to v and add -es to make lives. Write the word lives on the chalkboard next to life. Write the words man and men on the chalkboard. Say: Some plural words have vowel and/or consonant changes. The word man changes the vowel a to e to make the plural men. Write the word deer on the chalkboard. Say: Some words are spelled the same whether they are singular or plural. Deer means one deer or many deer. Guide Write the words wife, foot, and sheep on the chalkboard. As you ask the following questions, write the plural form of each word on the chalkboard. Ask: Which word follows the rule to change the fe to v before adding -es? Which word changes its vowels to make the plural form? Which word means both singular and plural? Apply. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in Guangzhou, China. XXXX-XXXX-XXXX ISBN: 978-1-4509-0091-1 Write the words wolf, person, and moose on the chalkboard. Have students turn to their neighbors and tell how to make each word plural. Then ask partners to use both the singular and plural words in oral sentences. 2
Spelling Words with Irregular Plurals Unit Spelling Words: knives, scarves, hooves,, teeth, geese, salmon, scissors Write the singular form of the spelling words on the chalkboard: knife, scarf, hoof, woman, tooth, goose, salmon, scissors. Focus on groups that have the same spelling patterns as you show how to write the plural form of each word next to it on the chalkboard. Say: Look at the first three words. Knife ends with fe and the other words end with f. To make these three words plural words, I need to change the spellings. For words ending in fe, I change the fe to v. Write the word knives on the chalkboard. For words ending in f, I need to change the f to v. Write the words scarves and hooves on the chalkboard. The next three words are different. For these words, I change the vowels to make the words plural. Write the words teeth,, and geese on the chalkboard. Assessment Tip Monitor students to make sure they understand the concepts of singular and plural words. Are students able to determine which words are singular and which are irregular plurals? Home/School Connection Students can take home a list of the spelling words and practice reading, writing, and spelling the words with a family member. The last two words have the same form whether there is one or more than one. We say that we caught a salmon and that we caught many salmon. We say we have one scissors or two scissors. Ask students to copy the plural forms of the words in their word study notebooks. Next to each word, have them write the rule for changing the singular to the plural form. 3
Day Two Teacher Tip If students need additional practice recognizing the singular and irregular plural spellings, have them use magnetic letters or letter tiles to spell both forms of a word. Teacher-Directed Sort fe or f > ves leaf leaves half halves life lives self selves knife knives Letter Changes man men tooth teeth moose deer Home/School Connection Have students take home BLM 6 to complete with a family member. Students can also take home the word cards and share their sorts with a family member. Supporting ELs Because some ELs may not have someone at home who speaks English well enough to work with them on BLM 6, make sure that they understand what they are supposed to do on the BLM. Review Irregular Plurals Display the anchor poster and explain the rules for spelling irregular plural words. Write the words loaves, mice, and sheep on the chalkboard. Ask students to match the words to the rule on the anchor poster that explains the singular and plural spelling of each word. Have them name the singular form of each word. Teacher-Directed Sort Teacher Word Cards: same as BLM 3 Teacher Category Cards: fe or f > ves, Letter Changes, Place the category cards in a row at the top of a pocket chart. Place the word cards in a group to the side, being careful not to put singular and plural pairs next to each other. Point to the word leaves. Say: The word leaves ends with ves. This is the plural form. Leaf is the singular form. There is a spelling change from singular to plural the f in leaf changes to ves. I ll put this pair of words under the category that shows changing f to ves to make the plural. Point to the word teeth. Say: Look at the word teeth. Is it the plural or singular form? Who can come up and point to the singular form in the pocket chart? Yes, tooth is the singular form. Notice how the singular form has double o in the middle and the plural form has double e. The vowel changes from singular to plural. I ll sort this pair under the category Letter Changes. Point to the word moose. Say: Is moose the singular or plural form? That s right. Moose is both singular and plural. I ll put this card under the category because the word is the same for both plural and singular. Continue to point to a word card and ask students to help you find the singular or plural form and to place the pair in the correct category. Spelling. Have students practice writing each spelling word two times in their word study notebooks. Then ask them to write the singular form next to each word. Oddballs Write the irregular plural words clothes, shorts, scissors and dozen on the chalkboard. Say: These words are oddballs. It looks like the singular of clothes would be cloth, but clothes is both singular and plural. Shorts is another oddball. We don t say I bought one pair of short. We can say that we bought one new pair of shorts or three pairs of shorts. We can say that we have one scissors or two scissors. We can buy one dozen eggs or four dozen eggs. The word is the same. 4
Day Three Pattern Sort Teacher Word Cards: mouse, hoof, scarves Teacher Category Cards: Singular, Plural Place the category cards in a row in the pocket chart. Say: Yesterday we matched the pairs of singular and plural forms of words and then sorted them into the correct categories in the pocket chart. Today we will sort words according to whether they re singular or plural. Hold up the word card mouse. Ask students to tell you whether the word is singular or plural. Ask students where you should place the card in the pocket chart. Repeat with the words hoof and scarves. Give pairs of students the category cards from BLM 2 and the word cards from BLM 4. Tell them to sort the words into the appropriate categories. Independent Sort Give individual students the spelling changes category cards from BLM 2 and the word cards from BLM 5. Tell students that this group of words does not include singular forms. Ask them to sort the words into the appropriate categories according to how the plural words are formed from the singular words. Tell them to think about the singular form to help them decide if there were spelling changes and what changed. Applying Meaning. Give students BLM 7 and have them complete the cloze, choosing where singular and irregular plural words fit into the sentences. Pattern Sort Singular foot hoof loaf mouse scarf shelf wolf woman Independent Sort fe or f > ves calves thieves wives elves ourselves Letter Changes children geese oxen firemen Plural feet hooves loaves mice scarves shelves wolves salmon clothes dozen fish shorts scissors bison Assessment Tip Monitor students as they work independently to see if they can sort the words correctly without seeing the singular form of the word. Provide more practice with both forms for students who have difficulty. Providing Support ELs and struggling readers may have difficulty completing BLM 7 on their own. Have them work with a partner to read and complete it. Home/School Connection Give students BLM 8 to complete with a family member. Explain that they are to do the same thing they did on BLM 7 in class. Supporting ELs Make sure that ELs understand what to do on BLM 8 since there may not be anyone at home who speaks English well enough to help them complete it. 5
Day Four Providing Support Some ELs and struggling readers may have difficulty reading the passage. Have these students read with an on-level reader. Alternatively, you could read the passage to them while they follow along or echo-read with you. Ask students to look and listen for examples of irregular plural words. The Old Cabin Long ago, when my grandfather was a boy, he used to visit his grandfather on a farm up north. On part of the farm, cows roamed with their calves. Grandfather says he used to like to follow the prints of their hooves in the mud as he walked down to the pond with his cousins. On the other side of the pond lay some woods. He told me how he and his two cousins found an old cabin in the woods. Of course they went inside. I must have looked surprised when he told me that because he added, In those days, kids went more places by themselves. Besides, the pond and the cabin were part of our grandfather s farm. Still, this cabin looked like no one had used it in a long time. An old rocking chair sat in the middle of the room. A pile of leaves filled one corner; someone had built a set of shelves along one wall. The only thing on the shelves was an old pair of scissors. What was it doing there? The children took turns guessing. All three of us wondered if the old cabin was magical, Grandfather told me. We decided elves might live there and use the scissors to make their clothes. Or maybe the cabin belonged to a family of wolves. My cousin Molly said that the pile of leaves was a comfortable bed for wolves. She went to sit on the leaves, and a pair of mice ran out of them across the floor. After that, the children returned to the cabin every day. They made it into their clubhouse for the rest of the summer. We got to know those mice so well, my grandfather said, that they would eat pieces of cracker right from our hands. Answer Key Reading Passage (BLM 9) Word Hunt Tell students they will be hunting for words in the reading passage that have irregular plural spellings. Give each student a copy of the reading passage on BLM 9. Remind students that irregular plural spellings have three rules. Words that end with an f or fe change the f or fe to a v and then add -es. Some words change their vowels and/or consonants to spell the irregular plural word. Some singular words have no spelling changes to make them plural. Have students write each irregular plural word in their word study notebooks and then write the singular spelling for each word. Spelling Dictation Give students Spelling Dictation (BLM 10). Dictate the following words from last week s spelling words to students, one at a time, and have students write them on their BLMs: classes, families, trays. Dictate the following words from this week s unit, one at a time, having students write them on the BLMs: teeth, scarves,. Dictate the following sentence and have students write it on their papers: Little children should not play with knives. Write the words and sentence on the chalkboard and have students self-correct their papers. Home/School Connection Have students take the reading passage on BLM 9 home to read to a family member and point out the irregular plural words. Supporting ELs Make sure ELs know the meanings of the spelling words. Before student pairs use BLM 11, have the partners tell each other sentences using the spelling words. Spelling Practice Give pairs of students Spelling Peer Check (BLM 11). While one student reads the spelling words from his or her word study notebook, the other student writes the words in the First Try column. After the second student has spelled the words, the first student places a check mark next to words spelled correctly. For the second try, the first student may prompt the second student by sounding out the words that were spelled incorrectly the first time. If the second spelling attempt is correct, the first student places a check mark in the Second Try column. Then students switch roles. 6
Day Five Spelling Assessment Use the following procedure to assess students spelling of the unit spelling words: Say a spelling word and use it in a sentence. Have students write the word on their papers. Continue with the remaining words on the list. When students have finished, collect their papers and analyze their spelling of the words. Use the assessment to plan small-group or individual practice. Quick-Check Assessment Assess students mastery of irregular plurals using the Quick-Check for Unit 8. Unit 8 Quick-Check: Irregular Plurals Answer Questions Directions: Read each word and then write the irregular plural word. mouse mice knife knives ox oxen 4. leaf leaves Apply Directions: In the space below, list three to five words you know that are irregular plural words. Directions: Using the words from the word bank, complete the following sort by writing the words in the appropriate category. f or fe > ves shelf Letter Changes children salmon Word Bank shelf, children, hoof, shorts, thieves shorts thieves, loaves, geese, salmon, loaves geese hoof Think and Write about Irregular Plurals Directions: In the space below, explain how understanding irregular plurals helps you as a reader, speller, and writer. Answer Key Unit 8 Quick-Check Suggestions for Independent Practice Meaning Sort. Give pairs of students the word cards from BLMs 3 4. Tell them they should sort the word cards into two categories, singular and plural. Once they have sorted the word cards, have each student select several word cards and use each word in a sentence to demonstrate the correct usage of each word. Pattern Sort. Have students work with a partner. Give each pair of students the category cards from BLM 2 and the word cards from BLMs 3 5. Ask them to sort the word cards into the correct category that shows the rule for how each irregular plural word is spelled. Write a Story. Tell students to select eight to ten of their favorite words from the word cards. Tell them they can use either the singular or plural spelling of their words or use both spellings of their words to write a short story. Give a Clue. Have students work in small groups. Students will take turns selecting a word and then giving clues for their word as the rest of the group guesses the word. For example, a student might say, My word can mean one thing or several things. It is something that we use to cut paper. Once students guess the word, they should spell the word. Encourage students to think of as many clues as they can for their words. Answer Key BLM 6 fe or f > ves leaves/leaf lives/life knives/knife halves/half selves/self hooves/hoof calves/calf Letter Changes teeth/tooth /woman firemen/fireman feet/foot children/child Answer Key BLM 7 wife, wives elves, elf woman, 4. knives, knife 5. lives, life 6. loaf, loaves 7. sheep, sheep Answer Key BLM 8 half, halves children, child moose, moose 4. mouse, mice 5. scarf, scarves 6. calves, calf No Change moose deer bison dozen 7
Unit 8 Quick-Check: Irregular Plurals Answer Questions Directions: Read each word and then write the irregular plural word. mouse knife ox 4. leaf Apply Directions: In the space below, list three to five words you know that are irregular plural words. Directions: Using the words from the word bank, complete the following sort by writing the words in the appropriate category. f or fe > ves Letter Changes Word Bank shelf, children, hoof, shorts, thieves, loaves, geese, salmon, Think and Write about Irregular Plurals Directions: In the space below, explain how understanding irregular plurals helps you as a reader, speller, and writer.