Lesson video

Hi there, and welcome to today's spelling lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss.

I love spelling, and I'm really looking forward to teaching you.

With you today, you need to bring your looking eyes, your listening ears, and your thinking brains.

As well as that, something to write with and write on and someone or something to talk to would be great as well.

Let's get right into today's spelling lesson then.

In today's lesson, we're going to practise changing nouns from singular to plural using some alternative rules.

The outcome will be, "I can use a range of strategies to practise turning words from singular to plural." Here are the key words for today's learning.

Please keep an eye and ear out for these as they're going to be very important.

My turn, your turn.

Make sure I can hear you saying these back to me.

Suffix, plural, singular, root word, noun.

Excellent! Let's have a chat about what these mean then.

A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a root word.

Plural means more than one.

Singular means only one.

A root word is the base word from which other words are formed, often by adding prefixes or suffixes.

And a noun is a naming word for people, places, or things.

So today we are going to take some singular nouns as our root words, and we're going to be adding suffixes to them to create plural nouns.

Here's the outline for today's lesson.

We're practising changing nouns from singular to plural, using some alternative rules.

We're gonna revise all of the rules we know for adding suffixes to the end of words to create plurals.

Then we're going to practise the strategy.

And finally we're going to apply the spellings in a sentence.

Let's get on with looking at all of those rules for adding S and es then to the ends of words to create plural nouns.

The suffixes S and es can be used to show a word is plural.

Hen becomes hens, key becomes keys.

Notice here, in each instance, I've just added the letter S to the end of the word as my suffix to create a plural noun.

Baby becomes babies.

Dress becomes dresses.

Now, in some of these instances, we've added S.

In baby and dress to create babies and dresses, we've added es.

You may notice that in the example of dress, we've just had to add that es, our root word has stayed the same.

But in the example of baby becoming babies, my root word has changed.

I've removed the Y from baby and added an I before adding my es.

So remove the Y, add ies.

Here, wolf becomes wolves.

The wolves howled all night long.

Hmm.

Notice there, I've removed my F and added V before adding my es.

Remove the F, add ves.

There are different ways to show a plural noun.

In some instances, we just add an S.

In some instances, we add an es, and in other instances, the root word changes.

We add another letter, and then our es.

The spelling of a noun changes if it's plural.

Sometimes we can just add the suffix S to the root word without changing it, and it becomes a plural noun.

Kettle, for instance, becomes kettles.

If the root word ends in the vowel digraph including a Y, then you can just add S as well.

So here we have toy.

We have here an O-Y, we have a vowel preceding our Y, and it's part of a digraph.

Two letters making one sound.

T, oy.

And so we just add an S.

The spelling of the root word does not change in either of these instances.

We're just adding S to make a plural noun.

How will these words change when the suffix S is added to them? Then here we have flower, that will become flowers.

Boy will become boys.

Monkey will become monkeys.

Remember, looking at that spelling of the root word will help us to spell the new word, the new plural noun.

Pause the video.

How am I gonna spell flowers, boys, monkeys? Is the root word going to change at all? Off you go.

Good job, team.

So, flower becomes flowers.

Boy becomes boys, and monkey becomes monkeys.

In this instance, we've just added S each time.

Boy and monkey in particular, they ended in that vowel digraph, didn't they? O-Y making that one sound, E-Y making that one sound.

So I didn't need to do anything to the Y there.

I just had to add an S.

When the root word ends in a consonant and then a Y, the Y is replaced with an I before adding your suffix es.

If I look here, the word puppy, so a small dog, a young dog, it becomes puppies.

Notice the Y has been replaced with an I, and then we've added our es suffix.

Fly.

Again, the Y is preceded by a consonant, an L.

So I've removed the Y and added ies for flies.

A swarm of flies buzzed around the field.

And baby here, the Y is preceded by a consonant.

Remove the Y and add ies.

So puppy singular becomes puppies plural.

Fly singular becomes flies plural.

And baby singular becomes babies plural.

So this can be also when that Y is making either an E or an I sound.

Puppy, fly, baby.

So, it can be easiest to remember this rule as remove the Y and add ies.

But do remember sometimes words ending in Y, the Y will remain, and you'll just add an S when they're part of vowel digraphs.

So, which rule is used here, just adding S or removing the Y and adding ies? We've got some word pairs.

Cherry singular has become cherries plural.

Boot singular has become boots plural.

And baby singular has become babies plural.

Which rule has been used for each one? Pause the video and match them now.

Good job, team.

So, cherry, I clearly removed the Y and added ies to make cherries, Boot becoming boots like the boots you might wear.

Just added an S.

And baby becoming babies.

Remove the Y add ies.

Great job.

If a noun ends in an sh, ch, ss, or X, the singular noun this is, and we add the suffix es to turn them into a plural noun.

Wish, like making a wish, becomes wishes.

Peach becomes peaches.

I love a tasty peach.

Class or class becomes classes or classes.

And fox becomes foxes.

So, our rule here is just adding es when that word ends in sh, ch, ss, or X.

And you'll notice here, the spelling of the root word does not change.

We're just adding es.

So if the word ends in sh, ch, ss, or X, we just add es.

Be careful here with your pronunciation as well, 'cause I don't necessarily say wishes.

I say wishes.

I don't say peaches.

I say peaches.

I don't say classes, I say classes.

I don't say foxes, I say foxes.

It sounds like an I-S, doesn't it? But it's an es spelling, it's that es suffix.

So, select here the correct spelling of each plural noun.

I'll read the sentences to you.

"There are enough packed lunches for everyone." "I found my old dresses hidden in a box." "Wash the brushes so we can paint after school." "The gifts were all wrapped in tiny boxes." Remember, think about the spelling of the root word, because that's gonna inform you as to how the new word is going to be spelt.

Pause the video and select the correct spellings now.

Good job, team.

"There were enough packed lunches for everyone." Does sound like I-S, doesn't it? But we know it's our es spelling, and because it ends in a ch, we just add es.

"I found my old dresses." Now the word dress is D-R-E-S-S, singular.

Ending in a double S, so we just add es.

Brush, brushes.

Brush ends in an sh, we just add es.

And box ends in a X, so we just add es, boxes.

I don't pronounce it boxes though, do I? It sounds like boxes.

So the other ones probably phonetically make sense, but it's that es spelling.

Remember that rule.

Ch, ss, sh, X, just add es.

Root word stays the same.

When the root word ends in an F, the F is replaced with a V.

And then we add our es.

Remember this rule.

So, leaf becomes leaves, knife becomes knives.

Remember, that's fe in there, we just remove the fe and then add ves.

So here our rule is remove the F and add ves.

When the root word ends in an O, we just add es.

Tomato becomes tomatoes, mosquito, little fly-like creature that might fly around and bite you, becomes mosquitoes.

There are some exceptions to this one though.

Piano and photo become pianos and photos, and you don't add the es there.

You just add an S.

But most of the time, if the word ends in an O, we're gonna add es to make it then plural.

So, what will the spelling of these words be when the suffix es is added to them? Knife, thief, potato, tomato.

Remember, look at the spelling of the root word each time.

Think about the rules we've looked at.

How are you going to spell knives, thieves, potatoes, tomatoes? Pause the video, off you go.

Well done, team.

So, knife, I'm gonna remove the fe and add a ves.

Thief, remove the F and add ves.

Potatoes and tomatoes, just gonna add an es.

The root word there stays the same each time to make my plural nouns.

Great job.

So, you can see here I've got four children and they each represent the four different rules that we've been looking at.

Just adding an S, removing the Y, and adding ies.

Remove the F and add ves.

And if the word ends in an O, just add es.

So, I'm going to show you some words.

I'd like you to decide which rule each root word we'll use when we add our suffix to turn them into plurals.

Here is monkey.

I want to make the word monkeys.

So, which rule is it going to use? Pause the video, select from A, B, C, or D now.

Absolutely, it's going to become monkeys there.

It's that E-Y there working together as a digraph.

It's that Y proceeded by a vowel.

So, just going to add an S.

So it'll be A.

The next word is wolf.

Pause the video.

Which rule is that going to use to become wolves? Good job.

This is how we spell wolves.

So, what have we done? We've removed the F and then added ves.

Have a look here.

I've added one more rule here.

If the word ends in a ch, sh, ss, or X, we just add es.

Here's the word, bench.

Which rule is it going to use? Point to the correct one now.

I want to create the word benches, plural.

Good job.

Benches, there you go.

It's A, we just had es, 'cause it ends in a CH.

Remember with this one as well, we don't pronounce it benches.

We pronounce it benches, but it's that es spelling that sounds like an I-S.

So here are all of the rules we know to create plurals.

If the word ends in ch, sh, ss, or X, we just add a es.

And if it ends in an O, we just add es.

If it ends in an F, remove the F and replace it with ves, and remove the Y and add ies.

Sometimes as well, we just add S.

And other times, we keep the Y and then just add an S as well if it's part of a digraph.

So, lots of rules there.

We can narrow these down to four basic rules.

Rule one, just add S.

And if it's part of a digraph, keep the Y and just add S.

So just adding S sometimes.

Things like cars and toys.

Rule two, if the word ends in a ch, sh, ss, or X, just add es.

And also if it ends in an O, just add a es, words like benches and potatoes.

Rule three, remove the Y and add ies.

Parties, cherries.

And rule four, remove the F and add ves, wolves and elves.

And elves, those mystical creatures that live in forests or woodlands.

So, for our practise task, you're gonna put the root words into the correct column and show what will happen when we add the S or es suffix.

And there's loads of root words underneath.

Are you going to just add S? Are you going to just add es? Are you going to remove the Y and add ies? Are you going to remove the F and add ves? So, I want you to sort these root words and then show what happens, how the word changes when you add either S or es to them.

Pause the video, put those root words now into the correct columns.

Turn them into plurals.

Off you go.

Brilliant work, team.

Let's see how you've done them.

So, I'm hoping you've sorted them into something like this.

So, the root words car, key, coat, and toy, they all became plural by just adding S.

Cars, keys, coats, and toys.

For the ones just adding es, we had wishes, churches, boxes, tomatoes, dresses, volcanoes.

Remember, words ending in sh, ch, X, and double S, we just added es.

And then words ending in that O, we just add es most of the time.

And then we had baby and city.

For those words, we removed the Y and added ies, because that Y was proceeded by a consonant letter.

And finally, in wolf and elf, we removed the F and added ves to make wolves and elves.

How did you do? Do you have any corrections to make in your tables? Do you have any corrections to make in your spelling? Pause the video and make them now.

Onto our next learning cycle then, strategies to practise.

Let's read the following word.

My turn, your turn.

Describe, describe.

What do you notice about this spelling? Think about the spelling in the way it's pronounced.

Describe.

Pause the video and have a think.

Brilliant.

So, it has the prefix D, which is pronounced D-I in this instance though, D, describe.

I don't say describe, do I, or describe, I pronounce it describe.

Similarly to the words delay or design, so be careful with this.

It's that D-E spelling, but it sounds like a D-I, doesn't it? This is a curriculum word.

It's really helpful for us to remember for our reading and writing.

There are many times I'm sure that you'll be asked to describe a character or a setting to add extra information.

Remember, adjectives describe nouns.

They tell you what it's like.

So, which is the correct spelling of the word describe here? Pause the video and point to it now.

Great job.

Absolutely, it's our D prefix, isn't it? D-E, but it sounds like D-I.

So, I know it's this one.

B might make phonetic sense, but this is the correct spelling of the word describe.

So, spelling rules can help us to know how to spell words, but we also need to practise.

And I love spelling practise and I love using a load of strategies to help me do it.

When you practise, you remember the words more easily.

You get better at noting how the words are spelled and you feel more confident when using them.

There are many different strategies that we can use.

And the strategy we're going to use right now is pyramid letters.

I love this strategy.

So, let's try this with the word describe, this curriculum word we've just looked at.

Let me show you how this works with pyramid letters.

So, D, D-E, D-E-S.

Oh, you might notice something here.

I'm spelling out this word describe, aren't I? I'm adding a letter each time 'til I get to the base of my pyramid.

D-E-S-C, D-E-S-C-R, D-E-S-C-R-I, D-E-S-C-R-I-B, D-E-S-C-R-I-B-E, describe, brilliant.

This is how pyramid letters work.

You start with the first letter at the top and you keep adding letters until you get to the base of your pyramid where you will find the word that you're practising.

This strategy helps us in a number of ways.

It helps us to visualise, because you have to look really carefully at the spelling and think about any tricky parts.

We then repeat, copying.

So copy, copy the word out several times, starting with one letter and adding another letter on the next line.

This helps to focus on each letter.

And by repeat copying, it helps us to remember.

That repetitive process really helps to embed it into our memory.

And finally, it helps work on that motor memory, our handwriting, if use our best cursive script, is going to make that link between our hand and our brain and work on that motor memory.

So, how does a pyramid strategy help us? There's two options in here.

Read them.

It makes us pay close attention to the spelling, looking at each letter in turn.

B, by chunking up words into syllables, it can help us learn longer words.

C, it helps us remember the spelling by repeat copying.

Or D, writing from memory helps reinforce the spelling in our mind.

So, there's two, okay, two things that the pyramid strategy helps us with here.

Pause the video and select them.

Okay, let's see how you've done then.

I think it's gonna be A, 'cause it makes us play close attention to a spelling by looking at each letter.

It does, doesn't it? 'Cause we write, add a letter into each line each time.

I don't think we have to chunk the word into syllables and we're not writing it from memory.

It's okay to have the word down in front of you.

So, it helps us to remember the spelling by repeat copying.

Remember, that motor memory as well it's gonna help us with as well.

Great job.

So, I'd like you now to choose three words to practise using the pyramid strategy.

Choose the words that you found most difficult in this lesson so far.

Perhaps it could be the curriculum where we've looked at, perhaps it's some of those words where we had to change the root word to add our es plural suffix.

So, I'd like you to pick three words and have a go at using this strategy writing out the word using this pyramid strategy.

Pause the video.

Off you go.

Brilliant job, team.

So I'm hoping that your three words look something like this.

I chose the word describe to use my pyramid strategy with, so I've got, you can see here, starting with my D and ending up at the base of my pyramid with the word describe spelled out.

Remember, it's okay to have the word in front of you to practise writing it out.

It's not a test of your memory, it's really get you to look carefully at each letter within the word.

Well done.

Do you have any corrections to make? Did you find it fun? Share your favourite pyramid with someone around you and make some corrections.

Pause the video, off you go.

Onto our final learning cycle then.

We're going to be applying spellings within a sentence.

We are going to write a sentence containing some of our focus spellings.

When we write the whole sentence, we need to do several things at once.

We need to remember the whole sentence.

We need to sound out each word.

We need to think of our spelling rules, so consider the rules you've looked at today for adding the S or es suffix to the end of words to create plurals.

We need to look out for any common exception and curriculum words.

Think about the curriculum word we've looked at today, describe.

And of course we need to remember sentence punctuation, capitalise letters, full stops, and any other punctuation that might be in the sentence.

So I'd like you just listen to me say the sentence first, use your amazing hearing.

Describe the leaves falling from the trees and the potatoes growing in the ground.

Describe the leaves falling from the trees and the potatoes growing in the ground.

And of course, we're gonna use some strategies to help us remember the sentence before we try writing it.

It wouldn't be fair for me to just say it and expect you to go off and write it.

So, if we really take our time, let's say the sentence a number of times, let's know what words are in it.

And then we'll have a go at writing it.

First one is tapping it out.

You can listen in your head, your shoulders, on the floor.

I don't mind.

Describe the leaves falling from the trees and the potatoes growing in the ground.

Pause the video and tap that sentence out now.

Great tapping, everyone.

Next one, whispering it.

Describe the leaves falling from the trees and the potatoes growing in the ground.

Pause the video, whisper that to yourself or to someone around you.

Off you go.

Very quiet, well done.

And finally, shouting it out.

We've gone from quiet to loud.

Describe the leaves falling from the trees and the potatoes growing in the ground.

Pause the video and shout that out now.

Make sure I can hear you.

Wow, excellent.

So loud.

So, I'm gonna say the sentence one more time in a moment.

But remember, sound out each word.

Look out for any common exception or curriculum words.

And don't forget, capital letter, full stop your punctuation.

Describe the leaves falling from the trees and the potatoes growing in the ground.

Pause the video and write that sentence now.

Brilliant job, everyone.

So, let's check our work and make any corrections as we go along.

Describe, now remember, it's that D-E prefix, sounds like a D-I, but it's D-E, describe.

Obviously need to have a capital letter as well.

The leaves, that's that root word there.

Leaf, that would be our root word.

So, we remove that F and add ves to make it plural.

Falling from the trees.

Just gonna add an S to make that plural, root word there's tree singular, trees with an S plural.

And the potatoes.

My root word there's potato.

Remember, the root wear doesn't change, we just add es, 'cause it ends in that O.

Growing in the ground.

And of course, we need to have a full stop.

How did you do? Did you make any magical mistakes? What successes did you have? Do you need to make any corrections? Pause the video and make them now.

Brilliant work today, everyone.

Today we've been practising changing nouns from singular to plural using some alternative rules.

Remember, a suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word, which creates a new word.

Adding S or es to a singular noun makes it plural.

When using the S or es suffix, there are four key rules.

Sometimes we just add S.

Other times, we just add es.

Remember, sometimes we have to remove the Y and add ies, and others, remove an F and add ves.

Remember, knowing the spelling of the root word is gonna help you to spell your new word.

Keep up the great spelling, everyone, and I'll see you again soon.