lesson plan: sight words and morpheme â€“s

©2012 Achieve3000, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

■ Preparation

Lesson Overview

English learners typically have specific pronunciation challenges. This lesson focuses on a common challenge for English learners: pronun-ciations of the morpheme -s. The English phonemes that result from adding this morpheme to the ends of words may not be present in student home languages and, therefore, may be difficult to distinguish auditorily, to pronounce, and to place into a meaningful context. For example, many Yoruba speakers of English have trouble learning to distinguish between the z and s sounds because both are pronounced “s” in Yoruba English. Therefore, Yoruba speakers of English, like many other English learners, will have trouble perceiving and producing the distinction between the voiced s as in the word kids and the voiceless s as in the word bets (Akande, 2005).

In this lesson you provide instruction, modeling, and practice in pronouncing and spelling sight words with the -s morphemes. Students also learn spelling rules for making words plural and practice them in whole-class, paired, and independent spelling, writing, and editing activities. The lesson closes with a review of the concepts learned and an opportunity to record new academic vocabulary in student vocabulary journals.

Do Before Teaching

1. Copy and cut out the Sight Words (with Morpheme -s). You will need one set for the warm-up activity and then one set per pair of students for “Go Fish!”

1. Make copies of the Spelling and Editing Activities (Plurals), equal to the number of students in your class.

2. Prepare and post signs in three areas of the classroom, one for each of the sounds the -s/-es endings can make: “sounds like z,” “sounds like s,” “sounds like ez.” This is for the four-corners game used in this lesson.

LESSON PLAN:

Sight Words and Morpheme –s

Learning Objective Students will learn to pronounce

the morpheme -s when it is used as a word ending and to pronounce

and spell sight words with the -s morpheme. They will also learn spelling

rules for making words plural.

Pacing 45–90 minutes

Suggested Readings Sight Words (with Morpheme -s)

Spelling and Editing Activities (Plurals)

Achieve3000 Lesson Plan

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■ Resources Akande, A.T. (2005, May). The pronunciation problems in the English of

some Yoruba learners. Hwa Kang Journal of TEFL 11. (Chapter 4). http://www.hkjtefl.org/2005-Akande-Yoruba.pdf

■ Teaching RoutineIntroduce Lesson (5–10 minutes)

• Distribute one of the Sight Words (with Morpheme -s) cards to students as they enter the classroom. Have them circulate around the room to find a peer who has the matching card (e.g., cat/cats). When they have found their partners, have them work together to write one or two sentences that use both of the words. Encourage students to write humorous or imaginative sentences.

• When most pairs have written their sentences, bring the class together and invite one or two volunteers to read them aloud. Model correct pronunciation as needed.

Provide Direct Instruction and Modeling (10–15 minutes)

• Start by reviewing the academic terms singular and plural: A singular noun means one of something. Boy, cat, and fox are singular nouns. A plural noun means more than one of something. Boys, cats, and foxes are plural nouns. Write the singular/plural word pairs side by side on the board or chart paper. Underline the -s and -es endings in the plural words.

• Provide instruction and practice in two important spelling rules to remember when changing singular nouns into plural nouns.

Rule #1: Most nouns in English are made plural by adding s: cat, cats. Write cat and add the ending -s on the board or chart paper. Repeat this with the words plants and pieces.

cat + s = cats

plant + s = plants

piece + s = pieces

Invite volunteers to write additional words on the board or chart paper and add the -s ending (e.g., apples, cars, cups).


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Rule #2: Some words are made plural by adding -es: Write watch and add the -es ending: watches. To make a word that ends in s, ss, ch, sh, or x plural, add -es.

dish + es = dishes

fox + es = foxes

watch + es = watches

Invite volunteers to write additional words on the board or chart paper and add the -s ending (e.g., dresses, churches, branches).

Provide Guided Practice and Independent Practice (10–15 minutes)

• Have students practice making singular nouns plural using the Spelling and Editing Activities (Plurals). You may wish to model the first item for students. Provide support, as needed, while they work, and pair up any students who would benefit from working with a partner for this activity.

Provide Direct Instruction and Modeling (10–15 minutes)

• Next, explain the pronunciation contrasts of the different -s and -es ending sounds:

Tell students that there are different sounds made by the word endings -s and -es, which English learners sometimes have trouble distinguishing.

Explain each sound the -s morpheme can make and provide an example.

Sounds the -s ending can make

Like in the word…

Common Mispronunciation

s voiced; sounds like z

legs voiceless s is used

s voiceless; sounds like s

laughs N/A

-es ending sounds like ez

Jess’s voiceless s is used

• Review all 30 Sight Words (with Morpheme -s) card pairs:

Project the Sight Words (with Morpheme -s) and pronounce each word as you show the corresponding picture (e.g., book, books; boy, boys). Model pronunciation of each word, emphasizing the voiced versus voiceless s that is made when an -s or an -es is added to words.

Have students mimic your pronunciations.

Describe the meaning of each word (e.g., a cat is an animal, often a house pet).


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• Next, play “4 corners”:

Post signs in three areas of the classroom, one for each of the sounds the -s/-es endings can make: “sounds like z,” “sounds like s,” “sounds like ez.”

Student pairs should move to the area of the classroom that has the sound represented on their plural cards from the warm-up activity.

Go around the classroom and have students read their word cards aloud to make sure everyone is in the correct group:

Sounds the -s ending can make

Like in the word…

Common Mispronunciation

s voiced; sounds like z

boys, girls, hands, pictures, numbers

voiceless s is used

s voiceless; sounds like s

books, cats, plants, socks

N/A

-es ending sounds like ez

dishes, foxes, horses, matches, pieces, watches

voiceless s is used

Correct mispronunciations as needed, making sure students are discriminating between the s, z, and ez sounds.

Challenge students by having each group work as a team to write one or two sentences that use all of their plural cards. Each group should select one member to read the sentences aloud to the class.

Collect Sight Words (with Morpheme -s) from students, mix them up, and redistribute them so students can practice with a new card. Repeat this process three or four times.

• Pair students and distribute one set of the Sight Words (with Morpheme -s) word pair cards, face-down, to each pair. Explain the rules for playing the classic game “Go Fish!”: First, players each draw two cards. They take turns trying to make pairs of contrasting word cards by asking opponents for cards that match the cards they already hold. Each time a pair is made, students can place them on the table. The goal is to match all cards so that no cards are remaining.


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• Remind students of the pairs they are trying to make: boy/boys, girl/girls, hand/hands, etc. Model the game for students, as needed, and prompt them to use increasingly specific English conversation during play.

Student A: Hands?

Teacher: Would you phrase that as a question?

Student A: Do you have the hands?

Student B: Yes, I have the hands. Here you go.

• As pairs finish one or more rounds of the game, have them choose one of the word pairs and write one sentence that uses each word. When they are done, have them share their sentences with their partners by reading them aloud. Correct pronunciations as needed.

• When students are ready, bring the class together to review the lesson, discuss any questions students have, and provide any necessary reteaching.

• Use the vocabulary journal routine to guide students as they enter new vocabulary in their vocabulary journals and indicate their level of understanding for each of the new terms learned in this lesson. Lesson terms including the academic terms singular and plural.

■ Lesson Extensions

• Guide students as they work in partners to add the Sight Words (with Morpheme -s) word cards to your classroom word wall.

• Make a three-column chart and label the columns “s sound,” “z sound,” and “ez sound.” How many words can you and your students list that end with those sounds? Have students search for pictures that depict the words’ meanings and affix them to the chart.

• Guide students as they practice pronouncing, spelling, and writing sentences using these school-related vocabulary words that provide practice with the plural rules and pronunciations practiced in this lesson: books, busses, chairs, headphones, lessons, lights, lunches, walls.

• Have students get back into their pairs and share their vocabulary-journal entries for the academic terms learned in this lesson: singular and plural. They should explain their descriptions and drawings to one another and explain how they represent the meaning of the terms. Students may wish to modify their own entries and their level of understanding after this activity.

Extra SupportPull aside any students who require

additional coaching in making the sounds in this lesson. Reteach them one-on-one, as needed. If possible,

record these students as they pronounce the word pairs on the cards. Play back their recording

and discuss any sounds that need further practice.


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■ Lesson Masters

Sight Words (with Morpheme -s)

book

books

boy

boys

cat cats

Lesson Masters

ELL Connections ©2010 Achieve3000, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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dish

dishes

fox

foxes

girl

girls

Lesson Masters



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hand

hands

horse

horses

match

matches

Lesson Masters



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picture

pictures

piece

pieces

plant

plants

Lesson Masters



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number

numbers

sock

socks

watch

watches

Lesson Masters



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Spelling and Editing Activities (Plurals)

Part 1 Directions: Make the following singular words into plural words.

Singular Plural Singular Example

Plural chair chairs

1. girl 6. boy

2. book 7. plant

3. bus 8. horse

4. piece 9. watch

5. glass 10. cat

Part 2 Directions: Edit the following sentences by crossing out the misspelled word. Then write the correct spelling on the line provided.

1. Phil enjoys working with plantes. 2. The genie granted her three wishs. 3. We saw two foxs by our house. 4. We spent Saturday moving our friend’s couchs. 5. John has read three hundred bookes this year.

Lesson Masters


lesson plan: sight words and morpheme â€“s

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