Word Study
Dear Families,
This year, our spelling instruction will focus on the study of the most common spelling patterns for third graders. Students will learn about how words work as they read and write. They may learn about: base words, affixes (beginnings and endings), clusters and teams of consonants or vowels, homophones, synonyms, compound words, contractions, and word meanings (basic Greek and Latin roots) as needed.
See a sample of a word sort below. This type of page is cut apart by spelling partners and used to sort into categories of patterns. This particular sort is for the long a sound, spelled with the vowel pair ai or the "magic e" written as a _ e.
This year, our spelling instruction will focus on the study of the most common spelling patterns for third graders. Students will learn about how words work as they read and write. They may learn about: base words, affixes (beginnings and endings), clusters and teams of consonants or vowels, homophones, synonyms, compound words, contractions, and word meanings (basic Greek and Latin roots) as needed.
See a sample of a word sort below. This type of page is cut apart by spelling partners and used to sort into categories of patterns. This particular sort is for the long a sound, spelled with the vowel pair ai or the "magic e" written as a _ e.
What Do We Mean By...
base word- the smallest part of a word that still has meaning (ex. un-health-y)
affixes- word parts at the beginning (prefix) and end (suffix) of words that change or alter their meaning (ex. un-healthy un means not or opposite)
consonant blends or clusters- 2 or 3 consonants in which you can hear each individual sound (ex. stripe= str-ipe)
consonant digraphs- a group of consonants which form one unique sound (ex. chick= ch-i-ck)
vowel team- two vowels which form one sound (deer, book, coin)
homophones or homonyms- words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings (flour, flower)
synonyms- words that have similar meanings (gigantic, huge, large, big)
compound words- two words put together to form a new word (pan + cake)
contractions- two words put together to form a new word by deleting letters and inserting an apostrophe (I + am = I'm)
Greek and Latin roots- word beginnings and endings that have meaning of their own (telephone= tele + phone: tel means far away in Greek and phon means sound in Greek, so you end up with "sound from far away")
Silent Letter Word Cards for Reading
Say it Right
Silent Letter Lesson 61
affixes- word parts at the beginning (prefix) and end (suffix) of words that change or alter their meaning (ex. un-healthy un means not or opposite)
consonant blends or clusters- 2 or 3 consonants in which you can hear each individual sound (ex. stripe= str-ipe)
consonant digraphs- a group of consonants which form one unique sound (ex. chick= ch-i-ck)
vowel team- two vowels which form one sound (deer, book, coin)
homophones or homonyms- words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings (flour, flower)
synonyms- words that have similar meanings (gigantic, huge, large, big)
compound words- two words put together to form a new word (pan + cake)
contractions- two words put together to form a new word by deleting letters and inserting an apostrophe (I + am = I'm)
Greek and Latin roots- word beginnings and endings that have meaning of their own (telephone= tele + phone: tel means far away in Greek and phon means sound in Greek, so you end up with "sound from far away")
Silent Letter Word Cards for Reading
Say it Right
Silent Letter Lesson 61