ASSESSMENT INFORMED PRACTICES FOR TEACHING SPELLING IN THE EARLY YEARS - EARLY ACTION FOR SUCCESS (EAFS) PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PATHWAY, 2020
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ASSESSMENT INFORMED
PRACTICES FOR TEACHING
SPELLING IN THE EARLY YEARS
Early Action for Success (EAfS)
Professional Learning Pathway, 2020
©Dr Tessa Daffern (30th November, 2020)
Email: tessa@daff.net.auContents Tables and figures ................................................................................................................................... 2 Assessment informed practices for teaching spelling in the early years................................................ 3 Teaching practices and linguistic knowledge.......................................................................................... 4 Spelling skills in Stage One (Years 1 and 2) ............................................................................................. 7 Subscale mean scores in the Components of Spelling Test: Early Years (CoSTEY) ............................... 11 Phonological applications in spelling in Year 1 and Year 2 ............................................................... 12 Phonological Component Parts A and B: Comparison of mean accuracy scores ............................. 13 Orthographic applications in spelling in Year 1 ................................................................................ 14 Orthographic applications in spelling in Year 2 ................................................................................ 15 Morphological applications in spelling in Year 1 .............................................................................. 16 Morphological applications in spelling in Year 2 .............................................................................. 17 Spelling error analysis methods ............................................................................................................ 18 Lesson planning..................................................................................................................................... 21 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 38 Concluding remarks .............................................................................................................................. 40 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 41 References ............................................................................................................................................ 52 ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 1
Tables and figures List of tables Table 1 Overall pre- and post-session results (overall linguistic knowledge) ......................................... 4 Table 2 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 1: Syllabification .................................................... 5 Table 3 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 2: Phonemic knowledge........................................ 5 Table 4 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 3: Onset and rime identification ........................... 5 Table 5 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 4: Spelling conventions ......................................... 5 Table 6 Overview of the structure of the Components of Spelling Test: Early Years (CoSTEY) .............. 7 Table 7 CoSTEY norms for Year 1 ............................................................................................................ 9 Table 8 CoSTEY norms for Year 2 .......................................................................................................... 10 Table 9 Year 1 CoSTEY scores (n=331) .................................................................................................. 11 Table 10 Year 2 CoSTEY scores (n = 603) .............................................................................................. 11 List of figures Figure 1 Mean CoSTEY scores (%) by subscale (Year 1 and Year 2) ...................................................... 11 Figure 2 Linguistic subskills: Phonological Component Part A (n = 2,337, Years 1 and 2) .................... 12 Figure 3 Phonological Component: Comparison of scores in Part A and B .......................................... 13 Figure 4 Linguistic subskills: Orthographic Component (n = 957, Year 1) ............................................ 14 Figure 5 Linguistic subskill scores: Orthographic Component (n = 1,081, Year 2) ................................ 15 Figure 6 Linguistic subskills: Morphological Component (n = 843, Year 1) .......................................... 16 Figure 7 Linguistic subskill, Morphological Component (n = 1,026, Year 2) ......................................... 17 Figure 8 Weekly structure for instructional planning ........................................................................... 21 ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 2
Assessment informed practices for teaching spelling in the early years
Early Action for Success (EAfS) was an initiative of the NSW Department of Education
between 2012 and 2020. This initiative aimed to improve students' performance through
targeted support for primary schools in the lowest quartile of the Australian National
Assessment program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) performance in literacy and
numeracy.
During the second semester of 2020, 72 EAfS schools across NSW expressed an
interest in participating in a professional learning pathway titled, Assessment informed
practices for teaching spelling in the early years. The pathway was facilitated by Dr Tessa
Daffern (academic partner), and Rosemary Farnham and Helen Kotevski (NSW Department
of Education EAfS Literacy Team). Across the 72 participating schools, data were collected
from 290 educators (comprising classroom teachers in Stage One and Instructional Leaders)
and 2,436 students.
During this professional learning pathway, the participating educators completed
four modules. The main delivery modes for each module included pre-recorded videos as
well as live webinars via the Microsoft Teams platform. Participants were also encouraged
to post questions using this online platform. Participants engaged in a range of reflective
and interactive tasks such as spelling error analyses and lesson planning. These were
accompanied by professional readings, usually comprising journal articles. The participating
Instructional Leaders were responsible for supporting the teachers within their respective
school sites to ensure the required module tasks were appropriately completed. The
modules were titled as follows:
Module 1 Teaching and learning spelling: A theoretical framework
Module 2 How is spelling taught? How can teachers be supported to teach
spelling in the early years?
Module 3 Spelling error analysis: Using the Components of Spelling Test: Early
Years (CoSTEY)
Module 4 Designing assessment-informed teaching resources
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 3Teaching practices and linguistic knowledge
The participating educators were required to complete a survey before commencing the
pathway and another survey on completion of the pathway. The participants responded to
45 multiple questions and this enabled the facilitators to assess a range of linguistic skills.
These were categorised according to the following four constructs:
Construct 1: Syllabification (for example, identifying the number of syllables in words).
Construct 2: Phonemic knowledge (for example, identifying the number of phonemes in
words).
Construct 3: Onset and rime identification (for example, identifying the onset or rime in a
one-syllable word).
Construct 4: Spelling conventions (for example, identifying the correct rule for adding a
tense marking suffix to a particular base word).
The multiple choice questions were sourced and adapted from existing surveys
designed to measure teachers’ linguistic knowledge (Carreker, Joshi, & Boulware-Gooden,
2010; Puliatte and Ehri, 2018; Stark, Snow, Eadie, & Goldfield, 2016). Insights gained from
the survey data helped to inform the design and delivery of the professional learning
modules for this pathway so that the participants could be appropriately supported in their
professional learning.
As can be seen in Tables 1 to 5, linguistic knowledge developed substantially through
the educators’ involvement in this professional learning pathway. Worth noting, is the
improvement in phonemic knowledge as reflected by the pre- and post-session scores (see
Table 3).
Table 1 Overall pre- and post-session results (overall linguistic knowledge)
Total Score
(45 questions)
Pre-session Raw mean (SD) 30.18 (0.24)
Mean % 67
Post-session Raw mean (SD) 36.3 (6.77)
Mean % 79
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 4Table 2 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 1: Syllabification
Total Score
(7 questions)
Pre-session Raw mean (SD) 4.70 (0.24)
Mean % 67
Post-session Raw mean (SD) 5.29 (0.39)
Mean % 76
Table 3 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 2: Phonemic knowledge
Total Score
(14 questions)
Pre-session Raw mean (SD) 8.03 (0.26)
Mean % 57
Post-session Raw mean (SD) 11.78 (0.38)
Mean % 79
Table 4 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 3: Onset and rime identification
Total Score
(10 questions)
Pre-session Raw mean (SD) 9.0 (0.04)
Mean % 90
Post-session Raw mean (SD) 9.22 (0.26)
Mean % 92
Table 5 Pre- and post-session results for Construct 4: Spelling conventions
Total Score
(14 questions)
Pre-session Raw mean (SD) 8.44 (0.19)
Mean % 60
Post-session Raw mean (SD) 10.39 (0.40)
Mean % 74
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 5The pre-session survey also required teachers to respond to open-ended questions
about their instructional practices. The pre-session results revealed that the majority of
teachers utilised commercial resources to teach spelling, with Sound Waves appearing to be
the most popular resource. Other frequently mentioned resources included Words Their
Way, Jolly Phonics, THRASS and SMART Spelling. The majority of teachers reported using the
South Australian Spelling Tests to assess spelling. Most teachers also reported undertaking
weekly spelling tests of word lists (usually high frequency words) and informally observing
children’s spelling in the context of their writing. Other assessments, albeit less frequently
referred to, included tools sourced from Sound Waves and Words Their Way. Less than five
percent of respondents explicitly referred to the National Literacy Learning Progression as a
resource to support their assessment practices. A combination of phonics instruction and
rote learning methods were the most commonly reported teaching practices among the
participants.
The participating educators responded to open-ended survey questions at the
conclusion of the professional learning pathway. Overwhelmingly, their responses showcase
the positive impact that this professional learning pathway has had (refer to the Appendix
for a list of survey responses). Overall, the participants reported greater confidence in
teaching spelling and improved pedagogical content knowledge as a result of their
engagement in this pathway. They described changing their teaching practices to include
more explicit and targeted teaching of spelling, using metalanguage, and connecting spelling
instruction with reading and writing more broadly. Some participants commented on time
constraints being a challenge when assessing and planning lessons. However, the
participants also highly valued the Components of Spelling Test: Early Years (CoSTEY) data
that they were able to use and draw upon to inform their instructional planning.
Importantly, the educators also described the positive impacts that their changed practices
have had on their students’ motivation, engagement and learning in spelling. Furthermore,
many of the Instructional Leaders noted that they planned to continue collaborating with
the teachers at their school sites to further refine the teaching of spelling and to work
towards developing a whole-school approach to teaching spelling.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 6Spelling skills in Stage One (Years 1 and 2)
During the professional learning pathway, the educators were shown how to conduct a
spelling error analysis using samples of student writing. In addition, the participating
children completed a spelling assessment known as the Components of Spelling Test: Early
Years (CoSTEY) (Daffern, 2021). This assessment tool is a dictation task and utilises an error
analysis technique to identify specific linguistic skills that students demonstrate or are yet to
demonstrate in their spelling. The theoretical framework underpinning this assessment is
Triple Word Form Theory (see, for example, Daffern, 2015; Garcia, Abbott & Berninger,
2010). Table 6 presents an overview of the structure of the CoSTEY. This assessment
provides an analysis of 255 items across 174 words and 26 linguistic constructs.
Table 6 Overview of the structure of the Components of Spelling Test: Early Years (CoSTEY)
Phonological Orthographic Morphological
Component Component Component
Part A Part B Part A Part B
Number of words
the student writes
38 10 50 21 55
Number of error
analysis items
114 10 50 26 55
Linguistic features Part A (monosyllabic Part A (vowel graphemes) ▪ Inflected suffixes
words) ▪ Long /a/ vowel (tense)
▪ Initial consonant graph ▪ Long /e/ vowel ▪ Inflected suffixes
▪ Medial short vowel ▪ Long /i/ vowel (plural)
graph ▪ /oo/ vowel (as in ‘moon’) ▪ Inflected suffixes
▪ Final consonant graph ▪ /oo/ vowel (as in ‘look’) (comparative &
▪ Consonant digraph ▪ /ow/ vowels (as in ‘cow’ superlative)
▪ Initial and final and ‘show’) ▪ Derivational suffixes
consonant blend ▪ /oy/ vowel (as in ‘boy’) ▪ Prefixes
▪ /er/ and /ar/ vowels (as ▪ Homophones
Part B (disyllabic words) in ‘her’ and ‘car’)
▪ Disyllabic-word medial ▪ /or/ vowel (as in ‘warm’)
blending
Part B (other positional
constraints)
▪ Medial consonant
doubling
▪ /k/ graphemes
▪ Unaccented final
syllables
▪ Final position /v/
▪ Final position consonant
trigraphs
©Daffern, T. (2021). The components of spelling: Early Years. Instruction and assessment for the
linguistic inquirer. Shell Cove, Literacy Education Solutions Pty Limited. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-1-1
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 7For the purposes of the professional learning pathway, it was at the teachers’
discretion whether or not to administer the entire CoSTEY to the students in their class.
Some students completed only one component of the test while some other students
completed all items across all three components of the test.
Using data from the participating students who attempted all three test components
(n=934), reliability analyses, using Cronbach’s alpha, and normed references were
conducted. The internal consistency results provide evidence that the CoSTEY is a reliable
measure:
Phonological Component = 0.959
Orthographic Component = 0.970
Morphological Component = 0.951
What follows are the normed results of the CoSTEY, based on the participating
students who attempted all three test components in the latter part of Term 3. The
percentiles provided in Tables 7 and 8 may be particularly useful for longitudinal
performance tracking and for intervention purposes in the future.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 8Table 7 CoSTEY norms for Year 1
Percentile Raw Score
Phonological Component 10 80
(124 items)
20 91
30 97
40 104
50 109
60 113
70 116
80 119
90 122
Orthographic Component 10 14
(76 items)
20 18
30 22
40 26
50 32
60 37
70 43
80 50
90 58
Morphological Component 10 8
(55 items)
20 13
30 16
40 20
50 24
60 27
70 30
80 34
90 39
©Daffern, T. (2021). The components of spelling: Early Years. Instruction and assessment for the
linguistic inquirer. Shell Cove, Literacy Education Solutions Pty Limited. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-1-1
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 9Table 8 CoSTEY norms for Year 2
Percentile Raw Score
Phonological Component 10 88
(124 items)
20 98
30 104
40 110
50 114
60 117
70 119
80 121
90 122
Orthographic Component 10 18
(76 items)
20 26
30 31
40 38
50 44
60 50
70 56
80 62
90 67
Morphological Component 10 13
(55 items)
20 18
30 22
40 26
50 30
60 35
70 38
80 42
90 45
©Daffern, T. (2021). The components of spelling: Early Years. Instruction and assessment for the
linguistic inquirer. Shell Cove, Literacy Education Solutions Pty Limited. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-1-1
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 10Subscale mean scores in the Components of Spelling Test: Early Years
(CoSTEY)
The results presented in Figure 1 are based on students in Years 1 and 2 who completed all
three test components of the CoSTEY (n = 934). It was at the teachers’ discretion whether or
not to administer the entire assessment to the students. The results shown in Figure 1
highlight that phonological applications in spelling are considerably stronger than
orthographic and morphological applications among children in Year 1 and in Year 2.
100 91 95
80
57 55
60 44 43
40
20
0
Phonological Orthographic Morphological
Year 1 (n=331) Year 2 (n=603)
Figure 1 Mean CoSTEY scores (%) by subscale (Year 1 and Year 2)
Table 9 presents the mean CoSTEY scores in Year 1, and Table 10 presents the mean
CoSTEY scores in Year 2. As expected, scores were higher in Year 2 than in Year 1. For both
year levels, scores were highest in the Phonological Component and lowest in the
Morphological Component.
Table 9 Year 1 CoSTEY scores (n=331)
Phonological Orthographic Morphological
Raw mean (SD) 104.12 (16.59) 33.70 (16.67) 23.62 (11.51)
Raw min 36 3 1
Raw max 124 74 54
Mean % 91 44 43
Table 10 Year 2 CoSTEY scores (n = 603)
Phonological Orthographic Morphological
Raw mean (SD) 108.47 (15.96) 43.63 (18.11) 30.19 (12.34)
Raw min 41 3 3
Raw max 124 75 54
Mean % 95 57 55
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 11Phonological applications in spelling in Year 1 and Year 2
The results indicated in Figure 2 below are based on data from all students in Years 1 and 2
who completed Phonological Component: Part A of the CoSTEY. The items included in this
component of the assessment involved one-syllable words with highly regular phoneme-
grapheme correspondences. The order of difficulty in the various linguistic constructs was
consistent for both year levels.
Being able to encode the initial consonant phoneme in a word, when represented by
a single letter, appears to be the easiest aspect of spelling, as reflected by the mean
accuracy scores for this subskill, ranging from 92 percent (in Year 1) to 94 percent (in Year
2). In contrast, accurate spelling of consonant blends appears considerably more difficult, as
reflected by the mean accuracy scores ranging from 59 percent (in Year 1) to 72 percent (in
Year 2).
Initial
•Yr 1 = 92%
consonant
•Yr 2 = 94%
graph
HARDER -------------------------- EASIER
Final
•Yr 1 = 86%
consonant
•Yr 2 = 89%
graph
Medial short •Yr 1 = 82%
vowel graph •Yr 2 = 86%
Consonant •Yr 1 = 62%
digraph •Yr 2 = 74%
Initial or final
•Yr 1 = 59%
consonant
•Yr 2 = 72%
blend
Note. % indicates mean accuracy score
Figure 2 Linguistic subskills: Phonological Component Part A (n = 2,337, Years 1 and 2)
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 12Phonological Component Parts A and B: Comparison of mean accuracy scores
Completion of Part B of the Phonological Component of the CoSTEY was an optional
extension task, offered to the participating children at their teachers’ discretion. Thus, the
results shown in Figure 3 need to be treated cautiously as they only represent a sub-sample
of children. For the results presented below, data were obtained from the Year 1 and Year 2
children who performed above the mean in the Phonological Component for Part A and
then completed Part B (n = 975). This represents only 42% of the total sample of children.
The results shown in Figure 3 indicate that even though the sample of children
performed above the mean in Part A of the Phonological Component (spelling regular one-
syllable words), the children experienced some difficulty with medial blending in disyllabic
(two-syllable) words. This suggests that children who can encode simple one-syllable words
may benefit from instruction that focusses on accurate segmenting, blending and encoding
of the medial phonemes in disyllabic words (for example, in words such as ‘monster’ and
‘hundred’).
100%
95%
91%
90%
80%
80%
70%
64%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Year 1 (n = 407) Year 2 (n = 568)
Phonological Part A Phonological Part B
Note. % indicates mean accuracy score
Figure 3 Phonological Component: Comparison of scores in Part A and B
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 13Orthographic applications in spelling in Year 1
The results shown in Figure 4 are based on data from all children in Year 1 who completed
the Orthographic Component (Part A and Part B) of the CoSTEY. For these children, the most
challenging aspect of all the measured orthographic subskills was their ability to accurately
use graphemes for the /or/ phoneme (for example, in words such as ‘form’, ‘bought’ and
‘swarm’).
• Graphemes for long /i/
43%
• Letter patterns in unaccented final syllables
HARDER ----------------------------------------------- EASIER
• Graphemes for long /e/
42%
• Positional grapheme constraints for /k/
• Graphemes for /ow/ (as in ‘cow’ & ‘show’) 41%
• Graphemes for /oo/ (as in ‘look’)
40%
• Final position consonant trigraph generalisation
• Graphemes for long /a/
37%
• Medial consonant doubling generalisation
• Graphemes for /oy/ 34%
• Graphemes for /er/ & /ar/ 29%
• Graphemes for /oo/ (as in ‘moon’)
26%
• Final position /v/ generalisation
• Graphemes for /or/ 14%
Note. % indicates mean accuracy score
Figure 4 Linguistic subskills: Orthographic Component (n = 957, Year 1)
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 14Orthographic applications in spelling in Year 2
The results shown in Figure 5 are based on data from all children in Year 2 who completed
the Orthographic Component (Part A and Part B) of the CoSTEY. For these children, the most
challenging aspect of all the measured orthographic subskills was their ability to accurately
use graphemes for the /or/ phoneme (for example, in words such as ‘form’, ‘bought’ and
‘swarm’).
• Graphemes for long /i/
61%
• Letter patterns in unaccented final syllables
HARDER ----------------------------------------------- EASIER
• Final position consonant trigraph generalisation 58%
• Graphemes for /ow/ (as in ‘cow’ & ‘show’) 57%
• Graphemes for long /e/
• Positional grapheme constraints for /k/ 56%
• Graphemes for /oo/ (as in ‘look’)
• Graphemes for long /a/
54%
• Medial consonant doubling generalisation
• Graphemes for /oy/ 48%
• Graphemes for /er/ & /ar/ 46%
• Graphemes for /oo/ (as in ‘moon’)
43%
• Final position /v/ generalisation
• Graphemes for /or/ 28%
Note. % indicates mean accuracy score
Figure 5 Linguistic subskill scores: Orthographic Component (n = 1,081, Year 2)
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 15Morphological applications in spelling in Year 1
The results presented in Figure 6 are based on data from all children in Year 1 who
completed the Morphological Component of the CoSTEY. Being able to correctly use simple
prefixes when spelling appears to be the easiest aspect of morphology, as reflected by the
mean accuracy score of 64 percent in Year 1. In contrast, accurate use of derivational
suffixes, as well as comparative and superlative suffixes appears considerably more difficult,
as reflected by the respective mean accuracy scores of 26 and 24 percent. Overall, these
results suggest a need to provide more instruction in morphology in Year 1.
Prefix •Yr 1 = 64%
HARDER -------------------------- EASIER
Inflected suffix
(tense & •Yr 1 = 34%
plural)
Homophone •Yr 1 = 29%
Derivational
•Yr 1 = 26%
suffix
Inflected suffix
(comparative •Yr 1 = 24%
& superlative)
Note. % indicates mean accuracy score
Figure 6 Linguistic subskills: Morphological Component (n = 843, Year 1)
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 16Morphological applications in spelling in Year 2
The results presented in Figure 7 are based on data from all children in Year 2 who
completed the Morphological Component of the CoSTEY. Being able to correctly use simple
prefixes when spelling appears to be the easiest aspect of morphology, as reflected by the
mean accuracy score of 64 percent in Year 2. In contrast, accurate use of derivational
suffixes, as well as comparative and superlative suffixes appears considerably more difficult,
as reflected by the respective mean accuracy scores of 42 percent. Overall, these results
suggest a need to provide more instruction in morphology in Year 2.
Prefix •Yr 2 = 77%
HARDER -------------------------- EASIER
Inflected suffix
•Yr 2 = 49%
(tense)
Homophone •Yr 2 = 48%
Inflected suffix
•Yr 2 = 44%
(plural)
Inflected suffix
(comparative &
superlative) •Yr 2 = 42%
& Derivational
suffix
Note. % indicates mean accuracy score
Figure 7 Linguistic subskill, Morphological Component (n = 1,026, Year 2)
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 17Spelling error analysis methods
In addition to using the CoSTEY as a diagnostic assessment tool, teachers participating in this
pathway were encouraged to utilise qualitative error analysis using samples of children’s
writing. Error Analysis Templates 1 to 3 are based on the constructs of the CoSTEY (Daffern,
2021).
Error Analysis Template 1: Phonological Component
PHONOLOGICAL COMPONENT
STUDENT: ________________________________ DATE: ______________
Linguistic features Errors observed Strengths observed
Encoding initial consonant
graphs
(in one-syllable base words)
Encoding final consonant
graphs
(in one-syllable base words)
Encoding short vowel graph
(in one-syllable base words)
Encoding consonant
digraphs
(in one-syllable base words)
Regular consonant blends
(initial, medial and/or final
positions)
Trends in types of errors:
▪ Epenthesis
▪ Elision
▪ Substitution
INSTRUCTIONAL PRIORITIES
©Daffern (2020). Reproduction of this template is not permitted without permission from the
author.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 18Error Analysis Template 1: Orthographic Component
ORTHOGRAPHIC COMPONENT
STUDENT: ________________________________ DATE: ______________
Linguistic Features Errors observed Strengths observed
Long /a/ graphemes (as in ‘say’)
Long /e/ graphemes (as in ‘sleep’)
Long /i/ graphemes (as in ‘slide’)
Long /oo/ graphemes (as in ‘moon’)
Long /oo/ grapheme (as in look’)
Graphemes for /ow/ (as in ‘cow’ and
‘show’)
Graphemes for /oy (as in ‘boy’)
Graphemes for r-influenced vowels (one-
syllable words)
Graphemes for l-influenced vowels (one-
syllable words)
Medial consonant doubling (in base
words)
Positional constraints for /k/
Unaccented final syllable letter patterns
(in 2-syllable base words)
Final position /v/ letter pattern
generalisation (as in ‘give’)
Final position graphemes: -tch and -dge
(base words)
INSTRUCTIONAL PRIORITIES
©Daffern (2020). Reproduction of this template is not permitted without permission from the
author.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 19Error Analysis Template 1: Morphological Component
MORPHOLOGICAL COMPONENT
STUDENT: ________________________________ DATE: ______________
Linguistic Features Errors observed Strengths observed
Inflected suffixes
(plurals)
Inflected suffixes
(tense)
Inflected suffixes
(comparative and superlative)
Derivational suffixes
Prefixes
Homophones
INSTRUCTIONAL PRIORITIES
©Daffern (2020). Reproduction of this template is not permitted without permission from the
author.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 20Lesson planning During the fourth module of the professional learning pathway, the participating class teachers worked in collaboration with their Instructional Leaders to design and implement lessons that targeted some of the identified areas of need as determined by the results of the spelling error analysis. The weekly structure for instructional planning, illustrated in Figure 8, was encouraged so that teachers could embed explicit and contextualised instruction in spelling, ideally four days each week. Teachers were encouraged to work with their Instructional Leaders to plan and deliver lessons following the six steps outlined below. Figure 8 Weekly structure for instructional planning ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 21
What follows is a selection of lesson plans that are focussed on various aspects of
spelling (phonological, orthographic and morphological). The samples of lesson plans have
been designed by the educators involved in the EAfS pathway. They were designed using
error analysis data as a reference to inform teaching priorities.
Some of these lesson plans may have been revised or adapted slightly for inclusion in
this paper. They reflect the participants’ developing practices and contributions to the
professional learning pathway. Each lesson plan is unique and represents an example of the
collaborative planning that took place within individual school sites.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 22FOCUS ON PHONOLOGY Encoding the consonant blend: st
Focus text
Wombat Stew, Marcia Vaughan, Scholastic Australia, 1984
Learning intention
Students will be able to …
▪ correctly read aloud and write the ‘st’ blend in a range of one- and two-syllable words;
▪ read aloud and write one-syllable words that start and end with the ‘st’ blend’.
Word list to support learning
Words starting with ‘st’: stew, stone, stuck, stirred, stop
Words ending with ‘st’: dust, fast, best, finest
Details of the lesson/s
▪ Read aloud the literary text, Wombat Stew.
▪ Read aloud excerpts from the text slowly while displaying the text for students to clearly
see. Ask students to listen to the words carefully. As a signal, students can touch their
ears when they hear /st/ consonant blend in a word. Invite students to identify (point to)
those words that contain the consonant blend ‘st’.
▪ Model the letter formation for the blend ‘st’. Invite students to copy the letter formations
using their own mini whiteboards.
▪ As each word is identified:
➢ Use flash cards to model the writing of each word;
➢ Model syllabification and discuss the number of syllables;
➢ Model phoneme segmentation and blending, and discuss how many phonemes;
➢ Invite students to count the number of letters;
➢ Model the formation of each letter as required;
➢ Invite students to write each word on their own mini whiteboards;
➢ Draw attention to the target consonant blend positioned either at the beginning or at
the end of the word. Underline the consonant blend, ‘st’, in each word.
➢ Invite students to think of other words they know that have the ‘st’ blend. Write some
of those words on flashcards.
➢ Using a display pocket chart, invite students to place each flash card in the correct
column (starts with ‘st’ or ends with ‘st’). As they do, encourage students to orally use
each word in a sentence.
Closure
▪ Ask students to identify where the two letters (‘s’ and ‘t’) can be found in the alphabet.
▪ Check for understanding by asking: when we see the letters ‘s’ and then ‘t’ in a word,
what sounds do they make?
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 23FOCUS ON PHONOLOGY Encoding medial short vowels in one-syllable words
Focus text
The Very Cranky Bear, by Nick Bland, Scholastic Australia, 2008
Word list to support learning
had, well, them, that, his, chin, him, not, did, let, tin, mud, big, got, hid, back, bag, tip, fell, but
Explicit teaching
▪ The teacher reads the story ‘The Very Cranky Bear’ to the children.
▪ Using some three-phoneme words from the text, the teacher models how to isolate and count
the phonemes in each word (for example: had: h / a / d = 3 sounds = 3 phonemes). As each word
is segmented, the teacher model the spelling on the board.
▪ The teacher writes more three-phoneme words on the board but leaves the medial short vowel
phoneme out.
▪ The teacher dictates each word to the children while pointing to the word. Student are invited to
identify what missing vowel letter needs to be placed in the middle of each word.
Guided groups
Rotation 1 Rotation 2 Rotation 3
Teacher-led The children write as many In pairs, students play a
The teacher dictates the word one-syllable words as possible consolidation game of tic-tac-
lists to the children. The that have a medial short toe focussing on any two
teacher models how to write vowel sound. They write medial short vowel phonemes
the words on the board and these words under the in one-syllable words.
the children copy them onto headings a, e, i ,o ,u
flash cards. They then For example:
highlight the medial short a e i o u
vowel sounds. They sort the cat get sit pot tub
flashcards into groups based sad men bin rod mud
man red pick sob run
on their medial sound.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 24Encoding initial consonant graphs in CVC words
FOCUS ON PHONOLOGY Encoding medial graphs in CVC words
Encoding consonant digraph: th
Focus text: Koala, by Claire Saxby (2019, Candlewick Press)
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
(Initial consonant graph) (Medial vowel graph) (Consonant digraph ‘th’)
Word list to support learning Word list to support learning Word list to support learning
Groups 1 Group 2 Group 3
run, but, not, his, him, can, rub, leg run, but, not, his, him, can, rub, leg thumbs, thirsty, mouthful,
themselves, though, they,
thunder, mother, grandfather,
the, than, thundering, these,
further, together, their, growth,
depth, youth
Details of Lessons (Group 1)
▪ Read text aloud, pausing at CVC words in the focus text. Explain what CVC means.
Demonstrate the sound of the initial consonant phoneme and model the writing of the
first letter. Students use mini white boards to copy.
▪ Students say and make the words using magnetic letters, sounding out each phoneme
and then writing words on whiteboards.
Details of Lessons (Group 2)
▪ Read text aloud, pausing at CVC words in the focus text. Explain what CVC means.
Demonstrate the sound of the medial vowel phoneme and model the writing of the
corresponding letter. Students use mini white boards to copy.
▪ Students sort the CVC words according to their medial vowel.
Details of Lessons (Group 3)
▪ Read text aloud, pausing at words in the focus text that contain the digraph, th. Explain
what a digraph is. Demonstrate the sound of the voiced /th/ and compare with the
unvoiced /th/, suing examples of words taken from the focus text.
▪ Model the writing of some words using flashcards. Use a pocket chart to sort the words
according to the voiced and unvoiced th.
▪ Students make words with magnetic letters.
▪ Students sort th words according to the position of the phoneme in the word: beginning,
middle or end. Students circle word if th is voiced.
▪ Students find and write other th words. They may create a chart using these words with
headings ‘voice’ and ‘no voice’.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 25Comparing short /a/ and short /i/
FOCUS ON PHONOLOGY Comparing short /a/, short /i/ and short /o/
Comparing short /a/, short /i/, short /o/ and short /e/
Focus text
The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss (Penguin, 1957)
Word list to support learning
Group 1: /a/ cat, sat, hat; /i/ sit, him, his, lit, bit
Group 2: /a/ and /i/ as above; /o/ top, not, hop, pot
Group 3: /a/, /i/ and /o/ as above; /e/ red, get
Learning intentions and/or success criteria
We are learning to compare short vowel graphs.
I know how to say, read and write short vowel graphs.
Explicit teaching
▪ Read aloud The Cat in the Hat.
▪ Use pre-made cut up CVC words that have /a/ and /i/ middle sound e.g. ‘sat’ and ‘sit’
question students to notice difference between these two words. Bring attention to the
differing middle phoneme. Using mini white boards, invite students to write the target
corresponding vowel letters. Model the formation of each letter as needed.
▪ Use a photocopy of a page of The Cat in the Hat and as a class find CVC words that have
/a/ and /i/ middle sound.
Guided activities
▪ Group 1: Sort words from the book into /a/ and /i/.
▪ Group 2: Use word cards to fill in the missing short vowel sounds of /a/, /i/ and /o/. Say
and write the new words.
▪ Group 3: Use word cards to fill in the missing short vowel sounds of /a/, /i/,/o/ and /e/.
Say and write the new words.
Extension
Provide other literary texts for students to search and write a list of other CVC words that
contain the target medial vowels.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 26FOCUS ON PHONOLOGY Encoding consonant blend: ‘qu’ Focus text Danny the Duck with no Quack, by Malachy Doyle and Janet Samuel (2009, QED Publishing) Word list to support learning quack queen question squash quiet square squawk quilt aquarium quacking squirrel equipment quick quarter equestrian Learning intentions and success criteria We are learning to hear the two sounds that make up the qu consonant blend. • I can say and write the consonant blend qu • I know some qu words • I can explain why qu is a consonant blend Explicit teaching ▪ Review concept of consonant blends: Model how two phonemes can be blended together – lips move to a different position for each sound). Demonstrate writing qu and students practice writing the consonant blend on the floor, in the air, or on a friend’s back. ▪ Whole class: brainstorm a list of qu words students already know. Add to this list over time. ▪ Ask students to listen for qu words as the focus text is read aloud: ‘Danny the Duck with no Quack’. ▪ Using the words from the text as a starting point, discuss the positioning of the ‘qu’ in the words – the blend is usually at the beginning of the word or it can come after an ‘s’. Invite students to think of any exceptions to this generalisation (for example: equipment, aquarium) Guided ▪ With a partner, students take turns in saying and recording ‘qu’ words (one person says the word and uses it in a sentence, the other writes the word on a mini whiteboard or paper). Syllabus outcomes EN1-4A: recognises sound letter matches in consonant blends EN1-5A: understands how to use blends to break up simple words and use visual memory to write irregular words Learning progressions SpG6: writes two letter consonant blends in words correctly SpG8: uses three letter consonant blends in words correctly ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 27
FOCUS ON ORTHOGRAPHY Graphemes for the long /a/ phoneme
Focus text
The Snail and the Whale, by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2003)
Learning intention: We are learning to identify and write the long /a/ vowel phoneme in reading and
writing.
Success criteria: I can identify words with the long /a/ vowel phoneme
I can use the correct grapheme to represent the long /a/ vowel phoneme.
Word list to support learning (from text)
vowel digraph digraph vowel graph split digraph quadgraph
/ai/ /ay/ /ey/ /a/ a_e /eigh/
sail fail hooray a make daze eight
snail tail they ate age
frail wait way brave whale
plain day same save
trail bay made laze
spray wave tale
grey
Explicit teaching
▪ Explain the long /a/ vowel phoneme. Have student’s listen/respond/repeat phoneme. Exaggerate
mouth movement. Have students copy. What do you feel? What do you hear?
▪ The long /a/ vowel phoneme have many different spelling patterns such as /a/ - vowel, /ai/-
vowel digraph, /ey/or/ay/- digraph, a_e- split digraph, /eigh/ - quadgraph.
▪ Create an anchor chart with heading- Long /a/ vowel phoneme using the metalanguage for each
grapheme.
▪ Read Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and identify long /a/ vowel phoneme – snail, whale,
tale. Write words from text on whiteboards.
▪ Discussion – share the words we found in the book. Look at the spelling patterns. Add words to
anchor chart.
▪ Reflection- what do you notice about these words? Students are encouraged to add to the
anchor with their words.
Guided
▪ Provide student with various words from the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson.
Students to highlight words that contain the long /a/ vowel phoneme and spelling pattern.
Group 1- sort words using digraph /ay/ and CVC words and highlight /ay/.
Group 2-sort words according to long /a/ vowel phoneme spelling patterns.
Reflection
Share findings. What did you find interesting? Check for understanding by encouraging students use
of metalanguage and linking to spelling patterns.
Syllabus outcomes
EN1-3A- Composes texts using letters of consistent size and slope and uses digital technologies
EN1-5A – Uses a variety of strategies, including knowledge of sight words and letter-sound
correspondences, to spell familiar words
Literacy progressions
SpG7, SpG8, PKW6, PKW7
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 28FOCUS ON ORTHOGRAPHY Graphemes for long /a/ phoneme
Focus text The Very Cranky Bear, by Nick Bland (Scholastic Australia, 2008)
Word list to support learning
rainy, day, place, play, mane, plain, cave, chased, wait, maybe, complained, came, gave
Explicit teaching
▪ The teacher reads the story ‘The Very Cranky Bear’ to the children.
▪ Highlight words throughout the story that contains the long /a/ vowel phoneme.
▪ Teacher says the words clearly and invites students to repeat after them.
▪ Teacher writes the words on a whiteboard and shows what each word looks like.
▪ Teacher helps students to highlight the 3 different long /a/ graphemes in the words.
Explain that English words so not usually end in ai but they can end in ay). Use
metalanguage to describe the target graphemes (vowel digraph and split digraph).
Rotation 1 Rotation 2 (see below) Rotation 3
Teacher Directed: Small group and/or Independent:
Students write each independent: Students write the words
modelled word on mini Students complete the in the context of sentences
whiteboards. Segment word sort activity by or they may locate and
phonemes in each word. reading, writing and write other long /a/ words
Discuss placement of the highlighting the long /a/ in other story books,
long /a/ vowel grapheme grapheme in each word. including the sentences
in each word. Student-made flashcards the words are found in.
are then sorted according
to the long /a/ grapheme.
Rotation 2 (word sort)
Words for writing and sorting according to long /a/ graphemes: ai, a-e or ay
rain gave complained
day plain play
cave place wave
away wait maybe
chased mane came
game snail today
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 29FOCUS ON ORTHOGRAPHY Graphemes for /oo/ (as in ‘moon’)
Focus text
The Brothers Quibble, by Aaron Blabey. (2014, Puffin)
Word list to support learning
Text words Supplementary words
roost boom
grew moon
soon cocoon
gloom rooster
room mood
broom smooth
Learning intention
We are learning to identify and understand the vowel digraph ‘OO’ as in moon.
Success criteria
▪ I can identify words that have the ‘OO’ sound.
▪ I can sort words that make the ‘OO’ sound.
Whole class
▪ Read aloud the literary text ‘The Brothers Quibble’
▪ Model the /oo/ phoneme and explain some common graphemes, pointing out some examples
from the text.
▪ Second read: Students indicate using their fingers each time they hear the /oo/ phoneme.
▪ Students record these words on their whiteboard and share with a partner.
Independent
▪ Students sort teacher-created flash cards with a variety of words and place into columns titled
‘oo’ and ‘other’.
▪ Students select three words from the ‘oo’ column and write them in the context of sentences.
Closure
▪ Students share some of their sentences with the class that contain ‘OO’ words.
Syllabus outcomes
EN1-5A: uses a variety of strategies, including knowledge of sight words and letter-sound
correspondences, to spell familiar words. Understands how to use digraphs to spell words.
Learning progressions
SpG9: Uses correct vowel digraphs.
SpG9: Uses learnt spelling rules and knowledge, word origins and generalisations to spell.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 30FOCUS ON ORTHOGRAPHY Graphemes for long /a/ phoneme Focus text The Very Cranky Bear, by Nick Bland (Scholastic, 2008) Word list to support learning plain, day, cave, chased, always, came, maybe, they, mane, wait Sentence from the text On a cold and rainy day four friends found the perfect place to play. Learning Intention To learn about the different ways to spell the long ‘a’ sound. Success Criteria I can hear the long ‘a’ sound in words I can sort words into groups that use the same long ‘a’ sound – ai, ay, ey, a_e, Details of the lesson/s -Explain the metalanguage to the students: What is a digraph? Discuss the target graphemes for the long /a/ phoneme. Whole class -The teacher reads the story The Very Cranky Bear Nick Bland and the students listen for the long ‘a’ sound. The teacher prints a copy of the sentence for each student On a cold and rainy day four friends found the perfect place to play. -Introduce and define Orthography, explain that there are other ways to write the sound (the digraphs are written on the board) -Students use a highlighter to locate and mark words in the sentence with the long ‘a’ sound. Individual -Teacher has created posters to sort the words according to the grapheme used to represent the long ‘a’ phoneme. -Students work in pairs to locate words (in the classroom or in a text). Students write these on the poster with the long ‘a’ phoneme. Syllabus outcomes EN1-5A: uses a variety of strategies, including knowledge of sight words and letter–sound correspondences, to spell familiar words Learning progressions SpG5: spells less familiar words using regular phonemic graphemic patterns. SpG9: uses learnt spelling rules and knowledge, word origins and generalisations to spell. ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 31
FOCUS ON ORTHOGRAPHY Graphemes for long /i/ phoneme Focus text High Five by Adam Rubin & Daniel Salmieri (Penguin Random House, 2019) Word list to support learning Grapheme: i_e (split digraph) Grapheme: -y (graph) Grapheme: -igh- (trigraph) five try high side fly night time guy tight alive defy sight slide reply fight mine spy right Whole class ▪ Read aloud the literary text, High Five. As students listen to the text, they need to listen to the long /i/ phoneme in the words. Each time the students hear a word that contains the target phoneme, they signal this by pointing to their ears. ▪ As the words are being identified during the read aloud session, the teacher records each word on chart paper for display. ▪ Students are then invited to look at the chart to identify the different graphemes that represent the long /i/ phoneme. Introduce the metalanguage for each grapheme. Guided ▪ Group 1: Identify and write words containing the i-e split digraph. Use the metalanguage to describe this grapheme (i-e is a split digraph). Each student writes these words as a list. Students use a coloured pencil to highlight the i-e split digraph in each word. ▪ Group 2: Identify and write words containing the following graphemes: y (graph); i-e (split digraph); and igh (trigraph). Use the metalanguage to describe each grapheme. Each student writes these words as a list. Students use a coloured pencil to highlight the target graphemes. The students then create flash cards from their list, students will then test each other to read and write the words. Encourage students to take turns saying each word in the context of a sentence. Closure Each group takes turns to share their recorded words with the class. Check for understanding by encouraging the students to say each word out loud and also describe the target graphemes using correct metalanguage. ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 32
FOCUS ON ORTHOGRAPHY Graphemes for /er/ and /ar/
Focus text
Cool Cars, by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker (Kingfisher, 2014)
Word list to support learning
ar er
car, start, markings, Parker, large, popular Parker, other, driver, proper, weather
Learning intention
Identifying the grapheme (‘ar’ and ‘er’) in one- and two-syllable words.
Success criteria
▪ I can highlight the ‘ar’ and ‘er’ patterns on my flashcards.
▪ I can hunt for words around the room to find the ‘ar’ and ‘er’ pattern within words.
Explicit teaching
▪ Explain the metalanguage to the students: A grapheme is a written symbol of a
phoneme (speech sound).
▪ Brainstorm: ask the students to think of all the words they know that have the
graphemes: ‘ar’ and ‘er’. Teacher creates an anchor chart of the shared words and
highlights the ‘ar’ or ‘er’ patterns in the words.
▪ Read aloud the focus text (only use half of the book or until class understand
concepts), ‘Cool Cars’, drawing attention to the ‘ar’ and ‘er’ patterns in the relevant
words.
Guided
▪ Students make flashcards of ‘ar’ and ‘er’ words. Once made, they highlight the ‘ar’ and
‘er’ patterns within each word. They may also use their flashcards to play a partner game
of snap, ‘snapping’ for paired ‘ar’ words and paired ‘er’ words. Students should be
encouraged to read the paired words at each ‘snap’.
▪ Word hunt: students move freely around the room looking for ‘ar’ and ‘er’ patterns
within words located on the walls and in books.
▪ Students work in pairs to play a game of tic-tac-toe, taking turns to write words with ‘ar’
and with ‘er’.
Syllabus outcomes
EN1-5A: uses a variety of strategies, including knowledge of sight words and letter–sound
correspondences, to spell familiar words.
Learning progressions
SpG5: spells less familiar words using regular phonemic graphemic patterns (sum for some).
SpG9: uses learnt spelling rules and knowledge, word origins and generalisations to spell.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 33FOCUS ON MORPHOLOGY Encoding inflected suffix: -ing
Focus text
Isabella’s Bed, by Alison Lester (Hachette Children’s Book Australia, 2008)
Learning intention
We are learning the rules in order to spell happening words using -ing.
Success criteria
We know how the word changes when we add the inflected suffix –ing to a variety of base words
Word list to support learning – Italicised words are from the text
Group 1 Group 2
Adding –ing to CVC Adding –ing to split Adding –ing to vowel Adding –ing to words
words digraphs digraphs ending in ‘l’
humming shining looking travelling
running blazing painting cancelling
hopping crumbling haunting marvelling
sipping dancing spreading propelling
wetting exciting soaring funnelling
Explicit teaching
• Rules are as follows:
- CVC Words – if a base word is a CVC word, double the last consonant and add the –ing suffix.
For example, run → running
- Split digraphs – if a base word contains a split digraph drop the final e before add the –ing.
For example, live → living
- Vowel digraphs – if a base word contains a vowel digraph e.g. ee, ea, ai, aw, ay just add the –ing
suffix. For example, creep → creeping
- Words ending in l – final letter l in a base word is doubled after a single unstressed vowel.
For example travel → travelling
Whole class
• Explicitly model tic-tac-toe activity using metalanguage.
• Demonstrate choosing one –ing rule to play the game. Write the base word and the word that
includes the inflected suffix –ing in one section of the grid.
Small groups
• Group 1: Students work in pairs to play a game of tic-tac-toe. Taking turns to write words with
CVC words and split digraphs. Students write base word first then add the inflected suffix -ing.
• Group 2: Students work in pairs to play a game of tic-tac-toe. Taking turns to write words with
vowel digraphs and words ending in ‘l’. Students write base word first then add the inflected
suffix -ing.
Closure
• Each group take turns to share their recorded words with the class.
• Check for understanding by encouraging the students to say each word out loud and also describe
the target rule they chose using correct metalanguage.
Syllabus outcome
EN1-5A: Uses a variety of strategies, including knowledge of sight words and letter-sound
correspondences, to spell familiar words.
Learning progression
SpG8 – Uses bank of spelling strategies and knowledge to attempt to spell words.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 34FOCUS ON MORPHOLOGY Encoding inflected suffix: -ed Focus text John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat, by Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks (1977 Puffin) Word list to support learning Text words Supplementary words excited lived watched packed walked played died dozed followed talked loved loved slipped tipped moved shoved looked sighed jumped skipped wanted ragged pulled purred hopped begged Learning intention We are learning to identify and understand the inflected suffix ‘ed’ as a tense marker. Success criteria ▪ I can write ‘ed’ at the end of a base word to show that the verb has happened ▪ I can identify words that contain the inflected suffix ‘ed’ Whole class ▪ Read aloud the literary text ‘John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat’. ▪ Discuss the tense marker ‘ed’. What is the purpose and what sound does it make? What does it look like? ▪ Teach and model letter formation ▪ Second read – Students tally, on a white board, each time they notice the ‘ed’ suffix. ▪ Students share their words, teacher records on poster paper. Independent ▪ Students go through their familiar reader and find three words ending with the suffix ‘ed’. Students record these words into their workbook. ▪ Students select and write another five words (from the poster paper – see whole class activity) in their workbook. Students highlight ‘ed’ suffix. ▪ Students three of the words to use sentences. Students write their sentences in past tense. Closure ▪ Students share some of their sentences with the class and say the past tense suffixed wor they have used. Syllabus outcome EN1-5A: uses a variety of strategies, including knowledge of sight words and letter-sound correspondences, to spell familiar words. Recognise common prefixes and suffixes and how they change a word’s meaning. Learning progressions SpG5: writes words with common suffixes that indicate tense (ed). ©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 35
FOCUS ON MORPHOLOGY Encoding inflected suffix: -est
Focus text
Things That Are Most in the World, By Judi Barrett (Alladin Paperbacks)
Learning intentions and success criteria
Identify and understand how to write words ending with the suffix, -est
I know how to …
✓ add -est to the end of base words ending in e.
✓ add -est to the end of CVC base words.
✓ add -est to the end of base words ending in y.
Word list to support learning
Words from literary text: wiggly, silly, quiet, prickly, hot, odd, long, jumpy, smelly, sticky,
heavy, high
Other words for teaching rules: fine, safe, brave, fit, big, thin, dirty, easy, funny
Explicit teaching
▪ Read the text aloud. Pause at each -est suffixed word and ask students to look at how the
author uses the suffix. Tell students that this suffix means ‘most’.
▪ Introduce the metalanguage: base word and suffix. Explain that the suffix, -est, can be
added to the end of a base word to express the highest level of quality.
▪ Using pre-prepared palm cards comprising the base words (one for each rule), model
adding the superlative suffix. Pose the following question: What happens to the base
words when the suffix -est is added? Discuss three common rules for using this suffix.
Rules Base Word Base word + Superlative suffix
1 safe safest
2 hot hottest
3 wiggly wiggliest
Shared or guided
▪ Group 1: Students focus on Rule 1 by adding the superlative suffix to the relevant base
words.
▪ Group 2: Students focus on Rules 1, 2 and 3 by adding the superlative suffix to the base
words. Student may also play Tic Tac Toe with a partner (using two rules for the -est
suffixed words).
Independent
Using the final page of the literary text, ‘Things that are the most in the world’, students
create and share their own response/s to the prompt, using the words from the shared
episode: The ___________est thing in the world is ____________.
Further consolidation
Using a different literary text (e.g. a text used during a Guided Reading rotation) students
search for words containing the superlative suffix, -est or words that could have -est added to
them (adverbs or adjectives). Students write each word including the sentence they found
them in. Then, students may write their own sentences using the suffixed words.
©DR TESSA DAFFERN (30TH NOVEMBER, 2020) 36You can also read
