The Toothbrush: An Ancient Invention

Learning intention:

I am learning to use spelling patterns so that I can spell irregular plurals.

Success criteria:

• I can identify plurals in a text.
• I can change singular nouns into their plural form.
• I can use irregular plural spelling pattens to identify other plurals with similar patterns.
• I can generate rules for irregular plural spelling patterns.

 

After reading the article, students pair up and hunt for plurals in the text. Remind students that plurals mean more than one, and that they’re looking for people, places, things and concepts. Students write each plural on a strip of paper or sticky note so they can sort them into groups later. Only one plural for each word is needed, so even if toothbrushes appears multiple times, they only need to write it once.

 

Answers: toothbrushes, forms, sticks, teeth, gums, tongues, historians, Egyptians, Babylonians, fibres, tools, theories, hooves, eggshells, flowers, items, tombs, things, clothes, jewels, pets, pigs, hair, bristles, Europeans, feathers, brushes, prisoners, rags, holes, bundles, manufacturers, materials, beginnings.

 

Students sort their words into two columns – plurals that are made by adding ‘s’ and plurals that are made in other ways. The “other” column should have the following words:

• teeth
• theories
• hooves
• hair
• brushes

 

For each of these words, students need to:

1. Write the singular form of the word.
2. Write at least one example of other plurals that use the same spelling rule.
3. Write a rule to explain how to make each plural.

 

Examples include:

Teeth – tooth – geese – change the double ‘o’ to double ‘e’

Theories – theory – ladies – change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add ‘es’

Hooves – hoof – wolves – change the ‘f’ to a ‘v’ and add ‘es’

Hair – hair – sheep – keep the word the same

Brushes – brush – rushes – add ‘es’ when word ends with ‘sh’

 

Once students have completed the task, write the following words on the board:

monkey, library, journey, nappy, key, safety, responsibility

 

Ask students if their spelling rule for the plural theories works with all of these words (answer – no). Write monkeies and monkeys on the board and ask which one is correct (answer – monkeys). Ask students if they can work out a rule that will tell them when they change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add ‘es’ versus when they just add ‘s’. If they need help, guide them towards the other letters in each word, specifically the ones before the ‘y’. Students should realise that if the letter before the ‘y’ is a vowel, they keep the word the same and add ‘s’ to make the plural. Have students add this to their rule under ‘theories’ i.e., Theories – theory – ladies – change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add ‘es’ when the letter before the ‘y’ is a consonant.

 

Write the following words on the board:

wife, knife, life

 

Have students write the plural for each (wives, knives, lives). Ask students how they can tweak their spelling rules to include these. Answer: Hooves – hoof – wolves – when the word ends in ‘f’, change the ‘f’ to a ‘v’ and add ‘es’, when the word ends ‘fe’, change the ‘f’ to a ‘v’ and add ‘s’.

 

Write the following words on the board:

fox, church, guess, buzz, bus

 

Have students write the plurals for these words (foxes, churches, guesses, buzzes, buses). Ask how they can tweak their spelling rules to include these. Answer: Brushes – brush – rushes – add ‘es’ when word ends with ‘sh’, ‘x’, ch’, ‘ss’, ‘z’ or ‘s’.