Unit 4: Working Together
Grammar Guide: Inflectional Endings
Verbs change their form to show when an action happens. We call these changes inflected endings.
- -s or -es: Added to verbs in the presenttense (e.g., he calls).
- -ed: Added to show the past tense (e.g., he called yesterday).
- -ing: Added to show action happening right now (e.g., he is calling).
Spelling Rules:
- Drop the e:If a word ends in a silent e, drop the e before adding -ed or -ing (e.g., decide → decided, deciding).
- Double the Consonant: If a one-syllable word has a short vowel followed by a single consonant (CVC pattern), double the final consonant (e.g., rip → ripped, ripping).
- Changing y to i: If a word ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i before adding -es or -ed (e.g., worry → worries, worried).Note: For -ing, usually keep the y (e.g., worrying).
Phonics Focus: Diphthongs and Variant Vowels
Diphthongs /oi/ and /ou/: These are special vowel sounds made by blending two vowels.
- The /oi/ sound can be spelled oi (as in foil) oroy (as in boy).
- The /ou/ sound can be spelled ou (as in couch) or ow (as in crowd).
Variant Vowel /o/: The /o/ sound you hear in lawn can be spelled in different ways: aw (draw), au (haul), alt (salt), alk (talk), or all (ball).
Exercise 1: Vocabulary Definitions
Match the vocabulary word from the box to its correct definition below.
strutting
swarms
barbecue
skyscrapers
glorious
collage
eavesdropping
route
- An outdoor gathering where meat is roasted over an open fire: ____________________
- Walking in a proud manner: ____________________
- Listening in on someone else’s conversation secretly: ____________________
- Great numbersof people or insects moving together: ____________________
- Very tall buildings found in cities: ____________________
- An artistic composition made by pasting materials on a surface: ____________________
- Exceedingly beautiful or splendid: ____________________
- A way or course taken in getting from a starting point to a destination: ____________________
Exercise 2: Apply the Rules
Decide what needs to happen to the base word before adding the suffix -ed. Write “Double”, “Drop e”, “Change y”, or “No Change”.
| Base Word | Rule to Apply | New Word |
|---|---|---|
| 1. hope | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 2. chat | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 3. try | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 4. wait | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 5. bake | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 6. dry | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 7. stop | ____________________ | ____________________ |
| 8. play | ____________________ | ____________________ |
Exercise 3: Phonics Sorting
Sort the following words into the correct column based on their vowel sound pattern.
joy
cloud
lawn
soil
salt
proud
talk
choice
| /oi/ sound (oi, oy) | /ou/ sound (ou, ow) | /o/ sound (aw, au, a) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. __________________ | 3. __________________ | 6. __________________ |
| 2. __________________ | 4. __________________ | 7. __________________ |
| 5. __________________ | 8. __________________ |
Exercise 4: Context Clues
Circle the correct word to complete the sentence.
- The team made a (logical / solitary) decision to work together to finish the project faster.
- We found a (jumble / route) of old toys in the attic that looked like a big mess.
- The scientist (investigates / encourages) the dinosaur bones to learn about the past.
- The cat looked (scornfully / glorious) at the dog who was barking loudly.
- Even though he was an (acquaintance / electrical), I felt like I knew him well.
- The tiger defends its (territory / nutrients) from other animals.
- Dinosaurs are (prehistoric / slender) creatures that lived long ago.
- A (solitary / strutting) wolf wandered away from the pack to be alone.
Exercise 5: Diphthong Detective
Identify the word in each row that contains the target sound shown in parentheses.
- (/oi/): a) ground b) spoil c) walk d) boat
- (/ou/): a) show b) snow c) cow d) low
- (/o/): a) haul b) hole c) how d) hat
- (/oi/): a) toy b) toe c) too d) two
- (/ou/): a) found b) fond c) food d) feed
- (/o/): a) chalk b) check c) cheek d) choke
- (/oi/): a) noise b) nose c) no d) news
- (/ou/): a) shout b) shot c) shoot d) sheet
Exercise 6: Verb Transformations
Change the verb in parentheses to the correct form to complete the sentence (Past Tense -ed or Present Participle -ing).
- The students are (work) _____________ together on a mural.
- Yesterday, the class (decide) _____________ to paint the hallway.
- He is (copy) _____________ the drawing onto the large paper.
- The teacher (supply) _____________ us with paints and brushes last week.
- We are (hop) _____________ to finish by Friday.
- The paint (dry) _____________ very quickly yesterday.
- She is (mix) _____________ the colors right now.
- Everyone (clap) _____________ when the art was revealed.
