SUMMARY OF WHY THIS

PLAN SHOULD BE USED/

WHAT NEEDS IT MEETS

Students need to be able to understand syllables for many reasons. Students

need to be able to recognize how to chunk words and read them easily. By
understanding affixes (such as prefixes and suffixes: common clusters of
letters in beginning and end, respectively), students are able to recognize
these patterns in other words, along with meaning which supports
comprehension. Moreover, with extra practice on identifying affixes and
syllabication, students will be able to chunk words, which speed up the
decoding process. Many students in our classroom are struggling with the
multisyllabic words ending with the suffix less, so I am building this
activity for you as families to do at home for some additional practice. I hope
you find it a valuable use of your time!

STANDARD

RL.6.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories,
dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range

OBJECTIVE

Your student will be able to accurately divide words with suffix less and
recognize that common suffix has a meaning of without

INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT
(TEACHING THE SKILL)

Explain the rules of syllabication (write them down and have available for
student with example):
1. Rule #1: Every Syllable has one vowel sound
2. Rule #2: The number of vowel sounds in a word equals the number of
syllables
3. Rule #3: A one syllable word is never divided
Write down the following words on a pink post-it:
~Art
~Use
~Face

~Merci (changed form of mercy for word)

Write down LESS on a yellow post it. Introduce the suffix less.
Parent: This is the suffix less. Say less. (Student says less as you run a
finger along the word) Less means without.
Combine Art and less. Read the word artless.
Parent: How many syllables are there in artless? Let me clap out the vowel
sounds (say as point to rule one) I hear. Art (clap) less (clap)I hear two
vowel sounds and I clapped twice so I have two syllables (point to rule 2).
Now I remember that less means without so this word means without art.
Repeat with words use and face and the variation of merci (has more
than 2 syllables because has 3 vowel sounds). For merci, cut the word to
show the second syllable.
GUIDED PRACTICE
(PRACTICING THE SKILL
TOGETHER)

Write down the words on blue post-its (care, regard, hope, and purpose)create enough to have two sets, one for you and one for the student.
Write down LESS on a yellow post-it. Again make two sets.
Ask the student to read each of the words on the blue post-its with you.
Combine each of the blue post-its with the yellow one with you. Chunk the
words to show syllabication with clapping. Identify the number of syllables.
Define the meaning of the word.
Parent and Student: Care. Careless Care (clap) Less (clap) 2 syllables
The word means without care
Repeat for other words.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

Write down the words on blue post-its (defense, motion, noise, shoe)
Write down the word LESS on yellow post it.

Ask student to read the words on the blue post its, combine each of the blue
post-its with the yellow one. Push them to clap to figure out syllabication of
each word. Identify how many syllables are in each word and define the word.
ASSESSMENT

For the final assessment, the student will independently create words that he
remembers from the lesson for the blue post its and combine with the final
syllable and go through the process practice of clapping for syllables and
defining the meaning:
I.e.:
Shoeless, merciless, faceless, motionless, etc.
Your student should be able to read the words, identify the number of
syllables and definitions.

LIST OF ADDITIONAL WAYS

THIS PLAN COULD BE USED

This plan can be used with any and all prefixes and suffixes to build student
knowledge on common affixes and syllabication. Moreover, identification of
syllables can be used in a word sort (number of syllables as a category) to
practice syllabication.