Lesson 47
y changing to i (as in cries) Materials Advanced Picture Code Cards:
y-i (12). Picture Code Cards: y with ice cream (42), y with e in sack (43). Advanced Copymasters: (37a,b & c)
Preparations Look, say, cover, write, check
Make copies from page 120. Word posters Have ready some large pieces of card or paper. Changing box To make Yo-yo Man’s changing hut, paint stripes on a cereal box. Cut out a door big enough for the Picture Code Card to fit inside. Make a ‘secret’ panel at the back for storing the i card, ready to pull out as needed (see illustration below).
Objectives
To know that the letter y changes to i before a new ending (as in cry - cries). To recognise and spell words containing y changed to i.
Children are understandably slow to learn a shift in a spelling pattern when they can see no reason for it. Since they are accustomed to adding an s (correctly) to high frequency words ending in -ay and -oy (e.g. days and boys) they will often add s to high frequency words where y should be changed to i. This leads to typical errors such as ‘carrys’ ‘citys’, ‘crys’ ‘partys’, ‘ponys’, ‘storys’ etc.. Ideally, teach the Letterland story below before any such errors become habitual. If left unchecked, the errors begin to ‘look right’ and can become very difficult to overcome.
Demonstration: y changing to i Show the card and tell the story:
Yellow Yo-yo Man changes into his i-clothes before new endings Yellow Yo-yo Man really enjoys the work he does, finishing some words for Mr I and a great many words for Mr E. In fact, he has become a very familiar sight at the end of words. If however -ed, -er, -est or any other ending except -ing comes along to finish the word for him, the Yo-yo Man stops work right away and changes out of his working clothes into some neat, straight i-clothes which Mr I has kindly given to him.
i
Anyone who looks carefully will see that the Yo-yo Man regularly disappears into his changing-hut to slip into his i-clothes in hundreds of words!
Activity ideas Whole class word work Practise this picture coding first by writing ‘fly’ large on the board. Ask a child to write ‘flies’ after the arrow. Then picture code the y and draw a little changing hut above the i. You can emphasise this shift by using the cereal box changing hut (see Preparation). Put Picture Code Card y into the hut, pause (while he changes), then produce the Yo-yo Man in his i-clothes from the other side (see illustration on left). Use the same approach but put in the y (with e) Picture Code Card for words like pony ponies. (In both cases, keep the y card hidden in the hut when taking out the new card. (Note: The Yo-yo Man has no e-clothes so he always changes into his i-clothes). Now write any of these sentences on the board. The children decide which i’s need changing huts (to show where there used to be a y) and draw huts over them.
-ies -ied
112 S e c t i o n 3 : L e s s o n P l a n s
I like stories about puppies and ponies. Babies often cry at parties. They tried looking at the fly magnified. She carried white roses when she got married.