Word Study Activity - January 31

Plurals - To Add an "s" or Not?  You be the Judge!

When making a plural (meaning more than one), usually all you need to do is add an "s" to the end of the word.  For example:

singular form: book         plural form: books  (ends in a consonant)
singular form: cake          plural form: cakes  (ends in a vowel)

However, this is not the case for all nouns.  Here are some simple rules you can follow for irregular plurals and regular plurals.

                                                                           
REGULAR PLURALS

Words that end with -y:        Change -y to -ies                     berry becomes berries

Words that end with -ey:      Add -s                                      survey becomes surveys

Words that end with     
-ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z:             Add -es                                    witch becomes witches
                                                                                              kiss becomes kisses
                                                                                              dish becomes dishes
                                                                                              box becomes boxes
                                                                                              fizz becomes fizzes

IRREGULAR PLURALS
                                                 
Words that end with -fe:      Change f to v then add -s         life becomes lives

Words that end with -f:        Change f to v then add -es       calf becomes calves
                                                                                              leaf becomes leaves

Words that end with -o:       Add -es                                    hero becomes heroes

Words that end with -us:     Change -us to -i                       cactus becomes cacti

Words that end with -is:      Change -is to -es            analysis becomes analyses

Words that end with -on:     Change -on to -a  phenomenon becomes phenonmena

As always with the English language, there will be some exceptions. 

For example, some words ending in f do not change to v  (roof becomes roofs)   OR
words ending in ch with a 'k' sound only need an 's' at the end (stomach becomes stomachs). 
Some words that end in o will only require an 's' (zoo becomes zoos)

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/plurals-of-nouns

This week's WORD LIST and ACTIVITIES - DUE DATE: February 6

For this week you have 10 list words, plus 4 bonus words for an extra challenge.
Next to each word you will also find the subject area from which it was taken.

1.   battery (Science)
2.   cheif (Social Studies)
3.   switch (Science)
4.   vertex (Math)
5.   journey (Social Studies)
6.   buffalo (Social Studies)
7.   half (Math)
8.   bison (Social Studies)
9.   die (Math)
10. knife (Social Studies)

datum            criterion            nucleus            axis
(Math)          (All subjects)    (Science)         (Math)

WORD ACTIVITY 2:  WORD SEARCH FUN

In this activity you need to create a word search for a friend that includes the plural form of each list word.

Step 1- Get your Word Study Notebook and a peice of grid paper!

Step 2- Change your singular nouns into their plural forms.

Step 3 - Use each plural in a sentence related to its subject area.  Do this in your notebook.
(e.g. SURVEY (Math) - Using surveys is a great way to collect data.)

Step 4 - On your grid paper, create a word search for that includes the plural form for each list word.  That's 10 words or 14 if you want the extra challenge. 

Step 5 - Bring in your word search to school for other students to enjoy!  We might even make a few copies.