(Adapted From Patricia M Cunningham, Phonics They Use,

encouragement is made up of the prefix en, the root word courage and the suffixment. There are no spelling changes.impossible--The root word possible with the suffix im. In many words, includingimpatient and immature the suffix im means “not” and changes the word to anopposite.richest--The root word rich with the suffix est, meaning "the most."3. Cheer the words.Tell students that one way to practice words is to say the letters in them aloud in arhythmic chanting fashion. Tell students that while this might seem silly, it really isn'tbecause the brain responds to sound and rhythm. That is one of the reasons you can singalong with the words of a familiar song even though you couldn't say the words withoutsinging the song and also why jingles and raps are easy to remember. Point to each wordand have students say the word, cheer the letters three times and say the word again.“richest r-i-c-h-e-s-t; r-i-c-h-e-s-t; r-i-c-h-e-s-t richest”“encouragement e-n-c-o-u-r-a-g-e-m-e-n-t; t; encouragement“discovery d-i-s-c-o-v-e-r-y; d-i-s-c-o-v-e-r-y; d-i-s-c-o-v-e-r-y discovery”“composer c-o-m-p-o-s-e-r; c-o-m-p-o-s-e-r; c-o-m-p-o-s-e-r composer”“impossible i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e; i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e; i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-eimpossible”4. Write the words.Once you have analyzed the components of each word, pointed out other words that workin a similar way and cheered for each word, have students write each word. Writing theword with careful attention to each letter and the sequence of each letter helps studentsuse another mode to practice the word. (Do not however assign students to copy wordsfive times each. They just do this "mechanically" and often do not focus on the letters.).Students enjoy writing the words more and focus better on the word if you make it ariddle or game. You can do this simply by having them number from one to five andthen giving clues to the word you want them to write such as:1. Number 1 has the root word courage.2. For number 2, write what you are if you play music but you also make up thesongs you play.3. Number 3 is a word that describes something you cannot possibly do.4. For number 4, write the word that has cover for the root word.5. Number 5 is what you are if you have the most money of any of your friends.After writing the words, have students check their own papers by once more chanting theletters aloud underlining each letter as they say it.5. Practice the words.For the next week or two, use the cheering and writing activities (with different clues)when you have a few minutes of down time to practice the words. As you are cheeringand writing the spelling of each word, ask students to identify roots, prefixes and suffixesand talk about how these affect the meaning of the root word.6. Spell new words using the patterns from Nifty Thrifty Fifty words.Once students can automatically, quickly and correctly spell all five words and explain toyou how they are composed, it is time to help them see how these words can help themdecode and spell other words. Remind students that good spellers do not memorize thespelling of each word. Rather they use words they know and combine, roots, suffixes andprefixes to figure out how to spell lots of other words. Have the students spell thefollowing words using the five key words as models. Have each word used in a sentenceand talk about the meaning relationships when appropriate

compose pose dispose discover cover encourage courage discouragediscouragement possible rich enrich enrichmentAdd Five More Wordshopeless musician patiently transportation unfinished1. Add these words to the display in your room or to the portable word walls2. Analyze the patterns in the words.Remind students that in English, many big words are just smaller words with prefixes andsuffixes added to root words and that sometimes adding these parts requires spelling orpronunciation changes. Good spellers do not memorize the spelling of every new wordthey meet. Rather, they notice the patterns in words and these patterns include prefixesand suffixes and spelling changes that occur when these are added. Lead students toanalyze the words, talking about meanings and identifying roots, prefixes and suffixesand noting any spelling changes.hopeless--Students should identify the root word hope and the suffix less. Thesuffix less often means ”none” or “without.” If you think a situation is hopeless,you have no hope it will turn out well. Other similar words are painless andhomeless. There are no spelling changes.musician-- a musician is a person who makes music. A beautician helps makeyou beautiful and a magician makes magic. Musician has the root word musicwith the suffix ian which sometimes indicates the person who does something.There are no spelling changes but the pronunciation changes. Have students saythe words music and musician, magic and magician and notice how thepronunciation changes.patiently--When you are patient, you are calm and do not get annoyed whensomething takes a long time. Patiently tell how you do things when you arepatient. Mothers watch patiently as their children learn to walk. It is often hard towait patiently for your turn to play or talk. Many other words such as eager,eagerly; careful, carefully; safe, safely follow this same pattern. The root wordfor patiently is patient. So, patiently is made up of the suffix ly and the root wordpatient. There are no spelling changes.transportation-- Students will probably see the word transport with the suffixtion. Help them to also see the word port which means "bring or carry". Studentscan relate the meaning of port to export in which you carry out, import in whichyou bring in and report in which you bring some information back. When youcarry things across some place, you transport them. Other words in which transmeans "across or through" include transplant, transfusion and transatlantic.Transportation has the root port the prefix trans and the suffix tion.unfinished--Students should notice the root word finish with the prefix un and theed ending. The prefix un often changes a word to its opposite meaning as inunfriendly and unhappy.3. Point to each word and have students cheer it three times with you.“musician m-u-s-i-c-i-a-n; m-u-s-i-c-i-a-n; m-u-s-i-c-i-a-n musician”“patiently p-a-t-i-e-n-t-l-y; p-a-t-i-e-n-t-l-y; p-a-t-i-e-n-t-l-y patiently”“hopeless h-o-p-e-l-e-s-s; h-o-p-e-l-e-s-s; h-o-p-e-l-e-s-s hopeless”“unfinished u-n-f-i-n-i-s-h-e-d; u-n-f-i-n-i-s-h-e-d; u-n-f-i-n-i-s-h-e-d;unfinished”“transportation t-r-a-n-s-p-o-r-t-a-t-i-o-n; t-r-a-n-s-p-o-r-t-a-t-i-o-n; t-r-a-n-s-p-or-t-a-t-i-o-n; transportation”4. Write the words.Once you have noticed the composition for each word, helped students see other wordsthat work in a similar way and cheered for each word, have students write each word.

Students enjoy writing the words more and focus better on the word if you make it ariddle or game. Use the five new words and two from the five introduced early. Haveyour students number from one to seven and then give clues to the word you want themto write. Be sure that your clues distinguish the words from one another.1. Number 1 is the opposite of finished.2. Number 2 is how you need to wait when you are in a long line.3. Number 3 is the opposite of hopeful.4. For number 4, write the word that tells what you are if you play the guitar.5. For number 5, write the word that contains the root word port meaning "bringor carry."6. Number 6 is the word that is the opposite of possible.7. Number 7 is the word that is the opposite of discouragement.After writing the words, have students check their own papers by once more chanting theletters aloud underlining each letter as they say it.5. Practice the words.For the next week or two, use the cheering and writing activities (with different clues)when you have a few minutes of down time to practice the words. As you are cheeringand writing words, ask students to identify roots, prefixes and suffixes and talk about howthese affect the meaning of the root word. Include all 10 words in your activities but onlyseven or eight words on any one day.6. Spell new words using the patterns from Nifty Thrifty Fifty wordsOnce students can automatically, quickly and correctly spell all 10 words and explain toyou how the words are composed, it is time to help them see how these words can helpthem decode and spell other words. Remind students that good spellers do not memorizethe spelling of each word. Rather they use words they know and combine, roots, suffixesand prefixes to figure out how to spell lots of other words. Have the students spell thefollowing words using the 10 key words as models. Have each word used in a sentenceand talk about the meaning relationships when appropriate.patient impatient impatiently richly possibly impossibly music transportport transported finish finished composed posed discovered covered encourageddiscouraged uncover uncovered hope hoped hopelesslyContinue to Add WordsAs each word is added, lead students to analyze the words, talk about meanings, identifyroots, prefixes and suffixes and note any spelling changes.expensive--The word expense with the suffix ive added and the e in expensedropped. Another related word which students might not know is expend. Youmight be able to make the expend-expense-expensive relationship clear to them byusing the commonly-used sports terms defend-defense-defensive; offend-offenseoffensive.governor--Like er, the suffix or often signifies the person that does something.The governor governs; the donor donates; the actor acts. Governor is make up ofthe root word govern and the suffix, or.impression--Students will notice the word impress with the suffix ion added.Because press is such a common root, help them to see that press actually means"press." When you walk in snow, your footprints press in the snow and make animpression. The impression your attitude makes on people is pressed into theirminds. Related words are depress/depression in which things are pressed downand compress/compression in which things are pressed together. Impression ismade up of the root word press, the prefix im meaning “in” and the suffix ion.

independence--The root word depend with the prefix in and the suffix ence.Help students see that independence is the opposite of dependence. In addition tomeaning “in”, the prefix in often signals an opposite relationship as in inactiveand inconvenient. The suffix ence often changes the part of speech of a word.When you depend on someone, we call this dependence. When things differ, wecall it a difference. When we are patient, we are showing patience. Independencecontains the root depend, the prefix in and the suffix, ence.submarine--The root word marine with the prefix sub. A submarine goes underwater. Other sub words in which the sub means “under” or “below” includesubfreezing, submerge and subway.Have students practice the words by cheering and writing them. Continue this practicewhen you have a few minutes of down time until all students become automatic atspelling them. Before adding the next set of new words, have students read, spell andanalyze new words made from the parts of the current words.govern governed government press pressed impress impressed impressiveexpress expressed expression expressionless expressive depend dependeddependence marine export exported exportation import imported importationpatience impatience expose exposed transpose transposed compress compressionexpense inexpensiveMore Nifty Fifty Thrifty Words and Transfer WordsHere is a possible sequence for adding the remaining words and the transfer words theycan spell by combining parts of all the words learned.Words 16-20beautiful--The word beauty with the suffix ful added and the y changed to an i. Thesuffix ful means "full of" as in painful and fearful. If the word to which ful is added endsin y, the y will change to i as in merciful and plentiful.classify--The word class with the suffix ify. When you classify something, you put it in acertain class. Other similar words include glory, glorify; note, notify; sign, signify.electricity--The word electric with the ity suffix. Note that the spelling does not changebut the pronunciation of the c does. Remind your students that it was the pronunciationof the c that changed in music-musician. Many words follow the electric-electricitypattern including curious, curiosity; public, publicity; impossible, impossibilityhappiness--happy with the suffix ness and with the y to i spelling change. The suffixness often changes a word into a noun. When you are happy, you experience happiness;Other similar words include dark, darkness; kind, kindness; sad, sadness.prettier--pretty with the suffix er meaning “more than” and the y changed to an i.Transfer Wordsbeauty beautify beautician class classified unclassified classification electricelectrify electrician happy happier happily unhappy unhappier unhappiest unhappilyunhappiness pretty prettiest hopeful hopefully hopelessly richer possibilityimpossibilityWords 21-25community--The word community is the word unity with the prefix com and the mdoubled. People who live together in a community live together with unity. Other wordsin which the com indicates "with or together" include combat--to do battle with,compose--to put together and compress, to press together.communities--words that end in y have the y changed to i and es added to make this forof the word, as in countries, counties and cities.

continuous--The word continue with the suffix ous added and the e dropped. Whensomething doesn’t end but continues on, we say it is continuous. Other words that followthis pattern are nerve, nervous; danger, dangerous and humor, humorous.swimming--The word swim with the ending ing and the m doubled. Other similar wordsinclude running, jogging, rapping and kidding.valuable-- The word value with the suffix able and the e dropped. The suffix able means“able to” or “has”. Something that is valuable has value. A business that has a profit isprofitable. A person who is reliable is able to be relied on. An animal that is lovable isable to be loved.Transfer Wordsunity unify unification communication continue continuing swim swimmer valuevalued valuing invaluable impressionable classifiable unclassifiable governableungovernable transportable portable classifying hoping encouraging discoveringcomposing finishing transporting depending discouraging courageous courageously (eis not dropped because pronunciation would change)Words 26-30dishonest--The word honest with the prefix dis meaning “not.”conversation--The word converse with the suffix tion and the e dropped . When youconverse with someone, you are having a conversation. Other similar words includereserve, reservation; invite, invitation and conserve, conservation.nonviolent--The word violent with the prefix non. Other words in which non means“not” include nonfat, nonsense, nonprofit and nonfictionunpleasant-- The word please with the prefix un, the suffix ant and the u dropped. Helpstudents notice the change in pronunciation from please to pleasant. Students shouldnotice that in both unpleasant and unfinished, un signals an opposite relationship.written--The word write with the suffix en and the t doubled. Something that you writeis written. Other similar words include rot, rotten; hide, hidden, and forbid, forbiddenTransfer Wordsviolent violently nonviolently please pleasant pleasantly unpleasantly unpleasantnesswrite writer writing unwritten converse conversing honest honesty dishonestyhonestly dishonestly displease discontinue important importanceWords 31-35illegal--The word legal with the prefix il meaning “not” or “opposite.” Other similarwords include illiterate and illegitimate.irresponsible--The word response with the prefix ir signaling an opposite relationshipand the suffix ible with the e dropped. If you are irresponsible, you are not able to makethe correct response or to take responsibility, Other similar words include irregular andirrational. Students should notice that the im in impossible, the in in independence, the ilin illegal and the ir in irresponsible all change these words to opposites.performance--The word perform with the suffix ance. Musicians and actors performand we call what they perform the performance. Performance is made up of the rootword form meaning “form” or “shape,” the prefix per and the suffix ance. Other words inwhich form is the root include deformity, reform and transform.rearrange-- arrange with the prefix re meaning again. When you rearrange things youarrange them again. Other words in which re means “again” include replay, rewrite andreread.replacement-- place with the suffix ment and the prefix re. In replacement, re means“back”. When you replace something you put something back where something wasbefore. The thing you replace is the replacement. Other words in which re means backinclude recall, report and repay. Students should notice that the ment in replacement andencouragement both change words into nouns.

Transfer Wordslegal legally illegally responsible response perform form arrange arranging rearrangingarrangement rearrangement replace place displace displacement placing replacingreform conform conformity inform informer informant information uninformedformation formal formally informal transform transformer transformation performerresponsibility responsive unresponsive responsiveness responsibly irresponsiblywrite rewritten report reporter refinish reclassify revalue recover rediscoverreunification repress repressive musical musically continual continually electricaldisposal irreplaceable (e not dropped because pronunciation of c would change if itwere)Words 36-40deodorize--The word odor with the prefix de and the suffix ize. When you deodorizesomething, you take away the odor. Other words in which de means ”take away” includedeflate, defrost and destabilize.different--The word differ with the suffix ent.invasion--The word invade with the ion suffix. The spelling and pronunciation change iscommon for many words ending in d-e: provide, provision; collide, collision; erode,erosion.prehistoric-- The root word, history becomes historic. The suffix pre means "before."In actuality, nothing could actually happen before history but prehistoric means ithappened before history was written down. Thus dinosaurs are called prehistoriccreatures. There are many other words in which the prefix pre means 'before" includingprefix, preview, precede and predict.signature--The root word sign with the suffix ture. Note the change in pronunciation.Similar changes happen in related words signal, signify and significance.Transfer Wordsodor deodorant differ difference invade invasive noninvasive invasiveness prearrangedeploy depress depression depressing deport deportation deportee devalue declassifydecompose deform deformity history historic historical historically sign signalsignificant insignificant significance consignment predispose predisposition designresign resignation designation (note pronunciation changes)Words 41-45employee--The word employ with the suffix ee meaning person. Other words ending inee signifying a person include nominee and referee.midnight--The word night with the prefix mid meaning "middle" Other words in whichmid has this meaning include midlife, midyear and midair.overpower--The word power with the prefix over meaning "more than" or "too much."Other words in which over has this meaning include overcharge, overflow, overjoyed andoverload.underweight-- The word weight with the prefix under meaning "below" Other words inwhich under has this meaning include underclass, underground, undertow andunderprivilegedsupermarket-- The word market with the prefix super meaning "really big" Other wordsin which super has this meaning include superpower, supertanker, supersaver andsuperman.Transfer Wordsmarket super night overnight overweight overexpose overture under underclassunderexpose undercover undervalue power empower empowerment powerfulpowerfully powerfulness powerless powerlessly superpower weight weighty weightierweightiest weightless employ employer employment unemployment unemployedemployable unemployable

Words 46-50antifreeze--The word freeze with the prefix anti meaning "against." Other words inwhich anti means against include antibody, antibiotic and antihistamine.international--nation with the prefix inter and the suffix al. Inter often means betweenas in intersection and intervene. Notice how the pronunciation changes when nationbecomes nationalmisunderstood--The word understood (past of understand) with the prefix mis. Theprefix mis often means "bad" or "wrong" as in mistake, miscarriage and misdemeanor.promotion--The word motion with the prefix pro meaning "forward" or "in favor of."Other words in which pro has this meaning include propose, propeller, and projector.semifinal--The word final with the prefix semi meaning "half" or “partly” Other words inwhich semi has this meaning include semiannual, semisweet and semiconductor.Transfer Wordsfreeze freezer freezing freezable subfreezing final finally finalize finalizingfinalization motion motionless demotion commotion propose proposal antidepressantstood understood misinform misplace misplacing national

encouragement is made up of the prefix en, the root word courage and the suffix ment.There are no spelling changes. impossible--The root word possible with the suffix im.In many words, including impatient and immature the suffix im means “not” and changes the word to an opposite. richest--The root word rich with the suffix e