chomp!

chomp!

This presentation is
brought to you by
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©2015 by Robin L.
Simmons.
 Spelling
Spelling

I before E? Or is it E
before I?
 This presentation
covers commonly
misspelled words
and knowledge of
spelling rules—all
of which,
unfortunately, have
exceptions!
Spelling
Spelling items
items on on an
an
objective
objective test
test might
might look
look
like
like these
these ......
 Sample
Sample Item
Item 1
1
Because we were hungary,
hungary
hungry , we
,we
wecould
could
couldnot
not
not
AA
concentrate on the lecture. We will definitely
definitely
B
consult Wanda since she was fueling
fuelingher
herbrain
brain
C
with a fruit smoothie.
Hungry
Hungry is
is
Is hungary
hungary,,
Isdefinitely
definitely, or
definitely
A.
A.hungry
hungry definitely
misspelled, ,but
or
misspelled,
fueling but
fuelingA
B.definately choice
choice A
misspelled?
misspelled?
corrects
corrects it!
it!
C.feuling
D.No change is necessary.
 Sample
Sample Item
Item 2
2

At the flea market, Harold bought fresh tomatoes,

a pair of used jeans, and a stuffed deer head with
a broken antler. He considered the shopping trip
successfull.

A.succesful
B.successful
successful
C.sucessful successfull
B
Is successfull
Choice
IsChoice B does
does
D.No change is necessary. job—twoIfIfc
misspelled?
the
the job—two
misspelled? cso,
s,
so,
s,
two
two sss,
which
whichs,choice
choice
but
but only
only
one ll..it?
corrects
one
corrects it?
At
At many
many objective
objective exams,
exams, you
you
cannot
can not use
use a
a dictionary!
dictionary!

X
 When
When in
in doubt,
doubt, rely
rely on
on
“gut”
“gut” feelings.
feelings.
Your eyes have seen in print — and your
brain has registered — all of the possible
words that you will encounter for this skill. If
you don’t recognize the right answer, go
with the one that feels right.

Hey, I know
that word!
 Plurals,
Plurals, Part
Part 1
1
• Most words become plural by adding s:
chickenchickens, bookbooks, kitekites
• Use es for words ending in s, sh, x, z, or “soft”
ch: beachbeaches, fixfixes, quizquizzes
To finish
To finish his
his algebra problemsChad
algebra problem, , Chadneeded
neededtoto
glass.es.
find his glass

Do you like my
funky lenses?
 Plurals,
Plurals, Part
Part 2
2
• Words ending in a vowel + o become plural by
adding s: rodeorodeos, duoduos
• Words ending in a consonant + o become plural
by adding es: tomatotomatoes, heroheroes

Our ears were glued to the radiosasaswe

welistened
listenedtoto
tornado.es.
news about the tornado

Take
cover!
 Plurals,
Plurals, Part
Part 3
3
• Many words that end in f or fe become plural
with ves: leafleaves, lifelives,
knifeknives
• Words that end in ff or ffe become plural with
just an s: knockoffknockoffs, giraffegiraffes

ves
Our lilife would
wouldimprove if the
improve giraffes
giraffs
if the quit eating
quit the
leafs offthe
eating our ves off our shrubs.
shrubs.
lea

Stop
that!
 Final
Final Y
Y Words
Words
• If you have consonant + final y, change the y to
i when you add any suffix except one beginning
with i: easyeasily, fiftyfiftieth, skyskies
• If you have vowel + final y, keep the y when you
add a suffix: monkeymonkeys, toytoys
triedtotosave
Chad tryed savehis
hismoney,
money,but
butthe
theflea
fleamarket
market
buys.
had too many good buy.

I’m a sucker
for “Buy 3, Get
1 Free”!
 Final
Final E
E Words
Words
• If a suffix begins with a vowel, you will usually
remove the final e: hopehoping,
loveloving, participateparticipating
• If a suffix begins with a consonant, you will
usually keep the final e: lovelovely,
amuseamusement, hopehopeful
Climbingto
Climbing tothe
thetop
topof
ofthe
themountain
mountainwas
wastoo
too
challenging,
challengeing, so
sowe
wegave
gaveup
upand
andwallowed
wallowedinin
discouragement
discouragment. .

We were so
close!
 Doubling
Doubling Final
Final Consonants
Consonants

• If you have a one-syllable word that ends in

vowel + consonant, double the consonant
when you add a suffix that begins with a
vowel or is a y: sadsaddened,
swimswimming, skinskinny
• If you have a multi-syllable word that ends in
vowel + consonant — with the accent falling
on the last syllable of the root word — double
the consonant: admitadmitted,
beginbeginner, forbidforbidding
 Read
Read this
this sample:
sample:

stepped
Chad steped in ainpuddle
a puddle
andand slipped
sliped off off
regretted
the sidewalk. He regreted his his
clumsiness
clumsiness
spotted
when he spoted thethe
mudmud
stain
stain
on on
hishis
pants.
pants.

Whoa!
 IE/EI
IE/EI Words
Words
• Often, i comes before e: belief, chief, review
• If the i and e follow c, they usually reverse:
cei ling, concei ve, recei ve
• E also precedes i if the sound is a long a:
ei ght, nei ghbor, wei gh
conceited
Chad is concieted about thethe
about bulging veins
viens
bulging in in
believes
his rippling muscles. He beleives that allall
that of of
the females are admiring his great physique.

Let me flex my
biceps!
 Quick
Quick Test
Test

Directions: In the items that follow, choose

the option that corrects an error in the
underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose
“No change is necessary.”

Show me
what you
know!
 Item
Item 1
1
Carlos hopped
hoppedthat
hoped that
thathe
he
hecaught
caught
caughtall
all
allofof
ofthe
the
the
AA
misspellings ininhis
misspellings hisessay,
essay,for
forhe
hewanted
wantedtoto
B
receive an
receive an AA on
on this
this paper.
paper.
C

A.
A.hoped
hoped
B.mispellings
C.recieve
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 2
2
The thieves
thievesplanned
plannedto
tosteal
stealMom’s
Mom’sexpensive
expensive
A
jewellry but
jewellry
jewelry butchanged
but changedtheir
changed theirminds
their mindswhen
minds whenthey
when they
they
BB
discovered Big Boy, our Rottweiler, guarding
guardingthe
the
C
master bedroom.

A.theives
B.jewelry
jewelry
C.guardding
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 3
3
When we told Sheila that her boyfriend Ronnie

accompanied Kristine
accompanied Kristinetotoaafancy
fancyrestaurant
restaurantlast
last
A B
night, Sheila told us to mind our own bussiness.
bussiness
business ..
CC

A.accompanyed
B.resterant
C.business
business
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 4
4

I don’t mind sharing a dessert with Matthew, but I

must insist on a sepparate
sepparatefork.
fork.

A.
A.separate
separate
B.seperate
C.saperate
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 5
5
Professor Williams recommends
recommendsstuding
studing
studying
two
two
two
A B
hours every night; we students wish we had the

time but must work to pay for the expensive

expensive
C
textbooks that he requires.

A. reccomends
B. studying
studying
C. espensive
D. No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 6
6

All day long, our new puppy Jack sleeps on the

rug, but at night, he is possesed
possesedby
byenergy
energyand
and
bounces off the furniture.

A.posessed
B.possested
C.possessed
possessed
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 7
7

Ramón wishs
wishsthat
wishes that
that
the
the
the
lovely
lovely
lovely
Belinda
Belinda
Belinda
would
would
would
blow
blow
blow
A
kisses his
kisses hisway,
way,but
butheheisisalways
alwaysdisappointed.
disappointed.
B C

A.
A.wishes
wishes
B.kissess
C.dissappointed
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 8
8

To please his wife, Robert swept off the roof,

even though he found this chore pointless and
unnecessary. .
unnecessary

A.unecessary
B.unnecessery
C.unneccessary
D.No change
changeisisnecessary.
necessary.
 Item
Item 9
9
Patrick tried to make Babushka’s potatoe
potatoe
potato
AA
pancakes, but we found them inedible;
inedible;everyone
everyone
B
wished he had made simple French fries
fries instead.
instead.
C

A.
A.potato
potato
B.ineddible
C.frys
D.No change is necessary.
 Item
Item 10
10

Look at Jonathan’s face turning red—that boy

embarasses easily!
embarasses easily!

A.embarrases
B.emmbarasses
C.embarrasses
embarrasses
D.No change is necessary.
The End.