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Lesson 110

-y to i Rule

Rule for changing -Y to I before adding a suffix

The Y to I spelling rule does not apply to the -ING ending (e.g., carry - carrying; fly - flying). If the letter before the final Y is a vowel, the Y is part of a vowel team and does not change to I when adding a suffix (e.g., play - plays; stay - stayed).

Today's plan

about 15 min
  1. Step 1Warm up our ears (blend & segment)2 min
  2. Steps 2 & 3Look & Say / Listen & Spell4 min
  3. Step 4Blending drill3 min
  4. Step 5New concept + read/spell6 min
Step 1

Warm Up Our Ears

Say the sounds; students blend them into a word. Then say a word; students break it apart.

Blend it (teacher says sounds → you say word)

re- · plyreply
stud · -iesstudies

Break it (I say word → you say sounds)

Steps 2 & 3

Flashcard Drills

Full-screen cards for the class. Tap a card to check the answer, or press Hear the words to hear the example words read aloud.

Step 4

Blending Drill

Change one part at a time and read the new word.

Step 5

New Concept

Today we learn another spelling change: changing Y to I before adding a suffix.

Highlighted words are the ones to show and practice reading — tap one to hear it.

We have been learning about spelling changes that happen when we add suffixes to words. Today we will learn another spelling change. -Y + -ER, -EST, -ED: If the word in Y, we often change the Y to I before adding the suffixes -ER, -EST, or -ED (e.g., happy - happier; happy - happiest; copy - copied). -Y + -S, -ES: If the word in Y and we want to add the -S/-ES ending, we follow the same pattern and change Y to I then add -ES (e.g., puppy - puppies; cry - cries). -Y + -ING: We do not change Y to I when adding -ING (e.g., say - saying, copy - copying).

-y to i Rule

When a word ends in Y after a consonant, we usually change the Y to I before adding a suffix that does not begin with I, such as -ER, -EST, -ED, or -ES. We keep the Y when adding -ING.