Morphology is a powerful tool for teaching older students both decoding longer words and understanding new vocabulary words. We use the suffix -est to change the meaning of a word. The suffix -est changes an adjective into a superlative adjective. We use superlative adjectives to compare more than two things. For example, I am the tallest student in my class.
Adding a suffix to a word may change the spelling of the word. Here are the rules for spelling words with the suffix -est.
- most words, add -est to the end of the word
- if the adjective ends in e, add -st to the end of the word
- if the adjective ends in a short vowel and one consonant, double the consonant, and add -est to the end of the word
- if the adjective ends in y, drop the y and add iest to the end of the word
It is helpful for students to know the parts of speech as they work on morphology. If your students need to work on parts of speech, I highly recommend this writing program. It teaches writing complete sentences based on parts of speech. If you need to, you can even use these two programs at the same time.
Teaching the Suffix -EST (superlative adjectives)
To teach your students about the suffix -est, display the presentation below. You can access the presentation from this website for free. You can also purchase the slideshow for use at school.
Since suffixes can change both the spelling and meaning of words, I recommend focusing on the meaning of the words by having students write or say sentences.
- You display a base word from the presentation.
- Students write the word with the -est suffix in their writing notebooks or on a whiteboard.
- You display the words with the -est suffix from the presentation (the next slide).
- Students check their spelling.
- Students say or write a sentence using the base word. Then, say or write a different sentence using the word with the prefix.
This is a spiral review lesson. On day one, your students will learn how to add the suffix -est. On day two, your students will learn how to add the suffix -est when the root word ends in the letter e. On day three, students will learn how to add the suffix -est to words with a short vowel and one consonant. On day four, students will learn how to add the suffix -est to words that end in a y. The next day is review practice. You also get 25 mixed review practice slides to use later in the year.
The Presentation on the Suffix -EST (superlative adjectives)
Morphology: EST (supperlative adjectives) by Cate O’DonnellA video example of the presentation is coming soon!
More Morphology Practice
Do you love this lesson? You can access all of the morphology lessons for FREE on this website! You can also purchase the presentations!
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