Harcourt Journeys
Fourth Grade Word Study
Lessons 26-30
Lesson 26
final schwa + /r/ Sounds
enter
banner
sugar
shower
motor
collar
labor
finger
mirror
beggar
favor
bother
fever
doctor
temper
actor
polar
sweater
traitor
whenever
Day 1
Place the cards on the table and complete an open sort. Ask students to
identify one way that all of the words are the same? (They sound the
same at the end although they are spelled differently). Explain to
students that the sound they hear is the schwa sound (uh) followed by
“r”. Discuss any words that might be unknown to the students.
Day 2
Complete a spelling sort for the first half of the words. This will be a
three box spell sort: ar/er/or. After students write the word under the
correct column, place the card under the correct category on the blue
board.
Day 3
Complete a spell sort for the last half of the words. This will be a three
box spelling sort: ar/er/or. After students write the word under the
correct column, place the card under the correct category on the board.
Greek and Latin Word Parts
thermometer
thermal
photometer
thermos
isotherms
photocopy
photograph
photographer
photography
photosynthesis
factory
factor
faculty
satisfaction
manufacture
dissatisfaction
diameter
hydrometer
kilometer
millimeter
Day 4
Review the definition of the word “root”.
root: a word part that can be added to another root, to a base word, or
to an affix or multiple affixes to make a new word. Point out that many
roots come from Greek or Latin.
Tell students that by recognizing the meaning of a word’s root, it can
help determine the word’s meaning. Discuss the meaning of the
following roots:
therm: heat
meter: measure
photo: light
fac: make
Discuss the first half of the vocabulary words. Ask students to use what
they know about the roots to determine the word’s meaning. Ask
students to use each word in an oral sentence.
Day 5
Discuss the last half of the vocabulary words. Ask students to use what
they know about the roots to determine the word’s meaning. Ask
students to use each word in an oral sentence.
Lesson 27
Final schwa + /l/ sound
title
towel
battle
pedal
metal
simple
eagle
total
trouble
special
nickel
gentle
barrel
model
tangle
ankle
marvel
juggle
squirrel
riddle
Day 1
Place all of the cards on the table and ask students to sort the words into
categories. (Should sort by ending el/le/al). Then ask students to
determine what is the same about all of the words. (they all sound the
same at the end but there are different spellings for the sound.) Explain
that this is the schwa sound (uh) followed by the “l” sound. Discuss any
word meanings that are unfamiliar to the students.
Day 2
Complete a spelling sort with the first third of the cards. This will be a
three- box spelling sort: el/al/le. After students write the word, sort the
card under the correct category on the blue board.
Day 3
Complete a spelling sort with the next third of the cards. This will be a
three box spelling sort: el/al/le. After students write the word, sort the
card under the correct category on the blue board.
Day 4
Complete a spelling sort with the last third of the cards. This will be a
three box spelling sort: el/al/le. After students write the word, sort the
card under the correct category on the blue board.
Day 5
This lesson will focus on dividing words into syllables and focusing on
the last syllable with the schwa (uh) plus “l” sound. Use the following
words:
ti/tle
bat/tle
sim/ple
ea/gle
nick/el
to/tal
squir/rel
Note that most of the final syllables begin with a consonant.
Lesson 28
Stress in Multisyllabic Words
library
another
hospital
example
deliver
history
however
several
vacation
important
victory
imagine
camera
potato
remember
together
memory
favorite
continue
president
Day 1
Use the following word cards for the activity today. All of these words
have stress on the first syllable: library, hospital, history, several,
victory, camera, memory, favorite, president.
Tell students that multiple syllable words with stress on the first
syllable have the following vowel patterns:
V/CCV: li/brar/y
VC/CV: hos/pit/al vic/tor/y cam/er/a mem/or/y pres/i/dent
VC/C: sev/er/al
V/CV: fa/vor/ite,
Complete a four box spelling stort using these vowel patterns. Call out
one word at a time and ask students to write the word under the correct
vowel pattern.
Day 2
Complete a two column-spelling sort with one column for words with
stress on the first syllable and the second column for words with stress
on the second syllable.
First
Syllable
Stress
library
hospital
history
several
victory
camera
memory
president
favorite
Day 3
Prefixes
con/com/in/im
impassible
inaccurate
consent
considerate
consistent
companion
incomplete
complete
improper
companion
combination
congregate
consensus
Second
Syllable
Stress
another
example
deliver
however
vacation
important
continue
community
composition
concentrate
conform
compile
impolite
immobile
impartial
inconsiderate
incurable
inadequate
Review the definition of prefix:
Prefix: An affix added to the beginning of a word.
Tell students that if you know the meaning of a prefix, it will help them
figure out what the word means.
Discuss the meaning of each prefix and two example words:
con: against or it can mean “with” (conform, consent)
com: with or together (companion, combination)
im: not (impassible, improper)
in: not (incomplete, inaccurate)
Day 4
Examine the first half of the words to determine the meaning of each
word and how the prefix affects its meaning. Ask students to then use
each word in a sentence (orally).
Day 5
Examine the last half of the words to determine the meaning of each
word and how the prefix affects its meaning. Ask students to then use
each word in a sentence (orally).
Lesson 29
Words with Silent Consonants
half
comb
mortgage
honor
fasten
kneel
wreath
calm
answer
handsome
wrinkle
listen
fetch
yolk
climb
honest
knuckle
plumber
limp
folktale
Day 1
Explain to students that some words have consonants that are silent.
This can make it difficult to spell these words because you cannot sound
them out. There are some consonant combinations that students should
know that often have a silent letter: kn, mb, sc, wh, and wr.
Examine the first half of the word cards and ask students to identify the
silent consonant in each word.
Day 2
Use the word cards introduced on day 1. Call out each word and ask
students to write the word on a dry erase board. Then ask students to
circle the silent consonant.
Day 3
Examine the last half of the word cards and ask students to identify the
silent consonant in each word.
Day 4
Use the word cards introduced on day 3. Call out each word and ask
students to write the word on a dry erase board. Then ask students to
circle the silent consonant.
Day 5
Give students a short spelling test that reviews the top ten words that
were the most challenging to students.
Lesson 30
Unusual Spellings
meant
routine
style
flood
month
pleasant
guess
women
either
against
disguise
sweat
magazine
guard
receive
wonder
league
type
ceiling
money
Day 1
Remind students that one sound can be represented by many different
spelling patterns. We are going to look at some words with unusual
spelling patterns.
Display the first ten words. Read and examine each word. Discuss the
unusual spelling pattern for each word.
Day 2
Use the words discussed on day one. Call out each word and have
students write the word on a dry erase board. Check the word with the
word card after each word is written.
Day 3
Display the first ten words. Read and examine each word. Discuss the
unusual spelling pattern for each word.
Day 4
Use the words discussed on day three. Call out each word and have
students write the word on a dry erase board. Check the word with the
word card after each word is written.
Day 5
Words with Suffixes er/or/ist
scientist
teacher
specialist
actor
researcher
visitor
hunter
painter
tourist
artist
inventor
sailor
bicyclist
baker
traveler
adventurist
hairsylist
Explain that the suffixes er or or can mean “a person or thing that does
something”. The suffix ist can mean a person who studies or practices
something.
Examine each word to determine how the suffix relates to the word.
Then ask students to use each word in a sentence to show meaning.