DERIVATIONAL CONSTANCY WORD STUDY FAQS
What specific word knowledge does a speller need to have in place before moving
into the Derivational Constancy stage of spelling?
First of all, they will have mastered the features connected to the Syllable Juncture Stage:
complex consonant clusters (scr, str, etc.), homophones and homographs, and dexterity with long
vowel patterns, both common and ambiguous patterns, in words. In addition, they will have a
firm grasp of the effect the “r” has on sounds and spelling within a word.
Students in the Derivational Constancy stage have mastered both the sound and pattern elements
in spelling. In the Derivational Constancy stage, meaning becomes all important.
What kinds of things do Derivational Constancy spellers need to work on?
Derivational Constancy spellers rely heavily on how meaning informs the spelling of a word. For
example, the prefix “pre-“ means “before” and any word that contains that prefix will have that
meaning attached to it. Knowledge of prefixes and suffixes can help students decipher the
meaning of unfamiliar, sophisticated vocabulary they encounter in their reading. Students in this
stage will also find that vowel sounds can alter but the meaning connection remains the same (i.e.
ignite-ignition). Assimilated prefixes will also be addressed – the trickiest prefixes of them all!
Feature Name
Feature
Silent & Sounded
Consonants
sign – signal
bomb-bombard
malign-malignant
Consonant Alternations
adopt-adoption
object-objection
impress-impression
convert-conversion
Vowel Alternations
volcano-volcanic
meter-metric
revise-revision
telescope-telescopic
produce-production
relate-relative
compete-competition
recite-recitation
impose-imposition
-ble, -able, -eery, -ary, etc.
Latin-derived Suffixes
Assimilated Prefixes
Illegal, irreversible,
accommodate, innuendo,
afflict,
eccentric, immerse
Why Do We Study This?
To point out the meaning
connection and to draw
attention to the reason for
some unusual spellings.
When the sound changes,
students can be thrown.
Knowing about these
alternations helps them
recall the workings of the base
word.
When a vowel changes,
students really are thrown.
Just remembering the root
word helps them locate the
vowel and reproduce it in this
new iteration.
Suffixes can be a real sore
spot. By sorting specific
suffixes, some conclusions
can be drawn as to the
appropriate suffix.
This is NOT a doubling
issue. It has to do with a
prefix that adjusts to the
sound of the beginning of
the base word.