CALT Orthography and Spelling Rules 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which spelling rule explains why 'hop' becomes 'hopping' but 'hope' becomes 'hoping'?
- The silent-e rule
- The doubling rule (1-1-1 rule) (Correct answer)
- The floss rule
- The y-to-i rule
Correct answer: The doubling rule (1-1-1 rule)
The 1-1-1 doubling rule states that a final consonant is doubled before a vowel suffix when the word has one syllable, one short vowel, and one final consonant; 'hope' has a long vowel due to the silent e, so no doubling occurs.
Question 2: The word 'badge' ends in '-dge'. Which phoneme does this digraph represent?
- /g/
- /dʒ/ (Correct answer)
- /d/
- /ʒ/
Correct answer: /dʒ/
The trigraph '-dge' represents the /dʒ/ phoneme and is used after a short vowel at the end of a one-syllable word.
Question 3: A student spells 'knit' as 'nit.' Which orthographic concept should be taught to address this error?
- Consonant digraphs
- Silent letter patterns (Correct answer)
- Vowel teams
- Schwa in unstressed syllables
Correct answer: Silent letter patterns
The silent 'k' before 'n' is a silent letter pattern (kn-) inherited from Old English, where both letters were once pronounced.
Question 4: Which of the following is an example of a closed syllable?
- 'me'
- 'cake'
- 'sit' (Correct answer)
- 'boat'
Correct answer: 'sit'
A closed syllable ends in a consonant and contains a short vowel; 'sit' fits this pattern perfectly.
Question 5: The suffix '-tion' is added to 'act' to form 'action.' What type of morpheme is '-tion'?
- Inflectional suffix
- Derivational suffix (Correct answer)
- Bound base
- Free morpheme
Correct answer: Derivational suffix
Derivational suffixes change the grammatical category or meaning of a base word; '-tion' changes the verb 'act' into the noun 'action.'
Question 6: When teaching the spelling of /k/ at the end of a word, which rule determines whether to use '-ck' or '-k'?
- Use '-ck' after a long vowel
- Use '-ck' after a short vowel in a one-syllable word (Correct answer)
- Use '-k' after a consonant blend
- Use '-ck' only in multisyllabic words
Correct answer: Use '-ck' after a short vowel in a one-syllable word
The '-ck' spelling follows immediately after a short vowel in a one-syllable word (e.g., 'duck,' 'stick'), while '-k' is used after a consonant or long vowel.
Question 7: In the word 'station,' the 'ti' represents which sound?
- /t/
- /ʃ/ (Correct answer)
- /tʃ/
- /s/
Correct answer: /ʃ/
The letter combination 'ti' before an unstressed vowel (as in '-tion,' '-tial,' '-tious') produces the /ʃ/ sound, a common spelling pattern for that phoneme.
CALT Orthography and Spelling Rules 4
Which spelling rule explains why 'hop' becomes 'hopping' but 'hope' becomes 'hoping'?