-Er and -Est: Which is the Best?

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• Begin creating an anchor chart on the board for students to reference later. Create four separate columns and use the chart (as described below) to share the rules of adding the suffixes -er and -est, along with examples.
• Using the word cheap (or another word of choice that follows the pattern), show the students how you can add the suffix -er or -est to create the words cheaper and cheapest. Use the words in context, demonstrating how the suffix -er creates a comparison that shows more, while the suffix -est creates a comparison that shows most.
• Continue with the word, easy (or other word that ends with the letter y). Tell the students that since the word ends in y you will need to change the y to an i before adding the suffixes. Demonstrate this process and show the students how the new words can be used in context.
• Continue with the word hot. This time, demonstrate how you need to double the t since the word follows a consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC) pattern. Demonstrate how the words can be used in context.

Guided Practice

• Using a selection of adjectives that can include -er and -est (such as high, old, short, happy, narrow, grumpy, rich, hard, few, and filthy), guide the students in creating new words using these root words, as follows.
• Distribute a whiteboard and whiteboard marker to each student or pair of students.
• As you show each word, ask the students to create two new words with the word by adding -er and -est.
• Remind the students that some words follow different rules and they can use the anchor chart to reference as they are creating the words.
• Guide the students in making corrections as needed and then write each new word on a separate index card, placing it in the pocket chart for students to reference.
• Continue with the remainder of the words.
• Tell the students that they will now be playing a game with the words that they have created.
• Take all of the words out of the pocket chart and mix up the cards.
• Distribute one card to each student.
• Ask the students to find other students who have similar cards.
• Once students have finished finding their group, lead a brief discussion on how the words are similar based on the endings as well as the spelling patterns.
• Collect the cards one last time and distribute them again, one per student.
• Ask the students to find their partner that has the matching card (such as the pair cheaper and cheapest).
• Invite the students to write sentences on sentence strips that show the different meanings of the two matching words.
• Once students are finished with creating their sentences, cover each focus word with a sticky note.
• Invite the class to guess the covered words using the context of the sentence.
• Place the grouped cards for the students to reference on the pocket chart.

Independent working time

• Ask the students to complete the worksheet, Endings with -er and -est.
• If needed, provide additional support by highlighting clue words.