Teaching doubling before an ending
Aim: Know when to double the last consonant before -ing, -ed, -er, -est or -y.
How to explain it
When a short word ends with a short vowel and one consonant, double the consonant before an ending that starts with a vowel: hop becomes hopping, sad becomes sadder. That double keeps the vowel short. A word with a long vowel and a silent e just drops the e: hope becomes hoping. In longer words, double only when the last syllable is stressed (begin, beginning) and not when it isn't (visit, visited).
Starter (5 minutes)
Write 'hopping' and 'hoping' side by side. Read both. Ask: what makes one say 'hop' and the other 'hope'?
Main activity
Give pairs of root words (hop/hope, tap/tape, star/stare). Children add -ing and -ed to each, then explain the rule in their own words to a partner. Older children add a stress test for longer words (forget, garden, prefer).
Dictation sentences
- We were hopping and skipping in the playground.
- She hoped the rain had stopped.
- He is the biggest swimmer in the club.
Watch out for
- Not doubling after a short vowel (hoping for hopping, runing).
- Doubling after a long vowel (hopeing, writting).
- Doubling unstressed endings (visitted).
Quick check
Ask children to spell these without help:
- shopping
- taping
- sitting
- beginning
Example words
- hopping
- hoping
- running
- swimmer
- bigger
- sadder
- stopped
- writing
- shining
- forgetting
- beginning
- visited