skueppers Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 My daughter asked me today why "collar" is spelled with two l's. I wasn't sure what the best answer was, as I'm an excellent visual speller and never took an interest in why words are spelled the way they are. Can anyone explain this to me? Also, since I imagine she will have more questions like this in the future, is there a book you'd recommend I read and have on hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani3boys Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 If there was only one L in collar, the O would make a long sound because it would then be an open syllable. If there is one consonant between two vowels, it usually goes with the second vowel. My kids are learning these rules by using All About Spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 If there was only one L in collar, the O would make a long sound because it would then be an open syllable. If there is one consonant between two vowels, it usually goes with the second vowel. My kids are learning these rules by using All About Spelling. Thanks! That was my gut feeling, but I didn't think it was wise to give an explanation without having something beyond my instincts to go on. :) I'm not really interested in implementing a formal spelling program for her, as she's a Kindergartner and we have enough to do as it is! But if anyone has thoughts about something I could read myself so as to be better equipped to handle these types of questions in the future, I'm all ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjshima Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 It's funny because I am training right now to use Barton level 4 (multisyllabic words) and this very issue was addressed. Like the previous poster said, the syllables of the word would split into co-lar which would have a long "o" sound. If you hear the short vowel sound but there is no consonant ending the syllable, then double the consonant starting the next syllable. They use the example of the word "happy". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 If there was only one L in collar, the O would make a long sound because it would then be an open syllable. If there is one consonant between two vowels, it usually goes with the second vowel. My kids are learning these rules by using All About Spelling.But even then... choler cholera come from the Latin cholera which came from the Greek kholera collar ultimately comes from the Latin collare There are only just over a dozen two syllable words in English ending in "l(v)r, and "choler" and "color" are the only exceptions to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 But even then... choler cholera come from the Latin cholera which came from the Greek kholera collar ultimately comes from the Latin collare There are only just over a dozen two syllable words in English ending in "l(v)r, and "choler" and "color" are the only exceptions to worry about. Aha! Now THIS is a big part of what I would like to know when I have questions. Do you just know this from years of study in diverse resources, or are there reference works you would recommend? The derivation of any given word I can of course look up in the OED. But what I don't currently know how to find out is things like how many words follow which spelling patterns, how many exceptions there are, and what someone who knows all of this would recommend in terms of explaining the spelling to a child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 You can see this in my syllable division rules. I have spelling and syllable division rules linked at the end of my how to tutor page. http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html A good book for 3rd grade and above that combines spelling and vocab via root study is M.K. Henry's words. http://www.proedinc.com/customer/productView.aspx?ID=989&SearchWord=words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Aha! Now THIS is a big part of what I would like to know when I have questions. Do you just know this from years of study in diverse resources, or are there reference works you would recommend?I wish. When I'm curious, I look it up either in my Shorter Oxford (on the computer) or the OED (online through the library). The Shorter Oxford has a crossword answer finder, so I can search for words ??ol?r ?ol?r etc. But there are undoubtably free crossword answer generators online. The derivation of any given word I can of course look up in the OED. But what I don't currently know how to find out is things like how many words follow which spelling patterns, how many exceptions there are, and what someone who knows all of this would recommend in terms of explaining the spelling to a child.I wouldn't worry too much about exceptions (other than very common ones) early on. More often than not, the rules will work. I think we all have our problem spots: I have trouble with the "-ant/ance/ancy" and "-ent/ence/ency" rules and exceptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 (edited) The ABC's And All Their Tricks is a good resource for these questions. I've always been a word-lover, but I learned quite a bit reading through this book :) Here it is on CBD. Edited September 8, 2010 by Medieval Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 The ABC's And All Their Tricks is a good resource for these questions. I've always been a word-lover, but I learned quite a bit reading through this book :) Here it is on CBD. That looks like the sort of book I need to have on my shelf, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbrandonsmom Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 So that book has the root words and where from? I took Latin in high school, so recognize a lot of the Latin base words, though I don't know which ones are from other roots. I'd like to be able to answer the same types of questions from ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 So that book has the root words and where from? I took Latin in high school, so recognize a lot of the Latin base words, though I don't know which ones are from other roots. I'd like to be able to answer the same types of questions from ds. No, but it will tell you if language of origin plays a part in certain spelling patterns, and what language, how often the spelling pattern occurs, any exceptions, etc... Definitely a helpful resource! For the etymology of individual words, get a good etymological dictionary. I have one from my college days--really I hate to use a dictionary that doesn't include etymologies! The one I have is an American Heritage. There are some Webster's that have etymologies too--you just have to look for that in the description. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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