Compound words - Type Q

[bucksguest]

My son is struggling with compound word questions. Anyone have any tips he is a good speller and reads well but can't seem to see the words. Although I also find them tricky. REAP and PEAR was a good example as he sounded the two words out many times but could not see it is reappear.

[patricia]

Dear Bucksguest

Have you seen the free download section, towards the bottom of the page.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/revisi ... wnload.php

There is a list of compound words compiled myself together with a couple of games.

11 plusexams, in the same free section has also added a very large list.

You can pick out the more complex ones and get playing. My tutored children to use these flashcard games too.

One of my major rules on this type is that they must NOT guess unless they have written out all nine possibilities [speedwriting in rough] by seeing the words next to each other the answer often becomes obvious.

Patrica

[Y]

Your son needs to learn to think of the words not as words but as a collection of sounds. Go back to phonic first principles, and consider how each letter or combination of letters might be pronounced. Remember that groups of letters can be split to turn one syllable into two, or one sound into two, and equally, letters can be joined together to turn two sounds or syllables into one.

Thus for 'reap':
'r' will only have one pronunciation at the beginning of a word

'e' could be pronounced by itself as /ee/ (as in feet) or /e/ (bed), (though /re/ is unlikely)

'a' could be pronounced by itself as /ae/ (fate) or /a/ (cat), or /ar/ (father)

'e' and 'a' could be combined as /ee/ (bead) or /e/ (head) or /ae/ (break)

'p' will only have one pronunciation, (unless it is followed by 'h')

so 'reap' could be pronounced a number of ways:
/reep/, /rep/ or /raep/
or
/re/ + something (unlikely, so move on to -)
/ree/ + /ap/, /ree/ + /aep/, or /ree/ + /arp/

Similarly 'pear' could be pronounced in a number of ways, depending on whether you split the vowels to make two sounds, or join them as one:

'p' will only have one possible pronunciation, since it is preceded by another p
If the vowels were separated, then 'e' could be as indicated above
in which case 'a' would combine with 'r' to give /ar/
or you could have 'e' and 'a' and 'r' in combination, which could give you /ee/+/r/ (hear) or /ae/+/r/ (pear)
So 'pear' could be
/pe/+/ar/
/pee/+/ar/
/pae/+/r/ (ie, 'pear', the fruit)
/pee/+/r/ (ie, 'peer', to look)

This is all a bit complicated to look at, but hopefully you get my drift. By seeing the word for the fruit 'pear', and not seeing a collection of letters with a bunch of different pronunciations, you get blinded to the other possibilities.

For an exposition of sounds and letter combinations, see 'Why children can't read' by Diane McGuinness (particularly the table 5.7 'Code Overlap' on page 107) and 'Reading Reflex' by Carmen McGuiness and Geoffrey McGuinness.

Best of luck

Y

[bucksguest]

Thanks to you both for replying in so much detail. I have printed the words off and will try playing some games. I guess we just need to practice/practice/practice.

[Guest]

My son recently completed a compound word exercise, one of his answers was 'spin' & 'age' ...it was supposed to form the word spinnach.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

[Orson]

bucksguest

...or practise/practise/practise

[yoyo123]

depends Orson

on whether she was going to practise/practise/practise

or whether it was a lot of practice/practice/practice that was needed

[Guest]

My son recently completed a compound word exercise, one of his answers was 'spin' & 'age' ...it was supposed to form the word spinnach.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

So he would have had the last laugh (or cry). It's spinach.

[yoyo123]

I can really recommend the compund word games. I wrote them on to record cards and play pairs with them. The children really enjoy it.

I also ask as they turn teh forst card what word could psooibly forma compound word with it, eg turn up pass , suggest age, turn ice it could be off

games like word search help too as you get to spot letter groups

and a good vocabulary!

[Guest]

Just tried this game with my daughter- she loved it. Thanks Yoyo for your really generous advice.