PRIMARY SPELLING & PHONICS • CURRICULUM ARCHITECTURE TEACHER MASTER KEY INSTRUCTOR REFERENCE • PAGE 2 OF 2

Plural Form	Singular Base	Ending Sibilant	Syllable Expansion
fishes	fish	Digraph -sh (/ʃ/)	1 → 2 syllables (/fɪʃ-ɪz/)
boxes	box	Consonant -x (/ks/)	1 → 2 syllables (/bɒks-ɪz/)
peaches	peach	Digraph -ch (/tʃ/)	1 → 2 syllables (/piːtʃ-ɪz/)
glasses	glass	Double -ss (/s/)	1 → 2 syllables (/ɡlæs-ɪz/)

Complete Answer Key & Solutions WHEELER'S EXERCISES

Exercise 1 (12 Singulars):
fish, box, blush, wish, peach, glass, church, bush, watch, class, witch, match.

Exercise 2 (Wheeler's Inquiry):
1. We omitted the letters 'e' and 's' (-es).
2. Because without 'e', we could not pronounce two hissing sounds together (*boxs, *glasss).

Exercise 3 (Sibilant Classification):
• -sh: fish, blush, wish, bush.
• -ch: peach, church, watch, witch, match.
• -ss: glass, class.
• -x: box.

Teaching Tip: Have pupils clap the syllables to hear the added -es beat!

Socratic Guiding Prompts & Pedagogical Insights INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Try to say 'box' with just 's' at the end: 'boxs'. Can you say it? Why is the 'e' needed?
What letters did you drop to turn 'peaches' back into one peach?
How many syllables are in 'church'? How many in 'churches'?

Dictation & Oral Application Sentences (Read slowly at normal speaking pace):

1. Mother packed ripe sweet peaches and sandwiches into two wooden boxes.

2. The tall village churches rang their bronze bells across the green hills.

3. All the classes gathered by the brook to watch the little silver fishes swim.

4. Strike no matches near dry bushes or straw barns in the autumn heat.