WHEELER'S ELEMENTARY SPELLER • TEACHER EDITION
INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE • LESSON 41
TEACHER ANSWER KEY & PEDAGOGICAL GUIDE
LESSON 41: TEACHER ANSWER KEY & GUIDED STUDY
Orthographic Principles, Morphological Derivations, and Allophonic Variations of -ed
PAGE 26 • ANSWER KEY
LINGUISTIC FOUNDATION • MORPHO-PHONOLOGY OF THE DOUBLING RULE:
Wheeler's classical rule states: “In a word of one syllable, and words accented on the last syllable, a final consonant after a single vowel is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel.”
1. Orthographic Syllable Boundaries: Doubling ensures the first syllable remains closed (CVC), preventing vowel lengthening (e.g., dip·per /ˈdɪp.ər/ vs. *di·per /ˈdaɪ.pər/; blot·ter /ˈblɒt.ər/ vs. *blo·ter /ˈbloʊ.tər/).
2. Suffix Classes: Suffix -er serves as an agent noun (*drummer, batter*) or instrument (*dipper, blotter*); -ed forms the past tense; -ing forms the present participle/gerund.
| Base Word |
Phonetic (IPA) |
Add -er (Noun / Agent) |
Add -ed (Past Tense & Allomorph) |
Add -ing (Participle / Gerund) |
| dip |
/dɪp/ (short i) |
dipper /ˈdɪp.ər/ (ladle/tool) |
dipped /ˈdɪpt/ (voiceless stop /-t/) |
dipping /ˈdɪp.ɪŋ/ (double p) |
| trot |
/trɒt/ (short o) |
trotter /ˈtrɒt.ər/ (horse/gait) |
trotted /ˈtrɒt.ɪd/ (alveolar stop /-ɪd/) |
trotting /ˈtrɒt.ɪŋ/ (double t) |
| drum |
/drʌm/ (short u) |
drummer /ˈdrʌm.ər/ (agent: player) |
drummed /ˈdrʌmd/ (voiced nasal /-d/) |
drumming /ˈdrʌm.ɪŋ/ (double m) |
| blot |
/blɒt/ (short o) |
blotter /ˈblɒt.ər/ (pad/absorber) |
blotted /ˈblɒt.ɪd/ (alveolar stop /-ɪd/) |
blotting /ˈblɒt.ɪŋ/ (double t) |
| pat |
/pæt/ (short a) |
patter /ˈpæt.ər/ (frequentative sound) |
patted /ˈpæt.ɪd/ (alveolar stop /-ɪd/) |
patting /ˈpæt.ɪŋ/ (double t) |
| bat |
/bæt/ (short a) |
batter /ˈbæt.ər/ (agent: player) |
batted /ˈbæt.ɪd/ (alveolar stop /-ɪd/) |
batting /ˈbæt.ɪŋ/ (double t) |
| tin |
/tɪn/ (short i) |
tinner /ˈtɪn.ər/ (tinsmith) |
tinned /ˈtɪnd/ (voiced nasal /-d/) |
tinning /ˈtɪn.ɪŋ/ (double n) |
MASTER PHONOLOGY & DICTATION KEY (PAGE 26)
1. THREE ALLOMORPHS OF PAST TENSE -ED:
• /-t/ (Voiceless): After /p/ → dipped /ˈdɪpt/.
• /-ɪd/ (Syllabic): After /t/ → trotted, blotted, patted, batted (adds an entire extra syllable).
• /-d/ (Voiced): After /m, n/ → drummed /ˈdrʌmd/, tinned /ˈtɪnd/.
2. DICTATION SENTENCES KEY:
1. The little tin dipper dipped into the cool spring.
2. The drummer drummed as the horses trotted by.
3. He was blotting the wet ink with a clean blotter.
4. The batter stood batting and patting the ball.
TEACHER WARNINGS & COMMON STUDENT PITFALLS:
1. Under-doubling (*troting, bloting): Students frequently forget to double final consonants when adding -ing or -ed. Emphasize checking the base word: 1 vowel + 1 consonant = MUST DOUBLE.
2. Pronunciation of -ed: Point out that dipped is 1 syllable (/dɪpt/), while trotted, blotted, patted, batted become 2 syllables (/-ɪd/) because English requires a vowel between two alveolar stops.
3. Agent vs. Tool Meanings of -er: Contrast human agent (drummer, batter) with instrumental/material tools (dipper, blotter, tinner).
| Assessment Criterion |
Exemplary Performance (4) |
Needs Reinforcement (1-2) |
| Consonant Doubling Accuracy |
Accurately forms all 18 derived words (trotter, drummer, blotter, patter, batter, tinner, etc.) with zero spelling errors. |
Drops doubled consonants (*troter, drumer, bloting) or doubles root vowels. |
| Morphological Awareness |
Distinguishes clearly between -er (noun), -ed (past action), and -ing (ongoing participle). |
Cannot explain why consonants double; confuses vowel suffixes with consonant endings. |
| Dictation & Auditory Discrimination |
Transcribes all 4 dictation sentences accurately, spelling both base words and inflected forms correctly. |
Struggles with past tense -ed spelling (*dipt, blotid) or misses punctuation and capitalization. |