Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Reading Longer Words and Sentences

Where Letters Live: Position Patterns and Tricky Endings

B2.2 B2.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use where letters sit in a word to help me say the word correctly.
  • I can read c and g before e, i or y with their soft sounds.
  • I can read a after w, and or after w, correctly (want, warm, worm).
  • I can read the endings -tion, -sion, -ture and -ous.

Words to know

position
Where something is: at the beginning, middle or end of a word.
pattern
Something that happens again and again, so you can expect it.
soft c
c that says /s/, as in city.
soft g
g that says /j/, as in giant.
ending
The last part of a word, like -tion in station or -ture in picture.

Remember from Grade 2

In Grade 2 you learned that some spellings live in certain places in a word:

  • ay at the end (play), ai in the middle (rain).
  • ck and tch after a short vowel (duck, catch).
  • c and g often have a soft sound before e, i or y (city, page).

In Grade 3, you will use where letters are to read even more words correctly, including some tricky endings found in longer words.

PatternWhere it livesExamples
ai, oiMiddle of a wordrain, paint, coin, boil
ay, oyEnd of a word (or syllable)day, play, boy, enjoy
ck, tch, dgeEnd, right after a short vowelduck, catch, badge
k, ch, geAfter a long vowel or a consonantbake, lunch, huge, large
ff, ll, ssEnd of a short word, after a short voweloff, bell, grass
veEnglish words don't end in v, so we add e. The e does NOT always make the vowel long.have, give, live, love
Patterns you know: where letters live

Soft c and soft g

  • c before e, i or y usually says /s/: cent, circle, cycle, fence, pencil.
  • g before e, i or y often says /j/: gem, giraffe, gym, orange.
  • Before a, o, u or a consonant, c and g are hard: cat, coat, cup, game, go, gum, green.

Watch out: g has some exceptions: get, give, girl, gift, tiger. If the soft sound doesn't make a real word, flex to the hard sound!

cbefore e, i, ysoft /s/cent, city, cyclebefore a, o, uhard /k/cat, coat, cupgbefore e, i, yoften soft /j/gem, giraffe, gymbefore a, o, uhard /g/game, go, gumWatch out: get, give, girl have a hard g!Look at the letter right after c or g.
The letter after c or g is the clue. Before e, i or y they usually sound soft; before a, o or u they sound hard.
Worked example

Let's read with soft and hard c

Read: bicycle and concert

  1. bicycle: split bi | cy | cle. The c in cy comes before y, so it says /s/. The c in cle comes before l, so it says /k/. Blend: BYE-sih-kul.
  2. concert: split con | cert. The first c is before o: /k/. The second c is before e: /s/. Blend: KON-sert.

bicycle (BYE-sih-kul) and concert (KON-sert). One word can have both a hard and a soft c!

w changes a and or

The letter w is bossy too! It changes the vowel that comes after it.

  • wa often says /wo/ (like wobble): want, wash, wasp, swan, watch.
  • war says /wor/ (like wore): warm, war, wart, reward.
  • wor says /wer/ (like were): worm, word, work, world.

Also: al often says /ol/: all, ball, talk, walk (the l is silent in talk and walk), also.

Bossy w changes the vowel sound after itwasays /wo/want, wash, swanwarsays /wor/warm, war, rewardworsays /wer/worm, word, world
When w comes first, the vowel after it changes: wa sounds like the start of wobble, war sounds like wore, and wor sounds like were.

Tricky endings in longer words

Some endings show up in lots of longer words. Learn them as chunks and you will read the whole word faster.

EndingSaysExamples
-tion/shun/station, nation, action, vacation, celebration
-sion/zhun/ or /shun/vision, television, decision (/zhun/); mission, discussion (/shun/)
-ture/cher/picture, nature, future, adventure, creature
-ous/us/famous, nervous, enormous, dangerous
Tricky endings
Worked example

Let's read a word with a tricky ending

Read: We went on an adventure in nature.

  1. adventure: find the ending -ture, which says /cher/. Then read the rest: ad | ven. Blend: ad-VEN-cher.
  2. nature: the ending -ture says /cher/. na is open, so the a is long. Blend: NAY-cher.
  3. Read the whole sentence smoothly. Does it make sense? Yes!

adventure (ad-VEN-cher) and nature (NAY-cher).

Worked example

Let's choose the -sion sound

Read: television and discussion

  1. television: tel | e | vi | sion. After the vowel i, -sion usually says /zhun/: TEL-uh-vih-zhun.
  2. discussion: dis | cus | sion. After ss, -sion usually says /shun/: dis-KUSH-un.
  3. If you're not sure, try both sounds and pick the real word.

television (/zhun/) and discussion (/shun/).

Just for fun

Why won't the letter v stand at the end of an English word all by itself?

It always brings its buddy e! (have, give, love, live)

Hands-on activity

Pattern hunt

You need: a flyer, newspaper, cereal box or favourite book, a highlighter or pencil, and paper.

  1. Make 4 columns: -tion, -ture, soft c or g, w + a/or.
  2. Hunt for words that fit each column for 10 minutes.
  3. Read each word to your grown-up. Explain what the pattern helped you say.
  4. Count which column has the most words.

Example finds on a cereal box: nutrition, information (-tion), picture (-ture), juice, rice, orange (soft c or g), water, warm (w + a/or). Look for: the child reads the pattern correctly, e.g. -tion as /shun/ and c before e as /s/.

Your turn

1

Read station. What does -tion say?

2

Read picture.

3

Is the c hard or soft in circle? Read it.

4

Read giraffe. Is the g soft or hard?

5

Read watch and warm.

6

Read world.

7

Read: The famous creature at the zoo was enormous.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does -ture say?

2

Read city.

3

Read gem.

4

Read want.

5

Read action.

More practice: on your own

1

Read celebration. How many syllables?

2

Read future and nervous.

3

Read gift. Did the soft g rule work? What did you do?

4

Read reward and worm. How is the w + vowel different?

5

Why does have end with an e?

Challenge

1

Read decision and mission. Which -sion says /zhun/?

2

Read dangerous. Explain the g.

3

Read: During the vacation, we watched a dance competition on television. Find all the tricky endings.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What does -tion say in station?

2.

In which word is the c soft?

3.

How do you say the -ture in nature?

4.

In warm, war sounds like:

5.

Which word has a hard g?

6.

Which word ends with -ous (/us/)?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: "Position-based tendencies" (B2.2) are patterns about where letters appear and how that affects their sound. Grade 3 students use them, plus common endings like -tion, -sion, -ture and -ous, to pronounce words accurately when reading.

How to help at home:

  • Point out patterns in the real world: "Station on the subway sign. What does -tion say?"
  • When your child misreads giant as "guy-ant" or gift as "jift", ask: "What letter comes after the g? Now check: is it a real word?"

Common difficulties:

  • Sounding out -tion letter by letter ("tee-eye-on"). Teach it as one chunk.
  • Expecting rules to be perfect. Soft g has many exceptions (get, give, girl). Teach your child to flex.
  • Reading want to rhyme with ant. Point out that w changes the a.