Plural suffixing: (-s) or (-es)

Understanding the 'essence' of the 

plural suffixing pattern.

During the past few years, teaching Grade One and Two students, I have often observed the children's puzzling expressions and seemingly random guesses when attempting to build a plural word from a singular word. 

I have observed students who on one day will use (-s) to build a plural word in their writing but on another day decide to choose (-es), or use an apostrophe (-'s), for no real reason but just to experiment! Or maybe their parents have shared some 'interesting rule' that they learned at school many years ago. The students can often demonstrate understanding of the difference between singular and plural and know that there are two choices, (-s) or (-es)...but which one? 

Over the years,  I have implemented and experimented with a variety of different strategies and ways to support children's learning of this concept. Critical to success, is ensuring  the children have established  a clear understanding of the terms singular/plural and how to count syllables, before embarking on this investigation. 

Depending of the children's current needs this could be covered in a couple of lessons or it might involve a much longer learning process. It has varied from year to year, from class to class group.

Through my own learning journey of understanding I have now changed the way I guide/teach/support  children through the process of understanding the two plural suffixes (-s) and (-es) and identifying the essence of this pattern.

Just like so many other lessons...it's a continuous learning journey for me as a teacher and the students!

During this learning journey the students will learn:

• through inquiry, discovery and collaboration.
• how to count syllables accurately, using a kinaesthetic approach.
• how to build and use a 'flow chart' to demonstrate understanding of the pattern.
• how to identify which plural suffix to use: the short form (-s) or the long form (-es).