Spelling with Structure: Unit 1 – Syllables & Spelling Strategies

Spelling With Structure Unit 1: Syllables & Strategies for Spelling | OG-Aligned Spelling + Morphology Lessons, Worksheets, Reading Passages, Assessments, Home Connections & Homework-- COMPLETE UNIT!

Build confident readers, spellers, and word solvers through explicit, structured word study instruction! Before students can master prefixes and suffixes, they must understand word structure. Unit 1 builds the essential foundational phonics skills required for morphology success. This systematic, Science of Reading-aligned unit teaches the 6 syllable types so 3rd and 4th graders can confidently decode larger words in later units.

After asking myself, "How do I fit morphology into my day without adding another subject?" HUNDREDS of times, I finally created something that allowed me to merge the spelling instruction I was already giving with MORPHOLOGY!

Spelling with Structure is a comprehensive spelling + morphology program designed to help students understand how words work instead of simply memorizing weekly spelling lists. Grounded in structured literacy and Orton-Gillingham principles, this program intentionally combines spelling instruction, syllable knowledge, and morphology into one cohesive system that strengthens both decoding and encoding skills.

Unit 1 focuses heavily on syllable types, syllable division, multisyllabic word analysis, and the “Three Great Rules” that students will continue applying throughout the rest of the program:

✔ 1-1-1 Double Rule
✔ Drop E Rule
✔ Change Y to I Rule

This resource is intentionally designed for upper elementary students and serves as a bridge between foundational phonics instruction and more advanced morphology concepts introduced in later units.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

10 Structured Literacy Lessons

Each lesson includes:
✔ 100+ Teaching Slides (provided as PDF files OR access the Google Slides)
✔ 45 pages of easy-to-follow lesson plans
✔ Guided practice
✔ Independent practice
✔ Dictation practice
✔ Word lists for encoding practice
✔ Sentence dictation suggestions
✔ Flexible pacing options

✔ Reading passages for the Three Great Rules

✔ Home Connections + Homework for EVERY concept

✔ BONUS: "Extras" with printable posters and additional practice pages

UNIT 1 LESSONS/CONCEPTS INCLUDE:

- Lesson 1: Introduction to Syllables

- Lesson 2: Closed Syllables, VC|CV, VC|CCV, VC|CCCV Division Patterns (WITHOUT all of the overwhelm!)

- Lesson 3:  Open Syllables, V|CV & VC|V Division Patterns

- Lesson 4: Magic E (VCe) Syllables

- Lesson 5: Vowel Team & Diphthong Syllables, V|V Division Patterns

- Lesson 6: R-Controlled Syllables

- Lesson 7: Consonant + -le Syllables

- Lesson 8: Three Great Rules: 1-1-1 Double Rule

- Lesson 9: Three Great Rules: Drop E Rule

- Lesson 10: Three Great Rules: Change Y to I Rule

A note about this program: While some concepts within Unit 1 may feel familiar from primary phonics instruction, this resource is NOT intended to function as a phonics program. Instead, it is designed as an upper-elementary structured word study program that strengthens spelling, syllabication, morphology, and multisyllabic word analysis in meaningful ways.

This is Unit 1 in a comprehensive 4-unit series designed to progressively build students’ spelling and morphology understanding throughout the year.

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