Multisensory Activity: 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule Game
Posted by Tammi Brandon on 23rd Sep 2018
Master the 1-1-1-v doubling rule with this hands-on game! Use multisensory learning techniques to boost students’ spelling and reading skills.
Games are a great way to reinforce learning, especially for more complex concepts and rules. The 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule is one of the Three Great Rules (1-1-1-v Doubling Rule, Magic-e Plus Suffix Rule, and Y Plus Suffix Rule) and often required review or re-teaching.
What is the 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule?
In a 1 syllable word that has one vowel and one consonant after the vowel, when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, you must double the ending consonant of the base word. (Note: W, X, and Y are never doubled.)
For example, consider the word bat. Since bat is a one-syllable word with one vowel and one consonant at the end, you double the final consonant before adding a suffix like -ed:
- bat → batted
On the other hand, the rule does not apply to words that don’t meet all three criteria. For example:
- flow → flowing: The word ends in w, which is never doubled.
- pray → praying: The word ends in y, which is also never doubled.
- dream → dreaming: The word contains more than one vowel, so no doubling is needed.
Understanding this rule helps students spell accurately and improves their ability to decode words while reading. To teach or reinforce the rule, I like to use this simple-to-make game.
1-1-1-v Doubling Rule Activity
Materials:
- Multicolor small stickers
- Game pieces such as coins, small rocks or gemstones
- Index cards
- Marker
- File folder or poster board
Activity Setup
- Begin by making the game board – Take the file folder and make 2 rows of stickers, 1 on each side.
- Write “start” and “finish” at the ends of each row of stickers.
- Draw 2 index-card-size boxes in between the rows of stickers. One box is for the pile of game cards and the other is the discard pile. Write “discard pile” or in each box.
- Next, make the game cards. On individual index cards, write a word, a plus sign, and a suffix. Below that, include 3 stickers to represent the components of the 1-1-1 Doubling Rule: 1 syllable, 1 vowel, and 1 consonant.
How to Play
Once you have created the game board and game cards, it’s time to play the game. To begin, each player or each team places a game piece on the starting point. The first player draws a card and reads the base word.
In this example, Player 1 reads the word “bit”.
Next, she touches the first sticker on the game card and says if the word follows the first part of the 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule: Does the base word have 1 syllable? Yes.
Player 1 touches the second syllable and asks if the word follows the second part of the 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule: Does the base word have 1 vowel? Yes.
Player 1 touches the third sticker and asks if the word follows the third part of the 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule: Does the base word have 1 consonant after the vowel? Yes.
If the word meets all three criteria and the suffix begins with a vowel, the player writes or spells the new word correctly either aloud or by writing it on a whiteboard or sheet of paper. If the word is spelled correctly, the player advances.
1-1-1-v Doubling Rule Word List
Below is a word list organized into two categories: words that follow the rule and words that don’t require doubling. Use this list of ideas for the activity above
Words That Follow the 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule
- Bat → batted
- Run → runner
- Sit → sitting
- Drag → dragged
- Grab → grabbing
- Clap → clapping
- Skip → skipped
- Spin → spinning
- Nod → nodded
- Hum → humming
Words That Don’t Follow the 1-1-1-v Doubling Rule
- Flow → flowing (ends in w)
- Pray → praying (ends in y)
- Dream → dreaming (contains more than one vowel)
- Jump → jumping (ends in more than one consonant)
- Fix → fixing (ends in x)
- Show → showing (ends in w)
- Cry → crying (ends in y)
- Sleep → sleeping (contains more than one vowel)
- Bend → bending (ends in more than one consonant)
- Glow → glowing (ends in w)
Written by Tammi Brandon, M.Ed., CDP
Tammi Brandon is a Master Instructor and Education Consultant with Brainspring Educator Academy.
