3.2 Explicitly Teaching the '-dge' Spelling Rule

Now it's time to teach!

To begin, hold up the 'j' flash cards and say,

We have already learned that the letter 'j' makes the /j/ sound. Let's read this sound together.

Students say /j/.

Today, we are going to learn another way to spell the /j/ sound!

Show students the picture flash card for '-dge'. Point to the picture of the badge on the card and say,

This is a badge.

The sounds in badge are /b/, /a/. /j/.

The /j/ sound in badge is spelled 'd', 'g', 'e'. When we see '-dge' together we read it /j/.

Repeat after me 'd', 'g', 'e', badge, /j/.

Now let's read some words with '-dge.'

Write the following words on the board: dodge, judge, edge.

Underline the '-dge' in each word. Tell students that no English word ends with a 'j'! Discuss with your students that the words are all closed syllables and that the vowel sounds are short. Sound out each word together. 

Say,

Reading the words with '-dge' is the easy part! Now let's talk about spelling. To help us decide when to spell with '-dge', we have a chant: Immediately after a short vowel, at the end of a one-syllable word, spell /j/ … 'd', 'g', 'e'!

That means if I am spelling a word and I hear a short vowel sound with a /j/ right after it at the end of the word, I spell the /j/ sound with '-dge.'

Say,

Let's look at the first word again. What does it say? [dodge]

Let's see why it's spelled with '-dge'.

The vowel in this word is 'o'. Is the 'o' closed in? [yes]

So, what will the 'o' say? [/ŏ/]

So, if I have /d/, /ŏ/, /j/, the /j/ sound is immediately after a short vowel so I have to spell /j/ with '-dge.'

If needed, talk through the other two words and review the rule again.

Now let's spell a word together! The word is judge. Let's tap the sounds in judge, /j/, /u/, /j/.

ju          

Say,

The last sound here is /j/. It's at the end of the word and it's after a short vowel. So, let's spell it with '-dge'.

After explicitly modeling spelling with '-dge', you'll move on to the dictation portion of your lesson. During dictation, you will say words like wedge. Students will repeat the word and tap the sounds in the word. You will discuss if there is a short vowel sound and if it is immediately followed by the /j/ sound. If so, they will use '-dge' to spell the /j/ sound. Students will then write the word.

'-dge' vs. '-ge' Lesson

Once students have had a lot of successful practice reading and spelling words with '-dge', it's time to teach them the other way to spell the /j/ sound at the end of words: '-ge'. (You will not do this on the same day as the initial '-dge' lesson.)

To begin you might say,

What are the two ways we have learned that you can represent the /j/ sound? [Students should say 'j' and '-dge'.] 

Let's review the rule for when we use '-dge'. Immediately after a short vowel, at the end of a one-syllable word, spell /j/ … 'd', 'g', 'e'! 

So we know that if we hear a short vowel and then there is a /j/ after it we use '-dge'. But what if we hear /j/ at the end of a word and it isn't after a short vowel? We have to learn another way to represent the /j/ sound.

Write the following words on the board: page, hinge, large.

Point to the first word and say,

This word is page. The sounds are /p/, /ā/, /j/. 

What vowel sound do you hear in the word page? [Students should say /ā/.] 

Yes, and in the word page what sound do you hear after the long 'a' sound? [Students should say /j/.] 

So we hear /j/ at the end but it is not after a short vowel sound. It is after a long vowel sound. That means we can't use '-dge'. The other way we are going to spell /j/ at the end of a word is with '-ge'.

'-ge' says /j/ after a long vowel sound or after a consonant at the end of a word.

Have students repeat when to use '-ge'.

Point to the next word and say,

This word is large. The sounds are /l/, /ar/, /j/. Is /ar/ a short vowel sound? [Students should say no.] 

So I hear /j/ at the end of the word but it is not after a short vowel. It is after the /ar/ sound, which is spelled 'ar'. So I have to use '-ge' to spell /j/ because the /j/ is coming after a consonant.

Once you have taught students when to use '-dge' vs. '-ge', you'll move on to the dictation portion of the lesson.

Here is a list of words, phrases, and sentences (opens in new window) with both '-dge' and '-ge' that you can use for dictation.

And you can have students do their spelling for dictation on the sheets below.

Dictation Sheet (Grades 1-5)

Phrase and Sentence Dictation Sheet (Grades 1-5)

Split dictation sheet from the -dge vs. -ge lesson

When it's time to teach, we encourage you to use our research-based lesson plans! We have one for teaching '-dge' (opens in new window), and one for teaching '-dge' vs. '-ge'. (opens in new window) They're ready to print and use in your classroom right away!