When do we double consonants?

The page in Gilead Success with Phonics showing when to double consonants was not very interesting by itself.

So when my granddaughter was married and a grandson went canoeing on the west coast of Tasmania, I just had to include those videos.

What happens if you are part of a circus family and your father is walking you up the aisle on your wedding day? Well your oldest four brothers would help, wouldn’t they?

wed + ing = wedding  (Remember to double the “d”.)

What if you capsize? Can you still roll up when your deck has popped and your canoe is half full of water?

river  (We don’t need to double the letter “v”.)

I added these two new pages to the page with animations showing

hope + ing = hoping  (Any other vowel can do the same thing as a silent “e”, the “i” makes the “o” say its name.)

hop + ing = hopping  (The extra “p” protects the “o” from the “i” so that the “i” can’t make the “o” say its name.)

As usual, following the “Parents and teachers” link leads to extra background information that you may useful:

Remember to check if the “e” is still needed, e.g. to keep the vowel sound long or to keep a “c” or “g” soft.

tune + ful = tuneful, but tune + ing = tuning.

dance + ing = dancing, but notice + able = noticeable

If children ask about doubling letters in longer words, here is some background information for you. (This is way too much information for a younger child.)

We only double the last letter of a long word if:

• the word ends with one vowel followed by one consonant: admit
• the suffix starts with a vowel: -ing
• and the last syllable of the base word is stressed : admit + ing => admitting

In Australia and Britain, we usually double “l” as long as it is only following one vowel, e.g. travelling. In the US it just follows the rule, traveling.

Please give me feedback.

• Do you have an older primary student who is still struggling with when to double consonants?
• Does he or she find these three pages – one with animations followed by two with the videos – helpful, obscure, interesting, engaging, boring, distracting … ?
• Are the posts that I make like this that show key parts of Gilead Success with Phonics helpful to you?

If you own an older version of my program, please contact me to arrange a swap for the latest version.