Spelling Rules for Making Words Plural
When making words plural, why do you add S to some words but ES to others? And when a word ends with Y, how do you know whether to change the Y to I before adding the plural suffix? And why on earth does the word knife become knives?
You can unravel these mysteries with six scoops of ice cream. Just click the play button below for a yummy treat, and then read on for free printable spelling rule posters and sample lessons!
Ready to Dig In?
Whether you prefer your ice cream in dishes or in cones or with one cherry or two cherries, these tasty guidelines will help you spell plurals correctly every time.
Tips and tricks like these are taught throughout the All About Spelling program. Want to see more? Download these free resources to see just how easy teaching spelling rules can be.
Download All About Spelling Level 1, Step 23.
This lesson from All About Spelling Level 1 shows how we teach kids to make words plural by adding either S or ES.
Download All About Spelling Level 5, Step 17.
In this lesson from All About Spelling Level 5, you can see how we teach kids to pluralize words that end in F and FE.
Download our free Spelling Rules Posters.
This handy resource will help make learning three important spelling rules fun and easy to remember for your children.
Do you think these guidelines for making words plural will improve your child’s spelling? Let me know in the comments below! And check out our other spelling rules, too!
Sussie Weyl
says:Thank you!–I especially liked the plural poster.
Sussie
Pip Cloros
says:The ice cream video was very helpful. Thank you.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Pip.
joy murphy
says:Love all the spelling rules! They really help my daughter navigate the mystery that is spelling for her.
Elaine
says:I am doing a reading course and these spelling rules are so much of a reinforcement. Thank you very much.
Lorraine Gilliam
says:Thanks for the resources!
Mary
says:Thanks, thanks and thanks again for your guidelines of spelling. I haven’t use them, however, I have no doubt it will help me and my grands.
Adebimpe
says:Very good
Mini S Thomas
says:Great tippy tips!
Manish
says:Yes, they will certainly help.
Manish
says:Very friendly
Lynda
says:Thank you for creating these posters!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Lynda! 😊
Vicky
says:This program has made our homeschooling so fun and dynamic all while unraveling all the strange English rules. We love all about reading/spelling and have used it for our 2 boys and will continue on to our 3rd!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceIt’s so great to hear that All About Reading and All About Spelling are working so well for your boys and you, Vicky! 😊
Sally
says:Love the cute posters.
Deanna
says:Great posters.
Gina
says:great resources. thank you!
Holly L
says:This is a great resource. I am often asked why a word is spelled a certain way or why such and such a letter is silent. Sometimes I have an answer and sometimes I just shrug my shoulders because even I have no idea! The video clip of this on fb is really cute too.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Holly!
If you are asked about why a word is spelled the way it is and you don’t know, just ask! I enjoy digging into the whys and whens of spellings.
Dawn G.
says:I think this is a great activity to engage students in making words plural. My students have loved using this!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceDawn,
It’s wonderful that your students have enjoyed this poster! Thanks for letting us know.
Janine
says:I love the graphics on this poster. It really helps my son visualize the rules.
Nicole
says:My daughter will love this!
Carrie King
says:Great tips!
Kate V
says:My son hates spelling, but enjoys how interactive AAS is. He responds very well to the rules as taught in the program. I love the posters!!!!
Hannah
says:Great posters!
Jenny
says:Wonderful posters! Thanks!
Mindy Swertfeger
says:We love having the posters for quick reminders! They are not too busy for us to do a quick glance and find what we need.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceMindy,
I love that the posters are working out so well for you!
Carol
says:Thank you for your spelling poster. It is an easy to follow lesson and poster. Very helpful.
Leah
says:Great content! :)
Tammy
says:Very helpful, thank you!
Crystal
says:Looks like a wonderful curriculum for all our kids.
Jean
says:Thankful for All About Spelling and the many resources available to make our homeschool successful!
Angela
says:I am so grateful for this program! It has made a huge difference in our homeschooling.
Maryb
says:I love these aids. I always end up learning something too, which ends up being a bonus for my child since it helps her realize learning is life long!
Layne
says:Such a good idea!
Lisa Smith
says:I love this spelling program! Everything is explained step by step, both the teacher’s part, and the spelling rules for the children.
Ashley
says:Great info. Thanks!
D C
says:Love All About Spelling! After years of struggle we are finally making progress. It is laid out so well that it is easy to just pick it up and “do spelling” every day. Consistency helps greatly.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYes! Consistency is a key ingredient in any type of success. And I love that All About Spelling has helped to make consistency easy for you and your family!
JJ Perreault
says:Thank you! These are great reminders to hang up.
Ashley
says:Love all you do! Thank you!
ChristiS
says:Love this idea! Thank you!
crystal a montgomery
says:Good post…these are always tricky to teach!
Heather
says:I love this poster! It would be great if these posters could print regular sized, to fit in a binder or file folder though. Our space is limited and I have no place for a giant spelling rules poster. I grew up on phonics and have typically been a good speller, but I only knew about 2 of these rules. Your program is helping this good speller become a good spelling teacher as well. I am using AAS 1 with my homeschooler as well as after-schooling my older child. The succinct clarity of the program is so rewarding.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceHeather,
The Kids’ Club Rule and Floss Rule posters do print on a single sheet of 8.5×11 printer paper. The Making Words Plural poster just has too much on it to fit on a single sheet (it has six scoops!), but it prints on two sheets that could be put in a binder or file folder as left and right pages to be viewed all at once.
It’s so great that All About Spelling is helping you help your children succeed with spelling! 😊
Jen
says:Love the posters!
Kristen
says:AAS is helping my son be a better speller! I am so pleased.
Dan
says:these are great games for kids to learn these rules.
Monica Saggau
says:my son is struggling with spelling everything helps thank you
Ana
says:Great! Really helpful
Ruth
says:This spelling curriculum is already making a difference for my boys. We are now on level 2 and they are much more confident.
Heather
says:Nice Posters. No need to notify me of follow up comments thanks.
Tiffany Hudson
says:Super cute posters!
Susanna
says:Very helpful for many ages and a good reminder.
Sheryl Dohnalik
says:I have really enjoyed all of the letters of the alphabet crafts that are offered from All About. We are set for curriculum for this year but I plan to look into All About to see if it would be a good fit for us. Thanks for the letter patterns.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou are welcome, Sheryl! I hope you have lots of fun with the letter crafts. They make a lovely keepsake too!
Karianne
says:So helpful and fun! Thank you!
Angie Leopold
says:Great illustration!
Megan DeLoach
says:I’m planning to start AAS with my second grader as soon as we get the funds to order it! We love AAR :)
Jamie MacDougall
says:I love these spelling posters, especially for my visual learner! Using All About Spelling has really helped my son understand that there are rules that explain all the differences in spelling. We just finished AAS Level 1 and saw huge improvements in his spelling.
Lorraine
says:I love All About Reading and would love to win All about Spelling.
Kristin
says:Thanks! This looks fun!
Kristy
says:Thank you for this helpful post. Looking forward to using All About Spelling and learning more spelling rules!
Andrea Smith
says:Praise God! This is exactly what I need to work on with my son this fall! I look forward to using this resource.
Aimee Brackbill
says:Thank you for this helpful post!
Jeanne McNeil
says:Learning the rules taught in All About Spelling has really improved my children’s spelling!
Jason Goerlich
says:This is great!
Maria
says:This kind of post are very helpful! Thank you very much!
Kenneth Clayton
says:Thank you for the great content.
Alex Baxter
says:Love this!
Joe Sebik
says:I love the ice cream poster!
Kristi
says:I love how you’ve broken down each example with a cute visual!
Ramat
says:This is very easy to understand by children, coupled with the brilliant colours that make it attractive and fun!
Yvette
says:I don’t get how this relates to ice cream. Am I missing the point?
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYvette,
A six scoop serving of ice cream is simply a great visual to put all the various rules of making words plural onto a single image. Six scoops are more appealing than a plain list of the rules.
Vita
says:Really enjoyed this post…now it will be much easier to pass this knowledge on. Thank you so much!
Shannon
says:I wish I had learned these rules in grade school.
Brenda
says:Love this series. So does my grandson of 4 years.
Monique
says:Thank you for this awesome resource!
Erin Buss
says:This is the second year I’ve been using All About Spelling with my son. We both LOVE it. He is ahead of schedule and remembers the rules.
JoAnna
says:I appreciate how each rule is “spelled out” so clearly in this program. It takes a lot of the guess-work out of spelling.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceJoAnna,
Thanks for the great pun! 😀
Nicole
says:Thank You for this resource! Diving right into using it tomorrow with my children :)
ALICE
says:SO VERY BRIEF AND HELPFUL!
Shannon
says:This is great! Thanks.
Kayla
says:We are enjoying AAR and can’t wait to add AAS soon!
Jennifer
says:Thank you for all the wonderful ideas! We love AAR!!
JULIA V. HILTS
says:This is awesome! Thank you!
Rachel
says:Love it! I know this will help my first grader!
Nate
says:Cool idea!
Holly Grantham
says:Love the poster. It will be a very helpful visual reminder for my students.
Susan L
says:We love the All About Reading program and are excited to add this AAS program to the mix. What a kid-friendly and approachable way to teach these tough spelling concepts! Thank you for the free posters!!
amber
says:This is awesome. I downloaded the free poster and can not wait to use it with my kids. thanks
Marisa
says:We will try this tomorrow!
Kristina
says:This is our first year using all about spelling and al about reading and we are so happy we found this!
Jordan
says:So helpful. Thank you very much.
Jordan
says:So helpful. Thank you very much!
Jessica Burbank
says:This was very helpful! Thank you!
Marie stewart
says:This is so awesome. Cannot wait to show my grandson. This will help him so much as he struggles through these. I just learned a few new tricks as well.
Nicki
says:Great idea! I love the posters!
Jennie Rae
says:I love the fun freebies you have! Thank you 💗
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Jennie! 💗
Kay Ling Ng
says:A most yummy way to learn about making words plural!
Katie
says:What a fun idea! Thanks!!!
Becki
says:Oh! What a fun way to teach this!
Yara
says:Very nice!
Shelly
says:I love this poster! So colorful!
Alyssa George
says:What a cool way to teach! My kiddos would love this.
Esmi
says:Great info!
Jennifer
says:Love this! AAR amd AAS has been wonderful for my son! We love it!
Elizabeth
says:Love this! Such a great visual.
Katy
says:My kids love this! Thank you!!
Katie O
says:This is why I love this program. I learn alongside my children! ❤️❤️❤️
Julie Smith
says:I’ve used this program through level 5 for years for our 8 children. Our house and my curriculum burned down last February and after using other supplemental spelling programs similar to AAS we had donated to us, I am realizing how effective AAS has been for us. It just doesn’t compare to the other programs we have used.
Marie Rippel
says: Customer ServiceJulie, I’m so sorry to hear about your house fire. Please let us replace your AAS curriculum! We’ll reach out to you via email tomorrow to find out how we can help!
Kelly Mac
says:Excellent! SO much more pallatable than dry rules . My kids will love this. Thanks!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Kelly. Enjoy the poster!
Nedun Kumari Dasanayaka
says:Excellent ! My kids love your cretion.
Kari Clark
says:Where can I get this as a poster to hang in my room?
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceKari,
You can get all of our spelling posters here.
penney s farley
says:How can I get the icecream poster?
Marie Rippel
says: Customer ServiceHere is the link, Penney! http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Colleen
says:Thanks, Marie, for the link and for a great program.
Amthul
says:Very effective.
nieshang
says:I like it.
It helps me to improve my English.
Debbie B.
says:Is this available as a printable? That would be great!
Debbie B.
says:I just found the poster link! Thanks!
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThanks for posting it for others to find too, Debbie! Enjoy.
Arif naeem
says:Good for learning kids
Angela Dominguez-Newball
says:I will like to use this idea with my Spanish classes.
Diya
says:I want be carfull about sounds pronouncation
Cathey Cook
says:“Good Stuff” Thanks for posting
Shyanne
says:Hi I like this I just joined pintrest
Amparo Sanchez
says:great ideas!
Kristin
says:I totally printed this and laminated it and am going to tape it to my wall. It’s so perfect!
Nicole D.
says:My daughter is at this stage and sometimes gets confused, Love this chart!
Sabrina
says:Thanks for the helpful graphics. We are working on this lesson right now with my 1st grader!
Jessica
says:Love the cute graphic illustrating these hard-to-remember rules.
Sharon
says:Thank you so much for making this cute graphic to help remember these rules. Keep them coming they are great!
Rebekah
says:These tips are so helpful. My kids enjoy using AAS and I have seen them progress through the year! Thank you!
Yanina
says:All About Spelling is a fantastic program. My family LOVES it. I enjoy your recent addition of the Tips and Tricks posters. They are interesting, appealing to the eye, and easily understood.
Jennifer
says:I love the colorful visual. thanks!
Minda C.
says:Thank you for the visuals! My son, and myself included, lean more toward being visual learners so these are a tremendous help!
DeAna B.
says:Thank you for the useful tips!
pickledpandas
says:I really like the visual for helping to teach plural endings. It’s difficult to not just teach, but to remember all of them and visuals come in really handy!
Charis
says:I love the visual and would love to start presenting these to my oldest who is working on AAS level 4 this year.
Jeannine Firestenberg
says:This is a really cool way to teach plurals. I love that it’s colorful and kid friendly. Thank you!
Jeniver
says:Love these suggestions! Will be sure and funnel new ideas for when my child is ready for them.
Thanks!
Terri F
says:I really like this! It’s a great visual for students and is very easy to understand. We have used All About Spelling for several years now, and I just love the systematic introduction of the concepts. It really works!
Bobbi Ward
says:This program is easy to teach and the kids really enjoy it. I agree this would make a great poster, being presented as an ice cream cone……..the kids would love it!
Mary E
says:I use these all the time with my students. I love the way you present them as the ice cream cone…what a great poster this would make!
Merry at AALP
says:By the way, we do have these as posters now:
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Kassi Job
says:I like the way this poster has all the rules in one place. Great graphic! :-)
Sandi W
says:I would love a poster of this ‘plural rules’ graphic. Would be helpful to have in my school room. Thanks for a great program!
Nancy S.
says:If it was possible to print out a small (8.5 x 11) poster of these graphics it would be great for my sons. Our magnetic white board with all the letter tiles is on the wall next to our table, and I could put the rules next to it.
Merry at AALP
says:Hi Sandi and Nancy,
We do have these as posters now:
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Rachael Leah Harris
says:What an awesome poster! I love how clearly and logically you lay everything out!
Christine Nadolny
says:These are great rules! Need room posters and worksheets for them to practice and see!
angie
says:I love this. I was just teaching my son these rules on my own but can’t wait to try this!
Rebecca
says:This is cute :) Can’t wait to get here with the kids.
Char
says:Love these graphics to help my kids remember the rules! I’ve always been a good speller, but had difficulty helping my boys learn spelling because I didn’t know how to put the rules into words (I just knew them intuitively). Learning the actual rules with All About Spelling has been eye-opening both for me and my sons, and is slowly taking away their fear of spelling. We love it!
Valerie
says:We love how all about spelling teaches all the spelling rules needed to figure out words. It works great with the reading program too. My kids enjoy learning with these programs!
Lori
says:My daughter has struggled for several years with spelling and reading. Since beginning AAS and AAR she has made amazing progress in a very short time! We love the multi-sensory approach.
Stacy Thompson
says:I am going to have to print these out! they are awesome! my 15 year old can even benefit from them!
Kathy Wilber
says:Oh my gosh, I can not stress enough how much I love the posters for the Kids Club Rule, The Floss Rule and Making Words Plural. Both my son and I are visual learners and they’re so appealing to the eye. Thanks so much for creating them :-)
Melissa Cherney
says:What a coincidence! My 6 year old and I were just discussing the rules for making words plural, not even 3 hours ago! She saw 2 deer and said “deers”, so I told her that it was still “deer”, and we got into a discussion about the oddities and inconsistencies of plurals in English. Thanks so much for this list!
Deanna
says:Cool! I would love that as a free printable “Hint Hint” ;) Really, that is a neat graphic.
Janice
says:I love the graphic! It is really helpful to have all the rules together in one place.
The “end in o” words are the ones that tend to trip me up. I was taught the other spelling rules as a child, but I don’t think anyone ever explained the “o” rule to me as clearly as you stated it. This will really help my children. Thanks!
Pauline LeBouef
says:I love the ice cream scoop! My daughter loves all about spelling!
Shamaey "May"
says:Hi!
I work in Italy “the birth place of ice-cream” as a private English teacher. Some of my kiddos have been working on spelling. This ice-cream chart is well done and super clear! Thanks,
May
Sarah M
says:This is a great visual for me and my kids! This tends to be a tricky rule for all ages. Thank you for putting them on pinterest too so I can reference them easily.
Amanda Hopkins
says:This still tricks me every now and than. I am going to have to bookmark this for helping me to remember!
Marilyn Fuqua
says:I especially like the Ice cream cone for plurals. My only comment is when adding ES you didn’t include -TCH and -Z. Don’t know if that was an oversight or on purpose. Also in words ending in O, my understanding is that musical words ending in o use s whereas most other words ending in O use ES so it doesn’t create a closed syllable.
I like that you included irregular plurals and ones ending in f and fe. Susan Barton doesn’t deal with these.
I am a certified Barton tutor (and love it) and your program is very similar, which I like. I may try to incorporate your ice cream cone into my teaching when we deal with plurals. Can I get a copy of the visual? or does it come with one of the levels?
Because the Barton System is written for those with Dyslexia it is ordered in a more appropriate order for their learning. I like that you have put this together in an order which normal learning takes place. My daughter currently is using your program and likes it.
A job well done…thank you for all your hard work.
Merry
says:Hi Marilyn,
Hm, I’m not sure how tch and z missed getting on there! But we do find it easier, especially for young students to go by sound than to memorize all of the letter combination, so the principle is still the same. If they hear “iz” when they add the plural (if it adds a syllable), use ES.
For words ending in O, we actually have a few tips in the series about how to decide whether to use just S or ES (and a “Make it Plural” booklet to work on just this concept). In addition to musical terms, we also note that Spanish words ending in O form the plural by adding S–broncos, armadillos, etc…
Unfortunately there are others that can still use just S–memos, autos…and even a few that are commonly spelled either way, such as volcanoes/volcanos!
We don’t have a PDF of the posters available, but do hope to make that available at some point.
AAR and AAS have helped a lot of students with dyslexia (the author’s son was diagnosed with severe dyslexia): http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/about, so you will see similarities with other Orton-Gillingham-based programs.
So exciting that you are able to help students struggling with dyslexia!
Merry at AALP
says:By the way, posters are available here:
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Renee
says:This is a great tip. Thank you!
Jessica
says:Was wondering why g says the hard sound in the word girl,and not the soft sound like in giraffe since its followed by an i? Is,this,a rule breaker?
Merry
says:Hi Jessica,
Great question! About 90% of the time, G will say /j/ before an E, I, or Y. However, there are some common exceptions like “get” and “girl.”
Myra
says:Great visual for all those rules! I like the reminder about respecting the child’s funnel too.
Brooks
says:Good to have all the rules in one place. Thanks!
Michaela Cooper
says:Fantastic to have all the rules in one spot to consult!
Shauna hall
says:love it!!
Desiree
says:I love these graphics. Do you offer these in a (small) poster form that we can purchase? I’d love to have these up somewhere when we are reviewing etc., and I think the colors really make it nice for the kids.
Merry
says:Hi Desiree,
We don’t have posters of these unfortunately. We’ve had a number of requests for a printable version, so we’ll be looking at what we might be able to do in the next few months. I’ll email if we come up with something. Thanks for your interest!
Merry at AALP
says:We do now!
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Marie Prins
says:Love the graphics! I will post them around my room so all my students can keep the rules in mind. Thanks!
Becky
says:It looks much easier (and tasty) to have the rules organized this way!
Michelle
says:What a wonderful ice cream cone visual for plurals!
Jennifer Mathesz
says:Great Tips Thanks!
Rebecca Meservy
says:What a great clear visual to remind us of the rules!
Heather
says:Can you make this into a pdf so that we can print it?
Merry
says:Hi Heather,
We don’t have posters of these unfortunately. We’ve had a number of requests for a printable version, so we’ll be looking at what we might be able to do in the next few months. I’ll email if we come up with something. Thanks for your interest!
Merry at AALP
says:We have PDF posters now:
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
S Suzuki
says:I absolutely LOVE this program! My 10th grader is really learning to spell finally after trying about every other program available. He self-corrects as he writes, which means that he has internalized what he is supposed to be learning. Two more levels to go,but we started with level 1 last year just to make sure there were no gaps. All his little brothers and sisters will learn by this program (even ones who don’t struggle) because it is so logical and thorough! Thanks for such a wonderful product! (I love the All About Reading too! )
Stefanie
says:Ice cream makes everything better. Even spelling rules.
Merry
says:LOL, yes!
Heidi
says:This is a great guide! I wish I could have had this as a kid. :)
Molly Ross
says:These ice cream scoop rules really help break it down! Thank you!
Cassandra
says:Wow! What an awesome idea! I can’t wait to try this with my child :)
Leah Williams
says:What a cute idea! It would be great to put on a wall or in a notebook for reference.
Ayesha
says:I love the presentation of the Y rule and so did the kids
Kristen
says:I need this poster!! It helps me to see the rules in a visual way so I can then teach them. I am a natural speller so teaching spelling is quite difficult for me. This program is vital for my middle son!
Esther
says:Will these work as a poster? I have a vision for a “classroom wall” so my kids can look at things over and over and get them in their heads.
Merry
says:Hi Esther,
We don’t have posters of these unfortunately. We’ve had a number of requests for a printable version, so we’ll be looking at what we might be able to do in the next few months. I’ll email if we come up with something. Thanks for your interest!
Merry at AALP
says:Hi Kirstin and Esther,
Check out the posters here:
http://info.allaboutlearningpress.com/spelling-rules-posters
Carrie
says:Thank you for these rules. My daughter really enjoys the program and is learning so much?
Grace Horst
says:Love, love, LOVE learning these rules right along with my children!
Lisa
says:Great tool!
Lori
says:Love this graphic and the funnel analogy. Great things to think about.
Laura B
says:I like the idea of my child’s mind as a funnel. It is important to offer information and experiences without overwhelming a child. I have just started AAR so I haven’t addressed spelling yet. I remember being confused as a student by some of the inconsistent rules I learned. I think I had memorized words before hearing the rules which sometimes made me doubt myself. Hopefully it will seem much clearer to me now.
Natalie
says:The ice cream scoops helped ME! I always wondered about plurals of words ending in “o”! Now I know!
Cassy Brackett
says:This looks like a great curriculum! How creative!