Floss Rule Part 2 AKA Campus Confess Spelling Rule with Free Anchor Chart
Floss Rule Defined Part 1
Have you heard of the Floss Rule? It’s a simple and handy spelling rule for your students to remember when spelling one-syllable words with a short vowel. Just double the letters f, l, and s at the end of the word. Easy peasy!
Ask 3 questions:
Is my word a 1 syllable word?
Does my word have a single short vowel?
Does the word end in the sounds f, l, s, or z?
If so then we will usually double those final letters.
Examples of floss rule words include gloss, stiff, gill, and buzz.
I cover this rule in another blog post article I wrote. You may want to check out that article to get some great FLOSS wordlists and other activities that will help develop beginning and struggling readers and spellers.
As students become older and vocabulary becomes more complex kids need other tools to write multisyllabic words with the final /s/ sound.
Floss Rule Part 2 AKA Campus Confess Rule
When we have a word with 2 syllables we need to listen for the accented syllable. The accented syllable in a multi syllabic word is said a little louder and a little longer. So, in the word “confess” the accent is found on the second syllable so we double the <s> but in the word “campus” the accent is on the first syllable so we don’t double the letter <s>.
Words with an accent on the first syllable
Use this list of words for practice: cactus, canvas, iris, tennis, fungus, campus trellis, census, octopus, virus, and abacus.
Words with an accent on the second syllable
across, recess, discuss, distress, excess, princess, compass, emboss, trespass, progress, and regress,
Other spellings for /s/ sound at the end of words
<ce> is often found after a long vowel
deface, efface, menace, palace, solace, brace, furnace, grimace, outface, outpace, preface, replace, retrace, surface, terrace, advice, device, entice, malice, notice, novice, office.
<nce> is often found after a short vowel and may also have a <nse>
dance, since, hence, lance, mince, wince, chance, trance, whence, absence, advance, balance, cadence, enhance, essence, finance, flounce, romance, science, silence.
dense, rinse, sense, tense, cleanse, defense, expanse, expense, immense, incense, intense, license, offense, condense, dispense, nonsense, pretense
<se> is often found after a vowel team
goose, loose, moose, noose, choose, caboose, unloose, douse, house, louse, mouse, blouse, grouse, spouse, geese, cheese, ease, cease, lease, tease, crease, grease, please, unease, appease, decease, disease, release, decrease, increase, displease.
When spelling with the /s/ sound at the end of a word. These spelling generalizations will help your students. The other type of practice that will help students with spelling is for students to have lots of opportunities to orthographically map words. That is why my spelling games and activities will give students help to practice these concepts in a fun and helpful way.
I love helping children practice these concepts using games and decodable stories. I created an anchor chart about the Floss Rule for a quick reference. You can download it for free and print it out to use in your classroom.
The Campus Confess rule will help your students remember how to spell multisyllabic words with the /s/ sound at the end. The rule is a simple one but it can help your students have success when learning spelling in the classroom. And, by downloading my free anchor chart will help remind them of this rule as they are practicing their spelling skills.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the Floss Rule and the Campus Confess Rule. I hope that you will use this information to help your students become successful spellers. Good luck!
FAQ:
Q. What is the FLOSS Rule?
A. Ask 3 questions:
Is my word a 1 syllable word?
Does my word have a single short vowel?
Does the word end in the sounds f, l, s, or z?
If so then we will usually double those final letters.
Q. What is the Campus Confess Rule or Floss Rule Part 2?
. The Campus Confess Rule Or Floss Rule Part 2 is a rule when we 2 syllable words ending in the /s/ sound. We listen for the accented syllable, if the accent is on the second syllable then we double the <s>. If it’s on the first syllable then we don’t double the letter <s>. For example, in the word “confess” the accent is found on the second syllable so we double the <s> but in the word “campus” the accent is on the first syllable so we don’t double the letter <s>.
Download your free Anchor Chart Below
