Morphology — Adding -ing and -ed
Sort words by whether they need -ing or -ed.
Drop here
Drop here
0/12 sorted
How to run it
Point at the helping verb. Is, are and am signal -ing, and their absence signals the past — a student who learns to look there will sort correctly without thinking about the ending at all. Once sorting is reliable, give a bare verb and a time word and ask for the sentence, which is production rather than recognition. Eight minutes covers the twelve.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintStress the part of the sentence that changes, or point to the word ending.Log as cued
- Sentence starterSay the first half of the sentence and let the student finish it.Log as cued
- ModelSay the correct form in the whole sentence; the student repeats it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a sentence starter every time, and do fewer cards.
Ask for a new sentence of the student's own with the same form, with no card to lean on.
Matching IEP goal
Given sentence cards, Student will produce the target grammatical form in sentences in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve sentences sorted by which ending they use: She is jumping, They are playing, The dog is barking, Mom is cooking, The baby is crying and They are running take -ing; He walked home, We painted the fence, I cleaned my room, She washed the dishes, He wanted a snack and We watched a movie take -ed. The helping verb is the real clue, which is what makes this a syntax task as much as a morphology one.
What to listen for
Listen for the -ed pronunciations. Walked ends in a /t/ sound, cleaned in a /d/, and wanted adds a whole syllable — three different endings from one spelling, and students who have been taught -ed as one thing find this confusing rather than obvious. Watch for the helping verb being omitted in speech, which is a separate and common pattern.
Carrying it home
Narrating what is happening and what happened gives both forms constantly. I'm cooking, then I cooked dinner — the pair heard together is what makes the contrast audible.
What's in this activity
- -ing
- -ed
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- First through third, as early morphology and verb tense work.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve sentences play with no account.
- Why does -ed sound different in different words?
- The ending assimilates to the sound before it — washed ends in a /t/ sound, cleaned in a /d/, wanted adds a syllable. One spelling, three pronunciations, and saying so directly clears up a lot of confusion.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.