Reading/Language Arts
Grade 2
Regular and Irregular Plurals
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Dear Parent or Guardian:
Your child is currently learning to identify plural nouns and use
them correctly. Here is your chance to help your child practice
this important skill.
In this PAL Packet you will find a short activity for you and your
child to do. Please do the activity and The Back Page this evening.
Then sign your name on The Back Page and have your child return it
tomorrow.
Remember, parents are a child’s first teacher. Thank you for your
time and energy in making learning fun and exciting for your child.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Your child’s teacher
Grade 2 – Regular and Irregular Plurals
© 2004 Evans Newton Incorporated
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Last printed 9/2/04
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PLURAL NOUNS
Parent Pointer —
When you are writing about two or more persons, places, or things, you
need to know how to make these words plural. Plural nouns are made by
adding -s or -es to the end of the word. But there are also other rules
you need to follow (see the Making Plural Nouns reference sheet). It is
not as easy as just adding -s and -es all the time. Sometimes you need
to change a letter in the noun when making it plural. Knowing these
rules will make your child a better writer and speller, since all the rules
for making plural nouns deal with spelling.
Reading in the Home, on the Go, and for the Fun of It —
DIRECTIONS: Read the Making Plural Nouns reference sheet to your
parent or guardian. Discuss the rules to make sure you both
understand them. Come up with other examples of plural nouns for
each rule. Share them with your parent or guardian. Then read the
words in the Word Bank on the Using Plural Nouns page. Write ten
sentences using these words. Make sure each sentence follows the
rule listed. For the last two sentences, you can choose any of the
rules. Make sure you write the number of the rule on the blank line.
Share your sentences with your parent or guardian so they can be
checked.
Talk about It —
After you have finished the activity, turn to The Back Page to show
what you know.
Now go have some fun with the activity! (
Grade 2 – Regular and Irregular Plurals
© 2004 Evans Newton Incorporated
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Last printed 9/2/04
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Making Plural Nouns
Rule 1 – Most plural nouns are made by adding -s to the end
of the noun.
It took fifteen boards to make the floor of the tree house.
All the bridges were painted red, white, and blue.
Rule 2 – Plurals are made with nouns ending in sh, ch, s, or x
by adding -es to the end of the noun.
The genie gave Aladdin three wishes.
We all brought sack lunches on the field trip.
Carla’s mom bought her more dresses for school.
The Coopers packed all the boxes for their big move.
Rule 3 – Plurals are made in two ways with words ending in y.
When there’s a consonant before the y, change it to an i and
add -es. When there’s a vowel before the y, just add -s.
Our class got to see some bunnies at the petting zoo.
The monkeys were my favorite animals at the zoo.
Rule 4 – Plurals are made in two ways with words ending in f
or fe. Add -s if the ending f is still heard in the plural form
of the word. If the ending f has the v sound, then change
the f to a v and add -es.
The crooks robbed three safes in the neighborhood.
There were many cows and calves at the Millers’ farm.
Grade 2 – Regular and Irregular Plurals
© 2004 Evans Newton Incorporated
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Last printed 9/2/04
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Using Plural Nouns
Word Bank
bicycle
branch
bush
chimney
dish
Rule 1
fairy
fix
fly
fox
glass
key
leaf
library
mountain
wife
ranch
sky
story
telephone
wolf
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Rule 2
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Rule 3
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Rule 4
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Grade 2 – Regular and Irregular Plurals
© 2004 Evans Newton Incorporated
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Using Plural Nouns
(continued)
Rule 1
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Rule 2
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Rule 3
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Rule 4
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Rule
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Rule
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Grade 2 – Regular and Irregular Plurals
© 2004 Evans Newton Incorporated
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The Back Page
Talk about It
Parent —
Ask your child the following questions:
9What is the rule for words ending in sh, ch, s, or x?
9What is the rule for words ending in y?
9What is the rule for words ending in f or fe?
Student —
Answer the above questions in complete sentences on the
reverse side of this page.
OR
Do the following activity on the reverse side of this page:
9Make a list of singular nouns with their plurals. Use
the rules on the Making Plural Nouns reference sheet
to make your list.
__________________________ __________________________
Student’s Name
Parent or Guardian’s Signature
Grade 2 – Regular and Irregular Plurals
© 2004 Evans Newton Incorporated
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Last printed 9/2/04