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PSPKK123 January 31, 2019  •  24 Comments

Floss rule activity

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Teach your spellers about the FLOSS rule with this free game!

Have you heard of the FLOSS rule? It’s one that we often teach beginning spellers.

The floss rule says that we double the final consonant when three conditions are met:

  • The word is one syllable.
  • The word has a short vowel.
  • The word ends in f, l, s, or z.

It’s called the FLOSS rule because most words that follow this pattern end in f, l, or s.

Examples of words that follow the FLOSS rule:

  • gruff
  • sniff
  • fluff
  • cuff
  • hill
  • doll
  • grill
  • pill
  • bell
  • shell
  • well
  • drill
  • grass
  • toss
  • glass
  • cross
  • chess
  • press
  • dress
  • fuzz
  • fizz
  • frizz

There are also a few words that should follow the FLOSS rule, but don’t:

  • bus
  • egg
  • add
  • gas

I used this game with my mid-year first grader.

As it turned out, he could spell most of the words in the game without needing to consult the FLOSS rule.

But it was still good thing for him to carefully analyze each word. Let me show you what I mean.

To play, we took turns moving around the board using a die.

When he landed on a picture, he said its name. Then he pulled out his recording sheet.

For each word, he asked himself three questions:

Is it one syllable?

Does it have a short vowel?

Does it end with the f, l, s, or z sound?

If he had three yes’s, the word followed the FLOSS rule and needed a double consonant at the end. If not, it needed only a single consonant.

There are two tricky words built into the game, and they are marked with a star. Bus and egg do not follow the FLOSS rule. If they did, BUS would be spelled buss, and EGG would be spelled eg.

When I landed on bus, this is what I recorded on my answer sheet.

So what do you think? Could this game help your spellers become confident with the FLOSS rule?

Teaching tips

  • Teach the FLOSS rule to the whole class in one or more focused lessons before introducing the game.
  • Practice using the recording sheet as a class before expecting students to use it on their own during the game. It takes a little practice to get the hang of it.

Get your free Floss Rule Spelling Game!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

OUR VERY FAVORITE PRINTABLE SPELLING GAMES

$20.00

If you’re looking for printable games that you can use with any word list, we highly recommend this collection from This Reading Mama. Many of the games are editable! Purchase below using my affiliate link.

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Free Spelling Games

Get this fun variety of sample spelling games from the membership site! The download includes resources for spelling CVCE words, long vowel teams, and multi-syllable words.

Filed Under: Spelling Tagged With: first grade, second grade

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Reader Interactions

24 Comments

  1. MARY RYAN

    February 3, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    Thank you for the great freebie! I teach English language learners, and they would definitely benefit from learning this rule and practicing with your fun and engaging materials. I love all your materials!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 7, 2019 at 11:46 am

      You’re welcome, Mary!

      Reply to this comment
  2. Rachel Margaillan

    February 3, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    great game ! Thank you . I’m french and I teach my kids english and I love your fun and very clear material .

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 7, 2019 at 11:46 am

      You’re very welcome, Rachel!

      Reply to this comment
  3. Angela Black

    February 3, 2019 at 5:16 pm

    I printed your Go Fish game for learning Bossy R words.
    Can you forward the directions for the game!
    All of your work has helped me working as a tutor.
    Thank you
    AngelaB

    Reply to this comment
    • Kate Dowling

      February 11, 2019 at 6:47 pm

      Hi Angela!

      This is Kate, Anna’s assistant. Here is the link to that post, which includes the directions: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/r-controlled-vowels-go-fish/

      Enjoy the game!

      Reply to this comment
  4. Karen W.

    February 3, 2019 at 6:04 pm

    This is a great resource for practicing the floss rule. Just a couple clarifications. I think the floss rule is called floss because it just refers to words that end in f, l, s, or z. Bus does not follow the rule because it used to be called an omnibus. Gas does not because it used to be gasoline. There are a few exceptions (like yes), but generally if a word has only one vowel and ends in f,l, s, or z, the last letter will be doubled.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 10, 2019 at 3:03 pm

      Thanks for that clarification, Karen!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Susan

    February 4, 2019 at 7:43 am

    You read my mind!!! It’s exactly what I need right now and honestly, I love to use use your materials over most other things on the internet and Teachers Pay Teachers.
    Thanks so much!
    Susan

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 10, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      You’re very welcome, Susan!

      Reply to this comment
  6. AVALON E HOSPEDALES -JULIEN

    February 5, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    Thank you for this freebie!
    I will most definitely make use of it in my classroom. I just love all your resources!

    Avalon

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 10, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      You’re welcome, Avalon!

      Reply to this comment
  7. Michelle Toth

    February 13, 2019 at 8:28 am

    Actually, I think the FLS words do NOT need to be doubled. All the words you listed (drill, sniff, etc) already have the last letter doubled. I think the rule is, double letters other than words ending in FLS. For example sit, sitting, bed, bedding, hem. hemming.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 13, 2019 at 12:17 pm

      We’re talking about something different. You’re talking about adding ends to words, whereas I’m talking about spelling single-syllable words.

      Reply to this comment
  8. Sharon Scurr

    March 14, 2019 at 6:29 pm

    Thanks for explaining the the rule and the game this will be great fro my son:)

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      March 17, 2019 at 7:09 am

      You’re very welcome, Sharon!

      Reply to this comment
  9. Nana Khadijah

    March 18, 2019 at 11:05 am

    Hy everyone. Thanks alot to d freebies. At least now, my phonics class will be more lively and interesting I know with your help. Thanks once again

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      March 18, 2019 at 6:35 pm

      You’re welcome! I hope this will help you.

      Reply to this comment
  10. erin wicklund

    April 9, 2019 at 6:40 pm

    What a fun way to review “bonus letters” as they are called in our phonics program.
    I can’t wait to play this game with my first and second graders.
    I also enjoy many other games you have created! Thank you so much!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      April 23, 2019 at 10:21 am

      I’m so glad you can use this game, Erin! 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  11. Cassidy

    February 4, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    Out of curiosity, why are egg and add rule breakers? The rule states “ends with f, l, s, or z sounds”. I appreciate all of your hard work and generosity! Thank you!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 6, 2020 at 4:33 pm

      Because the final consonant is doubled after a short vowel even though they do not end with f, l, s, or z. 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  12. Ilene Fields

    March 29, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    During this coronavirus, I am tutoring my granddaughter remotely. The Floss Rule Game is just what we needed! Thank you!

    Reply to this comment
  13. Karsha Black

    July 16, 2020 at 2:04 pm

    Thank you so much for this free resource. My students will love it.

    Reply to this comment

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