This week in spelling and word work, first graders will be learning about suffix ed.  Tying in with our study of verbs, we will be discussing how when something happened in the past, you usually add ed to the end of the word.  We learn that when you add suffix ed, it can be pronounced in different ways, as /d/, /t/, and /id/.  Students will discover that when the root word ends t or d, adding suffix ed will also add another syllable to the word.  For example, the root word melt is one syllable and ends in t.  To make it past tense, add suffix ed, and it becomes a two syllable word, melted.