Sun + Flower = Sunflower! Compound Words

Student Task

• Hold up two cards, rain and bow, and ask children to put them together. Ask what the new word means.
• Teach the idea with several examples, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
• Children complete activities 3 to 5; answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

• Find your partner: give each child half a compound word; they find the classmate who completes it.
• Compound word math: write cup + cake = ____ on the board and children race to solve it.
• Picture puzzles: draw two pictures (a star and a fish) and children guess the compound word.

Differentiation

Support: use picture cards for both parts of every word. Challenge: find ten compound words in a reading book and write their meanings.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 4 check joining, splitting and using compound words (answer key included). Activity 5 checks working out meaning.

Learning Objectives

• Explain that a compound word is made from two smaller words.
• Join and split common compound words.
• Use the two parts to work out the meaning of a compound word.

Teacher Tips

Ask children to look for two words they already know inside a long word. This makes long words less scary and helps with reading and spelling.

What's Included

• 6-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
• Key vocabulary list (4 words with meanings and examples)
• Student worksheet (5 activities)
• Editable Word version of the worksheet
• Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

Additional Files

• Editable Worksheet (Word) (DOCX)
• Answer Key (PDF) (PDF)

Teacher Reviews