Word groups for spelling

Learning spelling word lists can be tedious and time consuming for your child. How can you make it more fun? Are certain lists easier to learn than others? Keep reading to see what you can do to help your child learn their spellings with ease.

Some spelling lists are subject-related, containing words that children are likely to come across in their studies. Others are lists of high frequency words, such as the dolch word list or lists of words commonly used by children in their writing. While it is undoubtably important that your child is able to spell these words correctly, some children may find them difficult to learn, since there is no common spelling pattern linking the words. One solution is to play spelling games with your child to help them learn the words on these types of spelling word lists.

Alternatively, a spelling word list which groups words into common patterns can often be easier to learn. Words can be grouped in a number of different ways, for example they may follow common patterns of:

• vowel sound (eg ‘ou’ sound such about, found, brown, flower)
• consonant sound (eg ‘gh’ words such as laugh, rough, enough)
• word family (eg ‘ight’ words such as bright, light, fight)
• suffix (eg ‘-ful’ such as hopeful, thankful, stressful)
• prefix (eg ‘ad-‘ such as addict, adhesive, adjourn)
• spelling rule (eg «When a word ends with a short vowel followed by a consonant, double the last consonant before adding ‘ed'» such as dropped, shopped, admitted)

Other groupings are also possible such as homophones, contraction words or compound words. Try these spelling lists which combine many of the above groupings and organise them by year group.

I am a fan of the Word Study approach, which encourages children to study groups of words which share similar spelling patterns. Your child becomes a ‘word detective’ as they try to make sense of word patterns and subsequently build up their word knowledge.

Spelling word lists which are grouped by vowel sound or consonant sound particularly lend themselves to the Word Study approach. Also, since my son often makes errors in the spelling of vowel sounds in particular, I decided to create a series of spelling word lists grouped by vowel sound.

Below I explain how I created these spelling word lists and how they can be used to play a fun game.

Creating the Spelling Word Lists by Vowel Sound

The first step was to choose a list of words. I used this spelling vocabulary list on the Reading Rockets website which contains 850 common words that account for 80 percent of the words children use in their writing. The list is grouped by grade level so I mainly used the words from Grades 1 to 3 (ages 6 to 9). We have, in fact, already used this word list before in the Spelling Words Booklet which my son uses while he is writing to check word spellings.

Having chosen the spelling words to practice, I grouped all these words by vowel sound, and then created sub-groups of the different spelling variations associated with each sound. For example, I first identified all the words in the spelling list with the /ai/ sound. Then I grouped these words according to the four basic spelling variations of the /ai/ sound: ‘ai’ as in nail and rain; ‘a’ as in table and paper; ‘a-e’ as in cake and made; and ‘ay’ as is play and stay. Three words were on the list with different spelling variations for the /ai/ sound: great, eight and they. These three I grouped together in an ‘oddball’ category. After the /ai/ sound, I moved on to other sounds such as /ee/ , /igh/ , /oa/ , /u/ etc.

An excellent summary of the phonic sounds with their different spelling alternatives can be found in The Alphabetic Code Chart from Phonics International. I used this chart to guide me in creating the sound-focused spelling word lists. You can read more about phonic sounds here.

Spelling Word Lists by Vowel Sound

Below you can find the spelling word lists which I created by vowel sound. These are based on an English accent and so there may be differences with other regional accents.

I did not include words with the short vowel sounds /a/ as in ‘flag’ or /i/ as in ‘bring’ because there are not many commonly used spelling variations for these vowel sounds and so they are easy words to spell.

I also left out some of the longer multi-syllable words with two or more vowel sounds, such as ‘something’, ‘never’ or ‘behind’, where it might be confusing which vowel sound we were using.

Finally, if I couldn’t find enough words for a particular category in the list of 850 common words, I added others not included on the list, drawing on these resources for spelling word lists.

1. /ai/ as in rain. Spelling variations a, a-e, ai, ay.
   Overview /ai/
   Word Cards /ai/
2. /ee/ as in been. Spelling variations e, ea, ee.
   Overview /ee/
   Word Cards /ee/
3. /igh/ as in fight. Spelling variations i, i-e, igh, y.
   Overview /igh/
   Word Cards /igh/
4. /oa/ as in boat. Spelling variations o, o-e, oa, ow.
   Overview /oa/
   Word Cards /oa/
5. /u/ as in jump. Spelling variations o, u.
   Overview /u/
   Word Cards /u/
6. /o/ as in from. Spelling variations o, a.
   Overview /o/
   Word Cards /o/
7. /e/ as in send. Spelling variations a, ai, e, ea.
   Overview /e/
   Word Cards /e/
8. /or/ as in short. Spelling variations a, or, al, aw, oor, ore, our.
   Overview /or/
   Word Cards /or/
9. /ar/ as in start. Spelling variations a, ar.
   Overview /ar/
   Word Cards /ar/
10. /oo/ as in good. Spelling variations oo, oul, u.
    Overview /oo/
    Word Cards /oo/
11. /oo/ as in moon. Spelling variations oo, o, ou, ew, ue, u-e.
    Overview /oo/
    Word Cards /oo/
12. /ou/ as in found. Spelling variations ou, ow.
    Overview /ou/
    Word Cards /ou/
13. /er/ as in were. Spelling variations er, ir, ur, ear, or.
    Overview /er/
    Word Cards /er/
14. /oi/ as in point. Spelling variations oi, oy.
    Overview /oi/
    Word Cards /oi/
15. /air/ as in hair. Spelling variations air, are, ear, ere.
    Overview /air/
    Word Cards /air/
16. /eer/ as in deer. Spelling variations ear, ere, eer, ier.
    Overview /eer/
    Word Cards /eer/
17. /yoo/ as in few. Spelling variations u-e, ew, u, -ue.
    Overview /yoo/
    Word Cards /yoo/

Playing With The Spelling Word Lists

First choose which vowel sound you want to practice and print off the relevant Word Cards using the links above. Cut out the Word Cards and then ask your child to sort them under the appropriate header (printed in red). Those which don’t fit under a specific column should be placed under the ‘oddball’ category.

In this way your child familiarises themselves with the different spelling variations for this vowel sound, and which words are spelt with which variation. You can check they have sorted the cards correctly by referring to the relevant Overview file, found by clicking on the links above.

Now your child is ready to play!

Try this Spelling Word Board Game which you can play with a regular Snakes and Ladders game board or print out a specially prepared board. Before each move, read out a Word Card to your child. If they identify the correct spelling for the vowel sound in the word by waving the correct mini-banner, they move forward the number of places shown on the dice. If they are wrong, they move back the number of places shown on the dice.

Your child will also have fun playing this Spelling Word Bingo Game. Choose a Word Card from the box and read it out. Ask your child to find a square on the bingo board which contains the correct spelling variation for that word. If they are correct, they write the word in the square. If they are wrong, the Word Card goes back in the box.

Other Spelling Lists by Vowel and Consonant Sound

Here are two other great resources for practicing spelling by vowel or consonant sound. You can also use these to find other words to add to the spelling lists above:

• Mr Thorne’s Spellbook iphone and ipad app. Contains 101 spelling tests based on vowel and consonant sounds. Score 10 out of 10 to unlock the safe and obtain the treasure.
• Word Sorts for within Word Pattern Spellers provides fifty word sorts to practice vowel and consonant sounds.

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Though
structurally and semantically many English compounds look like word
groups, compounds
are more ‘word-like’ than free syntactic phrases.

Compounds,
unlike free syntactic phrases, are inseparable
vocabulary units that
should be specially
learned and presented in a dictionary as a special entry or
sub-entry. This inseparability
is usually established by graphical, morphological, phonetic, or
semantic criteria.

Graphically
a
compound is usually one orthographic word and may be spelled with a
hyphen
between its parts (grass-green,
dog-biscuit, dog-collar) or
solidly (Sunday,
handbook,penman,
schoolmaster).

But
spelling does not provide an accurate guide to differentiation
between compounds and word
groups because many compounds are written like word combinations with
a space: bus
stop, post office, jugular vein, jam session, freezing point, plate
glass. There
are few hardfast rules concerning spelling compound words in English.
Compound words similar in
meaning may be spelled differently in the same dictionary, as in
tooth-paste
but
tooth
powder,
baby carriage but
baby-sitter
[LDCE],
penknife
but
pen-pocket
[NND].
Futhermore,
different authors may use different spellings of the same words (for
example, word-formation
and
word
formation). Even
in different dictionaries one and the same word
may be presented in a different way: grapefruit
[LLCE]
— grape-fruit
[OALDCE]
[WNCD]
—grape-fruit,
grapefruit [LDCE];
skateboard
[LLCE]
— skate-board
[LDCE]
[WNCD][OALDCE]; grass
roots [WNCD]
[LDCE] — grass-roots
[OALDCE];
see also war-path
and
warpath,
dog-house and
doghouse,
snow-man and
snowman,
snow-flake and
snow/lake.
Solid
orthography of compounds is especially characteristic of American
English.
So, graphic criterion is not always helpful in determining a compound
word.

Many
scholars suggest that a
particular stress pattern should
be taken into consideration as
a criterion for compounds. Phonetically
compounds
acquire a new stress pattern that is different
from the stress in motivating words. Their first component may have a
high stress
(a ‘hot-house,
a ‘key-hole, a ‘doorway, ‘ice-cream, ‘common-wealth, ‘common­place,
a ‘common-room), or
a double stress with a primary stress on the first syllable (a
‘washing-
machine; a ‘ dancing-_tgirl).

This
criterion is not universal either because it is important only for
pronunciation of forms
in isolation. In a text there is a lot of variation in forms’
pronunciation. Even when

84

pronounced
in isolation some compounds may have two level stresses (‘icy-‘cold;
‘grass-‘green,
in ‘apple- pie ‘order) which
may be observed in word combinations (cf.: ‘common
‘knowledge, ‘common ‘sense)
or
they may have a high stress on the last component
( grass-‘roots,
grass-‘widow, apple-‘sauce (US=‘apple-sauce})
which
is more
characteristic of free word groups. So, though there is a certain
consistency in a speech
community in stressing compounds, in some cases the general rules do
not determine
the ‘wordness’ of a form.

Morphologically compounds
make up one inseparable unit with a strict order of components
and a new or single paradigm (cf.: rich
— richer — the richest and
oil-rich
—
more oil-rich, the most oil-rich; a shipwreck — shipwrecks, a
week-end — week­ends).
Elements
within the compound cannot be reordered, for additional items cannot
be inserted
between them.

However,
this criterion is not always reliable, especially in N-N compounds
(paper-basket)
and
similar structures with attributive noun use as in stone
wall. In
both cases the order of components is strict and the first noun
component in the singular form does not display
its usual paradigmatic forms (for e.g. in this construction it may
not be used in plural).

Semantic
criterion seems
to be more valuable and has wider applicability. Semantically
compounds
differ from nominal phrases like peace
years or
stone
wall because
they usually
carry additional idiomatic semantic component (a
player
piano ‘a
piano that is played
by machinery, the music being controlled by a piece of paper’,
laughing-gas
‘gas
which
may cause laughter when breathed in, used for producing
unconsciousness, esp. during short operations for removing teeth‘,
fiddle-sticks inter/
‘Nonsense!
How silly!’). Such
components are usually not found in free phrases.

When
the additional idiomatic component is very important or prevails in
the lexical meaning
of a compound, the latter may be considered to be partially
motivated as
in handcuffs,
a flower-bed, laughing-gas, grass-roots or
completely
demotivated as
in grass-widow,
wet-blanket, fiddle-sticks. These
compounds are very close to idioms, can hardly be differentiated from
them, and often are presented in dictionaries of idioms with such
word groups as red
tape or
small
hours (see
Chapter 6).

When
this additional idiomatic component is minimal as in girl-friend
or
icy-cold,
the
compound may be regarded as fully
motivated. The
meaning of the whole unit may be deduced
from the meaning of its constituent parts and their arrangement. Such
compounds are most closely related to free word combinations.

So,
there is not a single criterion that will distinguish compounds and
word groups in English.
This is especially the case with regards to fully motivated nominal
compounds like girl-friend,
dish cloth and
nominal phrases corresponding to an o/-phrase that have developed
some referential unity, as in stone
wall or
life
story. Yet,
the phonological,

85

syntactic and semantic features of compounds, especially when they
work simultaneously, act like a binding force and make them distinct
from phrases

|3. Classification of compounds]

Classification of compounds may be done according to various
principles.

1. First of all, from
the derivational point of view one
should distinguish between compounds
proper that
are made up of two derivational bases (sauce+pan)
and
derivational,
or pseudo-compounds, that
look like compounds only on the morphological
level because they have more than one root but are derived by
conversion, affixation,
back-formation and other name derivational processes (a break-down,
a pickpocket,
long-legged).

Derivational
compounds are
further subdivided into three groups: derivational compound
nouns, derivational compound adjectives and derivational compound
verbs.

Derivational
compound nouns
are
usually built by conversion
on
the basis of so-called
phrasal
verbs: cast-offs
from
to
cast off, a break-through from
to
break through,

by substantivization
of a
phrase often accompanied by productive suffixation
as in (six
inch-)+-er,
{two
deck-)+-er, or
by prefixation
applied
to a
compound derivational base as
in
ex-+(house+wife).

Many
scholars believe that completely demotivated compounds like
fiddle-sticks, grass-widow,
scape-goat should
also be referred to this group because their meaning is completely
different from the lexical meanings of their constituents. They are
believed to be
the final results of lexical-semantic
derivation.

Derivational
compound adjectives
are
built by suffixation
applied
to a free word group
reduced to a stem: (broad
shoulder-)+-ed, (heart shape-)+-ed or
by adjectivalization
(cleanup
adj
from
clean-up
n
from clean
up v; apple-pie adj
‘of,
relating
to, or characterized by traditionally American values (as honesty or
simplicity)’ (from
the noun apple-pie).

Derivational
compound verbs
are
created by means of conversion
applied
to a compound
derivational base: to
weekend from
a
week-end or
by means of back-derivation
applied
to a compound derivational base where one of the 1C is a
suffixational derivative:
to
babysit from
a
baby-sitter, to dryclean from
dry-cleaning.

2. Classification of
compounds may also be done according
to the part of speech they belong
to.

In modern English word
composition is mainly characteristic of nouns
(sunbeam,
Sunday,
sunshine). The
most common patterns for noun compounds are: n+n—>N
(ice-

86

cream)
and
adj+n—>N
(blackboard,
software). Noun
compounds may also be the result of compounding
adverbial and nominal stems adv+n—>N
as in after-thought,
back-talk. Compound
nouns with a verb as the first or the second component (v+n—>N
as in searchlight,
or
n+v—>N
as in sunshine)
take
place in English, too, though it is not quite clear
whether it is really a verb or a converted noun.

Word composition in modern
English is widespread among adjectives,
too. The
most common type of compound adjectives is the combination of two
derivational bases: nominal and adjectival (n+adj—»Adj):
airtight,
life-long, stone-deaf, foolproof, and
sugarfree.

There
are also many other different patterns according to which compound
adjectives may be
derived: composition of two adjectival bases (adj+adj—>Adj)
as
in deaf-mute,
bitter­sweet,
of
nominal and participial bases (n+Ving/ed—>Adj)
as
in peace-loving,
dog-tired, man-made,
of
adjectival and participial (adj+Ving/ed—>Adj)
as in
hard-working,
double-ended,
or
even adverbial and participial bases (adv+Ving/ed—>Adj)
as
in well-read,
over-qualified. But
verbs do not combine with adjectives in English compounds.

Composition
is not characteristic of modern English pronouns,
though
historical traces of former
word composition processes are still observed there (somebody,
anywhere, nothing,
oneself).

In modern English verb
composition
does not occur nowadays, though it was quite common in the past and
was effected by compounding adverbial and verbal stems: outgrow,
offset, inlay. Verbs
that look like compounds are usually the result of other derivational
processes like conversion
(to
honeymoon, to snowball) and
back-derivation
(to
proofread, to baby-sit, to dry-clean). Some
verbs such as to
apple-polish vi
‘to
attempt to
ingratiate oneself and vt
‘to curry
favour with (as by flattery) are condensed and lexicalized
expressions rather than derived words by composition. As with an
idiom, we need
to recall the verb’s original usage to understand its contemporary
meaning. As it is stated in the dictionary of etymology, the verb
appeared from the traditional practice of school
children bringing a shiny apple as a gift to their teacher. So, in
the case of verbs we usually
deal with pseudo-compounds,
or
derivational
compounds.

3.
Semantically,
compounds
are divided into:

—endocentric, or
subordinative,
where the
second element is the head and hyperonym
for the compound: sunshine,
airtight, blackboard (they
make up the bulk of modern
English compounds);

—
exocentric (or bahuvrihi) where
neither the first nor the second element is the head
or a hyperonym of a compound. This includes denvated compound nouns
fiddle­sticks,
grass-widow, scape-goat with
the least degree of semantic motivation;

—
coordinative, or copulative, (or dvandva),
where
both the derivational bases are
equally important. They are subdivided into: reduplicative:
fifty-fifty,
hush-hush;
phonetically
varied
rhythmic
twin
f
o rm s: chit-chat,
zig­zag,
a walkie-talkie; additive:
girl-friend,
sofa-bed, oak-tree, Anglo-American.

87

4.
Compounds may be classified according
to the means of composition into:

1)
those without
linking elements that
are formed by merely placing one base after another; they are
subdivided into:

a) syntactic
compounds that do not violate syntax laws of word combining
in English: house-dog,
day-lime, a red-breast, a baby-sitter, and

b)asyntactic
compounds
in which the order of constituents violates syntax
laws in English: oil-rich,
power-driven, early-riser;

2)
those with
a linking element o
(most
characteristic of scientific terms), i, or s
(not
productive in modern English): Anglo-Saxon,
sociolinguistics, handicraft, sportsman.

5.
Compounds
may also be classified according
to the part~of-speech meaning of their derivational
bases. There
are:

—
nominal compounds
with n+n
bases:
windmill,

—nominal-verbal
compounds
built according to the patterns n+(v+-er)
bottle-opener,
n+(v+-ing)
police-making,
n+(v+-tion/ment)
though the
second element is seldom
or never used in modern English as a free form, office-management,
n+(v+conversion)
dog-bite;

—
nominal-adjectival with
the pattern n+adj:
snow-white;

—
adjectival-nominal with the pattern adj+n:
blackboard;

—
adverbial-verbal
bases: outgrow,
offset, inlay

—
verbal-adverbial
(v + adv) + conversion: a
break-down; and
some others.

6. Compounds may also be
classified according
to the structure and semantics of free word
groups with which they correlate. For
example, the structural pattern of a compound noun
n+n
correlates
with various verbal-nominal word groups of the V+N type
(subject+verb,
or verb+object) (to make
image): ‘the
one who makes image’ is an image-maker
or
‘the result or process of making image’ is image-making.

7.
A special type of compounds such as telegram,
telephone, astronaut, aerophones is
called
neoclassical.
In
these compounds different elements from classical languages Latin or
Greek acting as roots and derivational bases combine with each other
forming new words
(see Classification
of morphemes above
in this chapter).

Many new words are created
when elements that started out as segments in blends become combining
forms making the new words look like compounds or at least a suffixal
derivative: rice-a-rony,
sport-a-rama, plant-o-rama, porn-o-topia, work-o-holic. This
is especially common in advertising and commerce.

Compounds
should not be mixed up with word
groups of phraseological character like
mother-in-law,
brother-in-arms, bread-and-butter, milk-and-water, or
longer
combinations
of words in attributive function that
for stylistic purposes may be treated like
unities and thus hyphenated: the-young-must-be-right
attitude, the nothing-huts of his
statements. These
constructions are neither compounds nor phraseological units. They

88

are usually treated as a
result of lexicalization of syntactic structures (see also
‘Compression’
in ‘Minor types of word-formation’).

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The spelling word lists in this section have been divided into 5 levels, 1 is the easiest 5 the hardest. Choose the level that is right for you. These lists are a resource for practising and applying all the ideas and techniques you’ve learnt from this website. If this is your first time using BeatingDyslexia.com have a look at the spelling help section before you start practicing with these words.

Spelling Word Lists Level 1: Very Easy Words
Click here to use the dictionary.

List (a)	List (b)	List (c)
this	aims	their
time	with	there
fact	word	these
kept	such	world
above	many	zoo
age	likely	record
date	main	space
eggs	order	people
more	small	sold
idea	press	large

List (d)	List (e)	List (f)
became	because	become
enter	family	great
burn	first	horse
built	longest	person
along	earl	itself
belongs	early	events
another	could	ever
clock	bring	colour
house	match	speed
little	sheep	farmer

Spelling Word Lists Level 2: Easy Words
Click here to use the dictionary.

List (a)	List (b)	List (c)
accept	central	energy
meaning	school	slang
known	total	widely
upheld	view	until
third	reject	affairs
depth	final	speak
money	occur	lacking
law	range	group
habit	admit	dancing
agree	except	quest

List (d)	List (e)	List (f)
degree	joint	poet
edition	affect	current
borrow	effect	bright
force	apply	special
however	impact	interesting
moment	sign	twice
present	usage	attempt
binder	edited	field
blunt	bound	bring
chicken	focus	general

List (g)	List (h)	List (i)
choose	who	stoop
chose	were	distress
choice	where	fainted
motion	why	remain
respect	which	royal
method	whereas	success
salary	south	style
sister	mount	second
search	strong	stated
chinese	chains	sung

Spelling Word Lists Level 3: Intermediate Words
Click here to use the dictionary.

List (a)	List (b)	List (c)
social	transform	industry
instead	collapsed	account
adventure	married	science
publish	project	endear
gallery	correction	absolute
connect	enough	modern
hence	grammar	grew
consists	advertising	lodge
length	embrace	defeated
dictionary	exotic	manual

List (d)	List (e)	List (f)
original	proofread	obscure
including	marketing	necessary
discovery	despite	country
elements	disgrace	million
gentleman	labour	attesting
continue	annual	governed
fundamental	experience	depend
employs	currency	armour
apparent	probably	series
standard	lifestyle	essential

List (g)	List (h)	List (i)
height	understood	tenant
weight	harvest	isolated
heavy	coverage	century
catholic	classical	complete
casual	dense	limited
trace	sense	contained
conversion	dismissed	position
concept	measure	phrase
models	natural	required
military	exclude	curved

List (j)	List (k)	List (l)
conclusion	developed	infancy
impressive	knowledge	liberty
revised	since	conditions
critical	aunt	decade
embarking	uncle	uniform
victory	cousin	thus
technical	niece	understanding
solve	nephew	structure
source	current	dispute
elephant	cultural	promoted

List (m)	List (n)
policy	objects
relative	separate
wealth	rapidly
whether	deduce
weather	observers
official	references
register	satisfy
produced	widowed
distinct	devoted
denied	describe

Spelling Word Lists Level 4: Challenging Words
Click here to use the dictionary.

List (a)	List (b)	List (c)
complexity	venture	servant
velocity	university	dissatisfied
contradictory	geography	museum
lyrics	machine	megabytes
influence	literature	analytic
comprising	dominated	manufacturing
nuclear	honour	contraction
appropriate	calculation	constitution
minister	language	depot
romance	supplement	sequence

List (d)	List (e)	List (f)
religious	concerning	experimental
alphabetical	combination	elementary
european	mechanics	illustrate
accessible	commander	descended
composition	community	financial
analysis	brought	conjecture
description	execution	perception
resource	portrait	scholar
vacuum	taught	ushering
volume	conversation	applicable

List (g)	List (h)	List (i)
controversial	principle	resembled
varieties	parliament	representative
conversely	identified	stomach
siblings	variant	severe
astronomy	undefined	technique
pioneer	migrated	premier
caught	comprehensive	society
surprising	theory	signature
intensely	candidates	commonplace
interaction	perceived	poverty

List (j)
independent
pregnant
predictions
significant
streamlined
relevant
physics
satisfied
premature
parish

Spelling Word Lists Level 5: Very Challenging Words
Click here to use the dictionary.

List (a)	List (b)	List (c)
aisle	hypothesis	gravitation
isle	astrophysics	campaign
daughter	lieutenant	extraordinary
conceived	soldier	characteristics
sociological	sergeant	substantial
psychology	colonel	incomprehensible
inertia	monastery	foreign
dimension	elucidate	approximately
committee	arithmetic	derivative
fervently	pronounce	republican

List (d)	List (e)	List (f)
ineffectual	philosophy	resurgence
phenomena	simultaneous	temporarily
vocabulary	ploughman	yacht
empirical	deficient	charismatic
alias	borough	circumstance
ethos	inheritance	monarchy
consequence	archives	conquered
obsolete	tolerance	electronically
dialect	neutron	initially
archaic	inspiration	contemporary

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Word lists for Spelling Bee Contest

1

Word	Definition	Example	Part of speech	Origin
Eye	Eye is the organ that gives sight in humans and animals.	His eyes are brown.	noun	Old English
Bee	Bee is an insect.	It’s a bee flying here.	noun	Old English
Like	Enjoy or agree with something.	Sarah doesn’t like John.	verb	Old English
Fire	Flames or something that is burning.	The flat took fire.	noun	Old English
Help	Provide aid or assistance, or to improve a situation.	Help me please! Help	verb	Old English
Red	Red is the color.	She’s wearing red dress.	adjective	Old Norse
Why	Why is defined as for what purpose, cause or reason.	Why did you do that?	adverb	Old Saxon
Bright	Bright is shining and full of light.	The room is very bright.	adjective	Proto-Germanic
Joke	A funny anecdote.	He enjoyed the joke.	adjective	Latin
Alone	Apart from anything or anyone else.	Leave me alone!	adjective	Old English
Tooth	A tooth is the hard, small, white parts with what you eat food.	I broke my tooth yesterday evening.	noun	Old English
Read	Read is to use eyes or fingers to figure out what letters or other symbols mean.	Have you read Alice in Wonderland ?	verb	Old English
Again	Again means something that is repeated.	Write it again.	adverb	Old English
Water	Water is something wet that you drink	Smith is drinking ice-cold water.	noun	Old English
Eight	Eight is a number comes after seven	I would play all the time at the age of 8	noun	Old English
Give	Give is to hand something	We gave him something special.	verb	Old English
Yellow	Yellow is the color between orange and green.	Pass me please the yellow lemon.	adjective	Old English
Hard	Difficult to do.	It’s hard to prepare  for the exam	adjective	Old English
Scare	Scare means to frighten.	Ghost doesn’t scare me at all.	adjective	Old Norse
Player	A person who plays a game.	At each level the Player has only one attempt.	noun	Old English
Think	To have an idea or belief about something.	What do you think of it?	verb	Old English
Street	Street is defined as a road or paved passageway to get from one place to another	Excuse me, how can I get to the Wall Street?	noun	Old English
Cute	It’s something pretty or attractive	How cute is she!	adjective	American English
Close	shut off or make something not be open anymore.	Close the door quickly!	verb	Old French

2

Word	Definition	Example	Part of speech	Origin
guitar	a musical instrument, usually made of wood,	This guitar is costly	noun	French
equal	the same in amount, number, or size	He believes that all children are born with equal intelligence.	adjective	Latin
cheer	to give a loud shout of approval or encouragement	Everyone cheered as the winners received their medals.	verb	Old French
mountain	a raised part of the earth’s surface, much larger than a hill, the top of which might be covered in snow	We’re going to the mountains for our holiday	noun	Old French
alive	living, not dead	Fortunately, she’s alive	adjective	Old English
sharp	having a thin edge	a knife with a sharp edge is there	adjective	Old English
camera	a device for taking photographs	I forgot to take my camera with me	noun	Latin
remind	to make someone think of something they have forgotten or might have forgotten	Could you remind Paul about dinner on Saturday?	verb	Latin
explain	to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it	The teacher explained the rules to the children.	verb	Latin
middle	the central point, position, or part	He was standing in the middle of the road.	noun	Old English
choose	to decide what you want from two or more things	Danny, come here and choose your ice cream.	verb	Old English
neighbor	someone who lives near you	Elie is my next-door neighbor.	noun	West Saxon
continue	o keep happening, existing, or doing something	If she continues drinking like that, I’ll have to carry her home.	verb	Old French
decide	to choose something, especially after thinking carefully about several possibilities	They have to decide by next Friday.	verb	Old French
curly	having curls or a curved shape	He has blond, curly hair.	adjective	American English
probably	used to mean that something is very likely	He probably didn’t even notice.	adverb	Old English
straight	continuing in one direction without bending or curving	Go straight along this road and turn left at the traffic lights.	adverb	Old English
laughter	the act or sound of laughing	Don’t laughter at me!	verb	Old Norse
wheelchair	a chair on wheels that people who are unable to walk use for moving around	He spent the last ten years of his life in a wheelchair	noun	English
discover	to find information, a place, or an object, especially for the first time	Who discovered America?	verb	Latin
stomach	an organ in the body where food is digested	She has a very delicate stomach and doesn’t eat spicy food.	noun	Latin
pause	a short period in which something such as a sound or an activity is stopped before starting again	After a brief pause , it stopped momentarily on another tree.	noun	Old French
scissors	a device used for cutting materials such as paper, cloth, and hair	Do you have any nail scissors?	noun	Old French
successful	achieving the results wanted or hoped for	He is the successful person	noun	English

3

Word	Definition	Example	Part of speech	Origin
Recommend |ˌrekəˈmend|	to advise someone to do something	I can recommend the chicken in mushroom sauce — it’s delicious.	verb	Latin
graceful	characterized by elegance or beauty of form, manner, movement, or speech; elegant	She is a wonderfully graceful dancer.	adjective	Old French
pioneer	a person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area.	She has been a pioneer in the field of eco-tourism.	noun	Old French
Cognitive	relating to or involving the processes of thinking and reasoning	Some of her cognitive functions have been impaired.	adjective	Latin
receive	to get or be given something	Did you receive my letter?	verb	Old North French
government	the group of people who officially control a country	An agency of the federal government.	noun	Old French
various	several and different	We enjoy eating in various types of restaurants.	adjective	Middle French
dialogue	conversation that is written for a book, play, or film	The play contained some very snappy/witty dialogue.	noun	Greek
Schedule амер. |ˈskedʒuːl|  брит.  |ˈʃɛdjuːl|	a series of things to be done or of events to occur at or during a particular time or period	He always has a full schedule.	noun	Latin
language	the system of communication used by a particular community or country.	The book was translated into twenty-five languages	noun	Anglo-French
capricious	likely to change, or reacting to a sudden desire or new idea	We have had very capricious weather lately.	adjective	French
Current амер. |ˈkɜːrənt| брит.  |ˈkʌr(ə)nt|	passing in time; belonging to the time actually passing:	The word is no longer in current use.	adjective	Latin/ Middle English
necessary	needed in order to achieve a particular result:	He lacks the necessary skills for the job.	adjective	Latin
weight	a unit of heaviness or mass	The pound is a common weight in English-speaking countries	noun	Old English
quietly	without making much noise:	She had some music playing quietly in the background.	adverb	Latin
Courage амер.  |ˈkɜːrɪdʒ| брит.  |ˈkʌrɪdʒ|	the ability to control your fear in a dangerous or difficult situation	People should have the courage to stand up for their beliefs.	noun	Old French
Constitution амер.|ˌkɑːnstəˈtuːʃn| брит.  |kɒnstɪˈtjuːʃ(ə)n|	the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed.	That is a fundamental principle of our constitution ..	noun	Anglo-French
business	an occupation, profession, or trade:	Our firm does a lot of business with overseas customers.	noun	Old English
Slippery	If something is slippery, it is wet or smooth so that it slides easily or causes something to slide	The road was wet and slippery	adjective	Latin
Placid амер.  |ˈplæsɪd|   брит.  |ˈplasɪd|	having a calm appearance or characteristics	She was a very placid child who slept all night and hardly ever cried.	adjective	French
Dessert |dɪˈzɜːrt|	sweet food eaten at the end of a meal:	Would you like peaches and cream for dessert?	noun	French
Abandon	to leave a place, thing, or person, usually for ever	We had to abandon the car.	Verb	Germanic
Receipt |rɪˈsiːt|	something such as a piece of paper or message proving that money, goods, or information have been received	Make sure you are given a receipt for everything you buy.	noun	Anglo-French
Preserve |prɪˈzɜːrv|	to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed:	We want to preserve our environment	verb	Latin
conscious	to notice that a particular thing or person exists or is present	My tooth doesn’t exactly hurt, but I’m conscious of it  all the time.	adjective	Latin
outrage	a feeling of anger and shock	Be free from outrage and pain	noun	Old French
scratch	to cut or damage a surface or your skin slightly with	Be careful not to scratch yourself on the roses.	verb	English
island	a piece of land completely surrounded by water:	They live on the large Japanese island of Hokkaido.	noun	Old English
Whistling |ˈwɪsəlɪŋ|	high-pitched sound by forcing breath through a small hole between one’s lips or teeth.	The birds were whistling in the early morning quiet.	noun	Old English

4

Word	Definition	Example	Part of speech	Origin
Mortgage |ˈmɔːrɡɪdʒ|	Money that you borrow to buy a home	This new mortgage doesn’t pay for itself.	Noun	Middle English
Assault  |əˈsɔːlt|	A violent attack	She was injured in a brutal assault.	Noun	Medieval Latin
Obedient  |əˈbiːdiənt|	Willing to do what you are told to do	An obedient child.	Adjective	Latin
Catastrophe |kəˈtæstrəfi|	An extremely bad event that causes a lot of suffering or destruction	The fire was a catastrophe to everyone.	Noun	Greek
Confiscate |ˈkɑːnfɪskeɪt|	to take something away from someone, especially as a punishment	The border guards confiscated our movie cameras.	Verb	Latin
Enrichment	the act or process of improving the quality or power of something by adding something else	The soil needs constant enrichment with organic matter.	noun	Old French
Overwhelm	Have a strong emotional effect on.	I was overwhelmed with guilt	verb	English
Unbearable   |ʌnˈberəbl|	too painful or unpleasant for you to continue to experience	The atmosphere at work at the moment is almost unbearable.	adjective	Old English
Postpone амер.  |poʊˈspoʊn| брит.  |pəʊs(t)ˈpəʊn|	to delay an event and plan or decide that it should happen at a later date or time	They decided to postpone their holiday until next year.	adjective	Latin
Colonel  амер.  |ˈkɜːrnl|  брит.  |ˈkəːn(ə)l|	an officer of high rank in the army or air force	Colonel ordered the command to halt.	Noun	Italian
Palatable  |ˈpælətəbl|	acceptable or agreeable to the palate or taste; savory	Perhaps this will make it more palatable.	Adjective	Latin
Cardsharp	a person who earns money by playing cards dishonestly	He looked like a cardsharp.	Noun	American English
Blithe	satisfied and without worry	I am upset by the author’s blithe indifference toward facts.	verb	Old English
Alleviate |əˈliːvieɪt|	to make pain or problems less severe	The medicine did nothing to alleviate her discomfort.	verb	Latin
Daffodil	a yellow, bell-shaped flower with a long stem that is commonly seen in the spring	Daffodil — flowers that bloom in the spring.	Noun	Latin
Ultimately |ˈʌltɪmətli|	finally; in the end	Our plans ultimately depend on the weather.	adverb	German
Ambassador |æmˈbæsədər|	an important official who works in a foreign country representing his or her own country there, and who is officially accepted in this position by that country	He handed copies of the cables to the ambassador.	Noun	Latin
Pollution	damage caused to water, air, etc. by harmful substances or waste	Car exhaust is the main reason for the city’s pollution.	noun	Latin
Esoteric |ˌesəˈterɪk|	very unusual and understood	He has an esoteric collection of old toys and games.	adjective	Latin
Psychology	the scientific study of how the mind works and how it influences behavior	She took a course in abnormal psychology.	adjective	Modern Latin
scattered	covering a wide area	Toys and books were scattered about/around the room.	adjective	Greek
reluctantly	in a way that shows that you are not willing to do something and are therefore slow to do it	Reluctantly, he did what I asked.	adverb	Spanish
Substitute	to use something or someone instead of another thing or person	You can substitute oil for butter in this recipe.	verb	Latin
Consequently |ˈkɑːnsəkwentli|	as a result; therefore	I was very worried, and consequently I couldn’t concentrate.	verb	Old French
Abrogate |ˈæbrəɡeɪt|	to end a law, agreement, or custom formally	The treaty was abrogated in 1929.	verb	Latin
Furthermore |ˌfɜːrðərˈmɔːr|	used to add information	I don’t know what happened to Roberto, and furthermore, I don’t care.	adverb	Middle English

5

Word	Defenition	Example	Part of speech	Origin
1. myriad	consisting of a very great number	New York City presented us with myriad possibilities for fun	adjective	Middle French
2.davenport	A large sofa, often one convertible into a bed	5 minutes later, wearing a dress shirt and dress jeans, davenport appears	noun	Captain
3.liguistics	The science of language , including phonetics, phonology. syntax and ect.	It has linguistic interest, in fact, been well- nigh universal.	adjective	Old English
4.restitution	The act of giving back something that has been lost or stolen	He was ordered to pay 6 000$ in restitution.	noun	Middle English
5.irreverent |ɪˈrevərənt|	Showing a lack of respect for people.	She is irreverent  about the whole business of politics.	adjective	Latin
6.perspicacity |ˌpɜːrspɪˈkæsəti|	The quality of having a ready insight into things.	The perspicacity of her remarks.	noun	Latin
7.traitorous |ˈtreɪtərəs|	Relating to or characteristic of a traitor.	When his traitorous action were discovered, he was imprisoned.	adjective	Middle English
8.picturesque	Visually attractive, especially in a quaint way.	Ruined abbeys and picturesque villages.	adjective	French
9.babblative	Someone who talks a lot	Professors of the arts are babblative.	adjective	Old English
10.empathy	understanding and entering into another’s feelings	I consider myself as an empathy as I can feel your pain.	adjective
11. watercress |ˈwɔːtərkres	a Eurasian cress which grows in running water and whose pungent leaves are used in salad.	We also do a similar dish at Landmarc that I serve with watercress and lemon.	noun	Old English
12.exigencies |ˈeksɪdʒənsɪz|	An urgent need or demand.	women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it	noun	Old English
13. mesmerize       Mesmerize |ˈmezməraɪz|	to have someone’s attention completely so that they cannot think of anything else	Diana mesmerize me by her beauty.	verb	English
14.incriminate	to make someone seemguilty, especially of a crime	He refused to say anything on the grounds that he might incriminate himself.	verb	Latin
15.seersucker	a light cloth that has a pattern of raised and flat strips on it	Look at this colorful seersucker summer jacket	noun	Indian
16. occasionally |əˈkeɪʒnəli|	Not often or regularly	I occasionally watch TV.	adverb
17. impeccable	Without fault or error	She was always impeccably dressed.	adjective	French
18.accommodation	a room, group of rooms, or building in which someone may live or stay.	There’s a shortage of cheap accommodation	noun	British
19. eloquent |ˈeləkwənt|	expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively	An eloquent speaker expresses herself clearly and powerfully.	adjective	Old French
20.ingenuous |ɪnˈdʒenjuəs|	honest, sincere, and trusting, sometimes in a way that seems silly	It has to be said it was rather ingenuous of him to ask a complete stranger to take care of his luggage.	adjective	Latin

Final words if final spellers are too competitive

Word	Defenition	Example	Part of speech	Origin
Independent |ˌɪndɪˈpendənt|	Thinking or acting for oneself	I tend to be an independent	adjective	Italian
Conciliatory |kənˈsɪliətɔːri|	Tending to conciliate	When you are conciliatory in your action?	adjective	Old English
chimichanga	A tortilla wrapped round a filling, typically of meat, and deep-fried	Today mom cooked for dinner Mexican dish — Chimichanga	noun	Mexican Spanish
prescription	a piece of paper that the doctor that the doctor gives you	The doctor gave me prescription	noun	French
demonstration	When a group of people stand or walk somewhere to show that they disagree with or support something	30 000 people took part in today’s demonstration.	noun	French
backwardation	A situation in which the spot or cash price of a commodity is higher than the forward price.	Silver has been in backwardation for the past five weeks	noun	Old English
Cardiologist |ˌkɑːrdiˈɑːlədʒɪst|	a doctor who specializes in treating diseases of the heart	How are cardiologists trained?	noun	Greek

What activities and strategies can you use during your small group lessons for the Within Word Pattern stage of word study? In this 4-part series, I’m digging into some suggested word study activities for each stage of Words Their Way! Get ready to grab some ideas to spice up your word study small group lessons for the Within Word Patterns Spellers stage!

A successful word study block incorporates both direct instruction, delivered in small, differentiated groups based on developmental assessments and opportunities for students to independently practice and apply what they have learned. After making decisions about the activities you want your students to complete during their word study block, assessing them, and creating word study groups, many of us wonder what we are actually supposed to do with our students during their small group, meet with the teacher time?!?!. Let’s take a look at what makes the Within Word Pattern stage special first!

A Snapshot of the Within Word Pattern Stage

Elementary students who fall into the Within Word Pattern Spellers stage of word study can typically spell most single-syllable, short-vowel words, beginning consonant digraphs, and two-letter consonant blends correctly. They are beginning to explore using long-vowel patterns, but are inconsistent with their accuracy.

The Within Word Pattern stage acts as the bridge between the beginning stage, when students are struggling to read and write, and the intermediate stage when students are able to read most texts they are encountering. Within this developmental stage, students are quickly increasing their sight word vocabulary and their ability to decode new words. Students in your Within Word Pattern group should be studying long vowels (CVCe), other common long vowel patterns, r-influenced vowel patterns, diphthongs and vowel digraphs, complex consonant clusters, and homophones and homonyms.

WORD STUDY SMALL GROUP LESSON IDEAS

Share Word Search Findings!

My students complete “blind” word searches based on their word study lists. This means that they are NOT given a word list before trying to find their words in a word search. I may allow students to work side-by-side with a partner to modify this activity for students in the Within Word Pattern Spellers group.

Prior to meeting with me in a small group, they have spent 1-2 days searching for words in their word searches and sorting them into categories that make sense to them.

When students gather their word study notebooks and meet at our small group table, they know to turn to their word searches and continue looking for possible words. When I am ready to start the meeting, I ask for volunteers to share the words they found. As students share words, I create a word sort on chart paper asking students to help me sort each new word.

Note: You can find the aligned word searches in my Tarheelstate Teacher store.

ACTIVITIES for Within Word Pattern Spellers

Long Vowels

GENERATE WORDS: Students in the Within Word Pattern stage need to spend a lot of time working with common long vowel patterns and generating words in a variety of ways. Filling in missing vowels among a group of given long vowel patterns helps students make generalizations about spelling rules and builds a strong foundation of understanding about long vowels.

You can find these activities and other word generating activities in my Within Word Pattern Word Study Notebook. Download all activities for sorts found in Unit 1 for Free to check them out!

After introducing and working with several of the long vowel patterns, make word cards (you can even have students make these on index cards) with the vowel patterns students have been working with and then several consonants and consonant blends (you could also use magnetic letters for this). Have students use the cards from each category to create as many words as they can in a set amount of time. Students must record each word on a recording sheet or whiteboard. After time is up, gather the words together and as a group discusses whether each word is an actual real word, what it means, and whether the word was spelled correctly or not.

SHARED WRITING: Connecting writing and word study is a great, authentic way for students to apply what they are learning about long vowels into their writing. Have students bring their writing folder and a highlighter to the small group lesson. After introducing a long vowel pattern (introduce them one at a time), for example, CVCe, ask students to look through some of their writing pieces together and highlight words that follow the long vowel pattern or should follow the long vowel pattern but is not spelled in a way that makes the vowel say its name. Have students work in pairs to identify and correct these words and share examples that needed to be fixed with the whole group.

BLIND SORTS: I find blind sorts to be super helpful when working with long vowel patterns. A fun spin on blind sorts is Sound Bingo. Create a Bingo board that has alternate spellings represented in each box of the long vowel sound you are working on (i.e. words that have the «oe», but are represented by a variety of spellings such as o, oa, ow, o-e, and oe). As you read the long vowel words, students have to write them in the correct box. Once someone gets a full row, column, or diagonal they get a Bingo! (Sound Bingo idea from Top Notch Teaching)

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Homophones and Homonymns

READ ALOUD: I love to introduce the concept of homophones and homonyms with a good picture book. The King Who Rained by Fred Gwynne is one of my favorites to use for homophones. To introduce homonyms, my go-to read aloud is Eight Ate: A Feast of Homonym Riddles by Marvin Terban. Once students have started to work with both homophones and homonyms, I love How Much Can A Bare Bear Bear? What are Homonyms and Homophones? by Brian Cleary because it actually teaches the difference between homonyms and homophones (which can get confusing for kiddos in this developmental stage) with a lot of illustrated examples.

SHARED WRITING: I always provide a list of homophones for students to keep in their word study or writing folders to reference when needed. I like to give students several opportunities to pull out their list and help me create a few sentences using homophone pairs in the same sentence on chart paper. I then ask students to pick a few pairs of their favorite homophones and do the same individually, sharing their sentences with the group at the end.

Cloze exercises are great ways to elicit student analysis and discussion. Do a cloze exercise together using a piece of shared writing on chart paper. Cover all of the homophones within the piece of shared writing and work together to find which word goes with which meaning. Ask students to help you create nonlinguistic representations or drawings for each homophone before trying to complete the cloze exercise. This site, K12 Reader, has some great resources focusing on homophones for upper elementary students to use during your small group lessons.

PLAY GAMES: Playing games during small group meetings are perfect avenues for you to probe students’ thinking and guide them to make generalizations on their own. Have students create a game of Go Fish to practice homophones. Divide up the homophones among the group. Have each student write their words as well as draw a picture or symbol that represents the meaning of the word on individual index cards. Once the cards are created, shuffle them and play Go Fish as a group. Students must use the homophone correctly in a sentence when they are looking for a match. (Idea from https://busyteacher.org/8185-tips-for-teaching-homophones.html).

WORD STUDY NOTEBOOKS: A resource that I created as a companion to the Words Their Way program that I use and rely heavily on when I am meeting with my small groups is the Within Word Pattern Spellers Notebook Activities. The notebook activities go beyond traditional spelling activities and scaffold students to go into a deeper analysis of «word-studying» concepts.

In the Within Word Pattern word study activities, students may be asked to identify short- and long- vowel sounds, create words given a beginning sound or blend + an ending (onsets + rimes), choose the correct beginning letters, vowels, or rime to complete a word, write «silly sentences» to apply the meanings of homophones, create contractions, make words plural, and more!

When I created these notebooks for my students, I had the gradual release model in mind and typically introduce the activity during my small group lesson, allow students to work in partners while I scaffold their work, and then transition them to complete particular sheets independently to further apply their learning.

While this list of activities is certainly not exhaustive, I hope you’ve got some fresh, new ideas to add to your word study toolbox for your Within Word Pattern Spellers group! To gather some ideas for other stages of Words Their Way, be sure to click the buttons below!

SHOP THE WORD STUDY NOTEBOOKS TO MAKE YOUR SMALL GROUPS EVEN EASIER!

HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY WORD STUDY

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz.

(Pronunciation of the letters of the English alphabet can be found in Vowels Glossary of Terms in the section Phonetics.)

The number of the sounds that these letters represent varies from 39 to 46 depending on the way of counting. There are more sounds than the letters that represent them. This leads to a large number of differences between pronunciation and spelling. In addition to that, there are more than a thousand spelling variants by which these sounds are represented in written English. As a result, the written word rarely represents the spoken word letter by letter, except in very simple short words. This makes English spelling difficult, especially for language learners.

Vowel sounds are the hardest part. For example, Wikipedia in the article English Orthography lists 25 spelling variants for the sound [ei], 20 spelling variants for the sound [ai], 18 variants for [u:], 17 for [i:]. Consonant sounds are a little easier: 12 variants of spelling for the sound [k], 11 variants for [s], 9 variants for [n], 5 for [w]. Add to this irregular verbs, irregular plural forms of nouns, similar but different suffixes, double consonants, silent letters, homonyms, the rules of adding endings, lots of exceptions, spelling differences between British English and American English, and you will get a rather depressing picture of how much you need to learn in order to spell English words correctly.

So, the question arises: Is it possible for a language learner to acquire good spelling skills in English?

Of course it is, with sufficient motivation and a good method.

Pronunciation and spelling

It is very important to connect spelling to pronunciation by studying them together. Both spelling and pronunciation are complicated, and correspondence between them is not always logical. At the same time they are closely connected, though this connection may not be obvious to language learners. Always mark transcription and say the words aloud when you’re studying the spelling of new words.

It is most useful to organize words in two or three columns on one page for comparison and easier memorization. Analyzing spelling variants for sounds helps to see typical spelling patterns of English words. You can organize words in columns in various ways, but generally, the following methods of grouping are quite useful: a sound and its spelling variants; a letter and its pronunciation variants.

From sound to spelling

In a number of cases, proceeding from sound to spelling works very well.

Spelling examples for the sound [f]:

Letter F: fate, file, fog, fume; safe, half, roof, cliff; after, defend, offend, suffer.

Combination PH: phone, photo; alphabet, symphony; paragraph, apostrophe.

Combination GH: cough, enough, laugh, rough, tough.

From spelling to sound

In other cases, analyzing a particular letter or letter combination gives a clearer picture.

The combination GH and the sounds it represents:

Sound [g]: ghost, ghetto, Ghana, ghastly.

Sound [f]: cough, enough, laugh, rough, tough.

No sound: though, through, bought.

Adding endings

It would be helpful to make a list of words in which the final letters change when an ending or a suffix is added.

study – studies – studied – studying;

tie – ties – tied – tying;

occur – occurs – occurred – occurring;

traffic – trafficking;

plan – planned – planning;

But: plane – planed – planing.

Adding suffixes

Adding suffixes often presents some difficulty for language learners.

true – truly;

whole – wholly;

five – fifth;

essence – essential;

defence (BrE) / defense (AmE) – defensive;

panic – panicky;

like – likable;

advise – advisable;

But: notice – noticeable;

manage – manageable.

Difficult words

It would be helpful to make a list of difficult similar words, with meaning and pronunciation.

accept – except – excerpt;

access – assess – excess;

draught [dra:ft], [dræft] – drought [draut].

Memorization

It is not enough just to practice writing new words in order to memorize their spelling. Memorization is effective only when all types of memory work together (visual memory, auditory memory, articulatory memory, writing memory / kinesthetic memory). Examine your new words closely, listen to their pronunciation, repeat them after the speaker, say them aloud several times, and write them.

Always study the spelling of new words together with their meanings and usage. Use typical phrases containing your new words as your associations. Associations help you to develop your association memory. This type of memory helps to remember how words are used in phrases and sentences, how they combine with other words in context.

Association memory helps you to understand words and to remember their spelling, especially if some words are not easily recognizable from their pronunciation. For example, the words «pair (couple), pear (fruit), pare (peel)» have the same pronunciation. If you hear these words in isolation, you won’t be able to tell one word from another. But if you hear these words in phrases, for example, «a pair of jeans; sweet pears; to pare an apple», their meaning and spelling will become clear to you, because your association memory sorts out possible word combinations in phrases and finds the word you need.

There are so many exceptions in English spelling (and in some cases there are no rules at all), that a little rote learning may be necessary, for example, with irregular verbs. But reduce that to a minimum, because rote learning often leads to stubborn mistakes which are hard to get rid of. It is always better to devise some meaningful method to memorize words. Many students combine similar irregular verbs into groups. For example:

Group 1: bet – bet – bet; let – let – let; set – set – set;

Group 2: bend – bent – bent; send – sent – sent;

Group 3: drive – drove – driven; write – wrote – written.

Main rules and typical spelling patterns of English words are described in the materials of this section. Learn the rules, and every time you study words, check whether the rules apply. This is a good way to memorize both the spelling of words and the rules of spelling.

Как изучать английское правописание

В английском алфавите 26 букв: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz.

(Произношение букв английского алфавита можно найти в материале Vowels Glossary of Terms в разделе Phonetics.)

Число звуков, которые передаются этими буквами, разнится от 39 до 46 в зависимости от способа подсчёта. Звуков больше, чем букв, которые их передают. Это ведёт к большому числу различий между произношением и написанием. В добавление к этому, есть более тысячи вариантов написания, которыми эти звуки представлены в письменном английском языке. Как результат, письменное слово редко отражает устное слово буква за буквой, за исключением очень простых коротких слов. Это делает английское правописание трудным, особенно для изучающих язык.

Гласные звуки – самая трудная часть. Например, Wikipedia в статье English Orthography (Английская орфография) приводит 25 вариантов написания для звука [ei], 20 для звука [ai], 18 для [u:], 17 для [i:]. Согласные звуки немного легче: 12 вариантов написания для звука [k], 11 для [s], 9 для [n], 5 для [w]. Добавьте к этому неправильные глаголы, неправильные формы множественного числа существительных, похожие но разные суффиксы, двойные согласные, немые буквы, омонимы, правила присоединения окончаний, множество исключений, различия в правописании между британским и американским английским, и вы получите довольно угнетающую картину того, как много надо изучить, чтобы писать английские слова правильно.

Итак, возникает вопрос: Возможно ли для изучающего язык приобрести хорошие навыки письма на английском языке?

Конечно возможно, с достаточной мотивацией и хорошим методом.

Произношение и правописание

Очень важно привязать написание слов к произношению, изучая их вместе. Как написание слов, так и произношение очень сложные, а соответствие между ними не всегда логично. В то же время они тесно связаны между собой, хотя эта связь может и не быть очевидной для изучающих английский язык. Всегда помечайте транскрипцию и произносите вслух слова, когда вы изучаете написание новых слов.

Очень полезно расположить слова в двух или трёх колонках на одной странице для сравнения и лучшего запоминания. Анализ вариантов отражения звуков на письме помогает увидеть типичные модели написания английских слов. Можно группировать слова в колонках различными способами, но в целом, следующие методы группирования весьма полезны: звук и варианты его написания; буква и варианты её произношения.

От звука к написанию

Во многих случаях, изучение от звука к написанию работает очень хорошо.

Примеры написания для звука [f]:

Буква F: fate, file, fog, fume; safe, half, roof, cliff; after, defend, offend, suffer.

Буквосочетание PH: phone, photo; alphabet, symphony; paragraph, apostrophe.

Буквосочетание GH: cough, enough, laugh, rough, tough.

От написания к звуку

В других случаях, анализ определённой буквы или буквенного сочетания дает более ясную картину.

Буквосочетание GH и звуки, которые оно передает:

Звук [g]: ghost, ghetto, Ghana, ghastly.

Звук [f]: cough, enough, laugh, rough, tough.

Нет звука: though, through, bought.

Прибавление окончаний

Полезно сделать список слов, в которых конечные буквы меняются, когда прибавляется окончание или суффикс.

study (изучать)- studies – studied – studying;

tie (связывать) – ties – tied – tying;

occur (случаться) – occurs – occurred – occurring;

traffic – trafficking (движение транспорта – торговля запрещённым товаром);

plan (планировать) – planned – planning;

Но: plane (парить в воздухе) – planed – planing.

Прибавление суффиксов

Прибавление суффиксов часто представляет трудность для изучающих язык.

true – truly (правдивый – правдиво);

whole – wholly (целый – целиком);

five – fifth (пять – пятый);

essence – essential (сущность – существенный);

defence (BrE) / defense (AmE) – defensive (оборона – оборонительный);

panic – panicky (паника – панический);

like – likable (любить – приятный);

advise – advisable (советовать – целесообразный);

Но: notice – noticeable (заметить – заметный);

manage – manageable (управлять – управляемый).

Трудные слова

Полезно сделать список трудных похожих слов, со значением и произношением.

accept – except – excerpt (принять – кроме – отрывок);

access – assess – excess (доступ – оценить – излишек);

draught [dra:ft], [dræft] (нацеживание) – drought [draut] (засуха).

Запоминание

Недостаточно просто упражняться писать новые слова, чтобы запомнить их написание. Запоминание эффективно только тогда, когда все виды памяти работают вместе (зрительная память, слуховая память, артикуляционная память, двигательная память). Внимательно рассмотрите новые слова, прослушайте их произношение, повторите их за диктором, произнесите их вслух несколько раз и напишите их.

Всегда изучайте написание новых слов вместе с их значениями и употреблением. Используйте типичные фразы, содержащие ваши новые слова, как ваши ассоциации. Ассоциации помогают развить вашу ассоциативную память. Этот тип памяти помогает помнить, как слова употребляются во фразах и предложениях, как они соединяются с другими словами в контексте.

Ассоциативная память помогает вам понимать слова и помнить их написание, особенно если какие-то слова не сразу узнаваемы из их произношения. Например, слова pair (пара), pear (груша), pare (очищать от кожуры) имеют одинаковое произношение. Если вы услышите эти слова по отдельности, вы не сможете отличить одно слово от другого. Но если вы услышите эти слова во фразах, например, a pair of jeans, sweet pears, to pare an apple, их значение и написание станет для вас ясным, потому что ваша ассоциативная память сортирует возможные комбинации слов во фразах и находит нужное вам слово.

В английском правописании есть так много исключений (а в некоторых случаях правил нет вообще), что немного зубрёжки может быть необходимо, например, с неправильными глаголами. Но сократите её до минимума, так как зубрёжка часто ведет к упорным ошибкам, от которых трудно избавиться. Всегда лучше придумать осмысленный способ запоминать слова. Многие студенты объединяют похожие неправильные глаголы в группы. Например:

Группа 1: bet – bet – bet; let – let – let; set – set – set;

Группа 2: bend – bent – bent; send – sent – sent;

Группа 3: drive – drove – driven; write – wrote – written.

Основные правила и типичные модели написания английских слов описаны в материалах этого раздела. Выучите правила, и каждый раз, когда вы изучаете слова, проверяйте, применимы ли правила. Это хороший способ запомнить как написание слов, так и правила правописания.

Today I’m going to share with you how I manage multiple spelling groups and word lists in my classroom. It is something that I have refined over the years and I finally feel like I’m running it in a way that suits me and my learners!

My school uses Words Their Way, however the ideas I share in this post can absolutely be adapted to other spelling programs. I hope you find this post helpful and that you keep reading ’til the end, as I suggest some great resources that keep me and my class on track!

After firstly doing some initial assessment, I look at grouping students based on their spelling developmental stages. Although it depends on each cohort, I try to have only 4 groups, although I have had more in the past. 


A handy tip to remember is if you have one or two students who are a whole lot behind or in front of your other groups, see if you can arrange for them to spend the spelling time in another class or year level. Usually teachers are doing spelling at a similar time during the day and it can work really well for a student to visit another classroom that has groups of students working at their instructional level.


I keep the groups flexible. Don’t feel you need to have students in the one group for an entire term/semester/year! I regularly have students moving across groups as they either quickly grasp, or need more time on, a spelling stage. This means you’re always monitoring and checking in with each student. WtW uses assessment checks every 5 weeks, but keep reading to see how I incorporate student check-ins in my weekly schedule.

When choosing a spelling bee word list, or training students to compete in a spelling bee, we have to face a simple fact:

Spelling is more than memory work.

There isn’t a big enough list or enough time to have students recall every single word that could be thrown to them.

Instead, we have to present spelling words in a way that teaches a deeper understanding of spelling.

We’ve gathered 100+ spelling bee words and included their syllables, graphemes, phonemes, part of speech and etymology, so you make any student feel like a spelling champion!

Spelling bee word list

WORD	Grade Level	SYLLABLES	PHONEMES	GRAPHEMES	part of speech	Definition	Sentence	ETYMOLOGY
pitch	3	pitch	p, i, ch	p, i, tch	singluar noun	the level or tune of a sound	She was singing in a different pitch.
taken	3	tak/en			past verb	to have gotten a hold of; grasped	My dad has taken my game away from me.
cannot	3	can/not			present verb	to not be able to do something	I cannot eat dessert before dinner.
stayed	3	stayed			past verb	to have been somewhere for a short time	We stayed at a hotel when we were on holiday.
denim	3	den/im			irregular noun	a type of material used for jeans	I like to wear denim jeans.
doctor	3	doc/tor			singlular noun	a person that treats sick people	I went to the doctor when I was sick.	Latin
gloves	3	gloves			plural noun	hand covers to protect hands	I put on gloves before I wash the dishes.
ocean	3	o/cean			singular noun	a large area of water covering Earth	The ship sailed over the ocean.	Greek
cadet	3	ca/det			singular noun	a person training in the armed forces or police	The cadet was in training to be a police officer.	French
oxen	3	ox/en			plural noun	plural of ox, a large domestic animal kept for milk	A herd of oxen were grazing on the grass.
quail	3	quail	kw,ai,l	qu,ai,l	irregular noun	a small brown bird	A quail was in the nest.	French
arch	3	arch	ar, ch	ar, ch	singlular noun	a curved top that is held by two supports	You enter the hall through a huge arch.	Latin
cheese	3	cheese	ch,ee,z	ch,ee,se	singlular noun	a food made from milk curd	I like to eat cheese and crackers.	Germanic
teach	3	teach	t, ee, ch	t, ea, ch	present verb	to help someone learn how to do something	He will teach me how to play the game.	Germanic
liver	3	liv/er			singlular noun	an organ in the body that cleans and filters blood	The liver is an organ that filters blood.
river	3	riv/er			singlular noun	a natural, large stream of water	The canoe drifted up the river.	Latin
story	3	sto/ry			singlular noun	a fictional tale shorter than a novel	My teacher reads us a story every day.	Latin
thank	3	thank	th, a, n, k	th, a, n, k	verb	to show you are pleased by something or someone	Please thank her for all her help.	Germanic
mammal	3	mam/mal			singlular noun	an animal that feeds its young with milk from the mother	A mammal feeds its young with milk.	Latin
mammoth	3	mam/moth			singlular noun	an extinct elephant covered in long hair and curved tusks	The mammoth lived long ago and had long hair and tusks.
events	3	e/vents			plural noun	things that are planned; social occasions or activities	There will be three events to raise money.
facts	3	facts	f,a,c,t,s	f,a,c,t,s	plural noun	things that are proven or known to be true	The facts have been proven and are true.
people	3	peo/ple			plural noun	more than one person	Ten people came to the party.	Latin
once	3	once			adverb	one time	I have only been to hospital once.
coming	3	com/ing			adjective	about to happen or just beginning	We will have a lot of fun in the coming year.
inside	3	in/side			preposition	within a container or room	I want to see what is inside the box.
parents	3	par/ents			plural noun	plural of parent, a mother or father	My parents will not let me stay up late.
guard	4	guard	g, ar, d	gu, ar, d	present verb	to watch or protect	The dog was set to guard the gate.	Germanic
lamb	4	lamb	l,a,m	l,a,mb	singluar	a young sheep	A baby sheep is called a lamb.
wrap	4	wrap	r,a,p	wr,a,p	present	to cover by winding or folding	We will wrap the present with green paper.
coarse	4	coarse	k,or,s	c,oar,se		having a harsh or rough quality	The coarse sand was hard to walk on.
geese	4	geese	g,ee,s	g,ee,se	plural	more than one goose	The goose flew over to the other geese in the flock.
gel	4	gel	j,e,l	g,e,l	singluar	a thick jellylike substance	As the mixture cooled it turned into a gel.
gem	4	gem	j,e,m	g,e,m	singluar	a cut and polished stone	The precious gem sparkled in the light.
rye	4	rye	r,igh	r,ye	irregular	a type of grain used in baking	Bread made with rye tastes different to wheat.	German
touch	4	touch	t, u, ch	t, ou, ch	present	to put your hand or fingers on someone or something	Do not touch the wet paint.
wreck	4	wreck	r, e, k	wr, e, ck	singluar	the remains of a ship or other vehicle	The divers enjoyed diving on the wreck.
quiche	4	quiche	k, ee, sh	qu, i, che	singluar	a pie made with eggs	We made the quiche with lots of eggs.	French
foul	4	foul	f, ou, l	f, ou, l		extremely unpleasant	There was a foul smell coming from the bathroom.
lure	4	lure	l, ure	l, ure	present	to persuade someone to do something by offering something exciting	I tried to lure the dog outside with a bone.
chief	4	chief	ch, ee, f	ch, ie, f	singluar	a person who is in charge	A new chief of police has just been appointed.
gnat	5	gnat	n, a, t	gn, a, t	singluar	a small, flying, biting insect	A gnat is a small flying insect which bites.	German
gnaw	5	gnaw	n, aw	gn, aw	present	to bite or chew something repeatedly	My dog loves to gnaw on bones.	German
quip	5	quip	kw, i, p	qu, i, p	singluar	a funny and clever comment	He made a quip and clever comment.
raise	5	raise	r,ai,z	r,ai,se	present	to lift up	I raise my arm to answer the question.
sauce	5	sauce	s, aw, s	s, au, ce	singluar	a thick liquid eaten with food	I love to have sauce on my pie.
bight	5	bight	b, igh, t	b, igh, t	singluar	a curve in a coastline	A curve in a coastline is called a bight.
thigh	5	thigh	th, igh	th, igh	singluar	the part of the leg above the knee	The thigh muscle is above the knee.
balm	5	balm	b, ar, m	b, al, m	singluar	a fragrant cream or liquid used to heal the skin	Dad uses a skin balm after he shaves.
calm	5	calm	c, ar, m	c, al, m		not angry, upset or excited	We have to stay calm if we hear the fire alarm.
weigh	5	weigh	w, ai	w, eigh	present	to find out how heavy someone or something is.	I use the scales to weigh the ingredients carefully.
Zeus	5	Zeus	z,oo(long),s	z,eu,s	noun	the ruler of the gods in Greek mythology	Zeus is the ruler of the gods in Greek mythology.
column	5	col/umn			noun	one of two or more vertical sections of a printed page	Please read down the left column.
zoology	5	zo/ol/o/gy			noun	the study of animals	She wants to study zoology and animals.
corpses	5	cor/pses			noun	plural of corpse, a dead body	The ancient corpses were buried thousands of years ago.
cities	5	cit/ies			noun	plural of city, a large town	London and Paris are two large cities.
passage	5	pas/sage			noun	an alley or pathway	We took a shortcut down the side passage.
including	5	in/clud/ing			preposition	part of a particular group or amount	Three people, including myself, are getting an award.
compartment	5	com/part/ment			noun	a section of something larger	I keep snacks in the bottom compartment of my bag.
prospector	6	pros/pec/tor			noun	a person who searches for valuable substances such as gold or oil	The prospector found a gold nugget.
gouging	6	goug/ing			present verb	to make a hole through something in a rough way	The builder was gouging a hole through the wall.
gourd	6	gourd	g,or,d	g,our,d	noun	a fruit with a hard rind often used for decoration or for making objects	We used the skin of a dried gourd to make a bowl.
support	6	sup/port			present verb	to give assistance or comfort	My teacher will support my learning.
advance	6	ad/vance			noun	to move forward in a purposeful way	I want to advance to the next level of the game.
balance	6	bal/ance			present verb	an even distribution of weight	The toddler lost his balance as he was trying to walk.
cancelled	6	can/celled			past verb	for a planned event to not take place	The school sports day was cancelled because of the storm.
canceled	6	can/celed			past verb	for a planned event to not take place	The school sports day was canceled because of the storm.
clearance	6	clear/ance			noun	the process of removing things	There was a large boot sale after the house clearance.
budget	6	budg/et			noun	an amount of money you have available to spend	My parents made a weekly budget for our groceries.
mussels	6	mus/sels			noun	edible sea creatures with two black shells that close	The mussels are edible and have black shells.
whether	6	wheth/er			conjunction	showing a choice between alternatives	I don’t know whether to go to the party or not.
pieces	6	piec/es			noun	a part of something	The pizza was cut into eight equal pieces.
rhythm	6	rhy/thm			noun	a strong, regular and repeated movement or sound	The dancers all had great rhythm.
exterminate	6	ex/ter/min/ate			present verb	to destroy or kill completely	Our efforts to exterminate the cockroaches have failed.	Latin
quarrelling	6	quar/rel/ling			present verb	arguing angrily	The quarrelling students were sent to detention.	Latin
possibility	6	pos/si/bil/i/ty			noun	a chance that something may or may not happen or exist	There is a possibility that it will snow on the weekend.
chaos	6	cha/os			noun	complete confusion and disorder	Computer failure caused chaos at the airport.	Greek
orchestra	6	or/ches/tra			noun	a large group of musicians who play many different instruments together and are led by a conductor	She played the violin in the school orchestra.	Greek
category	6	cat/e/go/ry			noun	a group of people or things that are similar in some way	He competed in the race in his age category.	Latin and Greek
originated	6	o/rig/i/nat/ed			past verb	began to exist	The waltz originated in Vienna.
geography	6	ge/og/ra/phy			noun	the natural features of an area	In class we have been studying the geography of the local area.	Greek
sapphire	6	sap/phire			noun	a clear bright blue gemstone	She received a sapphire ring on her sixteenth birthday.	Greek
squadron	6	squad/ron			noun	a military unit consisting of soldiers, ships or aircraft	The squadron of bombers returned to their base.	Italian
fatigue	6	fa/tigue			noun	extreme tiredness	She was suffering from the fatigue after the long hike.	French
recruit	6	re/cruit			present verb	to find new people to take part in an event or join a group or team	We had to recruit more players for our team.	French
whirligig	6	whirl/i/gig			noun	a child’s toy that spins rapidly	A spinning top is an example of a whirligig.	Middle English
chaperone	7	chap/er/one			noun	a person who goes with and is responsible for a group of young people	My father volunteered to be a chaperone at the next school dance.	French
charade	7	cha/rade			noun	something that is done in order to pretend something is true when it is not really true	They continue the charade until it wasn’t fun anymore.	French
chassis	7	chas/sis			noun	the base frame that a car or other vehicle is built on	The chassis of the car was damaged in the accident.	French
chivalry	7	chiv/al/ry			noun	very polite, honest and kind behaviour	I love listening to stories of knights and their chivalry.	Latin
cliché	7	cliche			noun	a phrase that has been used so often that it is no longer original	Time flies when you are having fun is an example of a cliché.	French
machinery	7	ma/chin/er/y			noun	machines of a particular kind or machines in general	The farm machinery is kept in the barn.
peasants	7	peas/ants			noun	in history a person of a low social class of farm workers and owners of small farms	The land was farmed by peasants for hundreds of years.	Latin
perimeter	7	per/rim/e/ter			noun	the outside edge of an area, surface or flat shape	Soldiers guarded the perimeter of the camp.	Greek
persuade	7	per/suade			present verb	to cause someone to do something or believe something by asking, arguing or giving reasons	I am trying to persuade my parents to increase my pocket money.	Latin
thermometer	7	ther/mo/me/ter			noun	a device used to measure temperature of a person’s body or the air	Mum used a thermometer to see if I had a fever.	French
toupee	7	tou/pee			noun	a small wig that is worn by a man to cover a bald spot on his head	The actor was wearing a black toupee on his head.	French
camouflage	7	cam/ou/flage			noun	the way some animals are coloured or shaped so they can not be seen in their natural surroundings	A stick insects colour and shape helps it to hide in a tree.	French
limousine	7	lim/ou/sine			noun	a large, expensive car often driven by a paid driver	The bride and groom hired a limousine for their wedding day.	French
gargoyle	7	gar/goyle			noun	a stone object in the shape of the head of an ugly creature, usually seen on the roofs of old buildings	A row of gargoyles perch on the roof in front of the church.	Old French