Term
| Every word has at least one Vowel letter |
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Definition
| Heart words are words that don't follow a spelling pattern |
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Term
| The sounds /ch/, /sh/, /th/ and /wh/ are all represented by two-letter combinations called digraphs |
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Definition
| Batch/ catch/ fish/ branch/ whiskers/ clutch/ lunch/ mouth |
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Term
| The five short vowels are the most common vowel sounds in English. They are usually spelled with a single vowel, followed by one or more consonants. |
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Definition
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Term
| Short e, /?/, is almost always spelled with the single letter e |
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Definition
| bed/ leg/ them/ then/ help/ belt/ end/ tent/ let/ yes/ fresh/ best/ red/ kept |
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Term
| Short i is usually spelled with the single letter i. Some words use letter s to spell /z/ (is, has, as). The letters ck spell /k/ right after a short vowel |
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Definition
| Ditch/ Fish/ hill/ fix/ will/ Truck/ stuck/ check |
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Term
| Short o, /o/ (as in octopus) is usually spelled with the single letter o. |
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Definition
| stop/ not/ fox/ got/ top/ cloth/ off/ chomp/ pond/ odd |
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Term
| Short u, /u/, as in umbrella, is usually spelled with the single letter u |
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Definition
| up/ just/ run/ must/ luck/ bunch/ jump/ brush/ trust/ lunch |
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Term
| When the /k/ sound is right after a short vowel in a one syllable word, spell it ck. The /ng/ sound is usually spelled ng. It is in these word families: ing, ang, ong, ung |
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Definition
| lick/ neck/ duck/ hang/ lung/ sing/ pack/ strong/ quack/ swing/ wreck |
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Term
| Some words and word groups do not follow patterns. They are best learned with mnemonic clues. The question words can be learned this way. |
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Definition
Who says whooooo?
What hat will you wear?
Where is it? Here
When will the hen lay the egg?
Why did you cry?
Which? |
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Term
| Double the final consonant f,l, or s when it follows an accented short vowel. Other final consonants are not usually doubled. |
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Definition
| kiss/ tell/ off/ toss/ bell/ cliff/ press/ sniff/ scarf/ swirl/ whiff/ smell/ class |
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Term
| VCe Pattern: The most common pattern for spelling a long-vowel sound in the middle of a word is the VCe pattern. VCe stands for Vowel-Consonant-silent e. |
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Definition
| lake/ some/ like/ made/ kite/ joke/ cute/ are/ some/ phone/ taste/ smile/ drive/ have |
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Term
| When an e, i or y follow the /s/ sound, the /s/ is often spelled with the letter c. When /s/ at the end of the word is spelled with a c, a final e is always added |
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Definition
| ice/ age/ cent/ nice/ space/ page/ give/ decide/ pledge/ pencil/ giant/ advice |
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Term
| "Shy Guy": When you hear a long e, a or i in the middle of a word, it will often be spelled with a "shy guy" vowel team: ee, ea, ai or oa. |
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Definition
| speak/ sleep/ eat/ need/ seat/ clean/ teeth/ been/ float/ boat/ wheel/ street/ queen/ dream/ reach/ throat/ rain/ train/ strain/ snail/ toaster |
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Term
| The letter s is added to some verbs so that they match the subject of the sentence - s is added to verbs that follow he, she and names |
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Definition
I like reading; She likes reading
They like reading; Peter likes reading |
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Term
| When a final long-i is only vowel sound you hear in a word, the long i sound is usually spelled with a y. When a final long a sound is heard, the long a sound is usually spelled ay. In a word with more than one syllable, when a final long e sound is heard, the long e sound is almost always spelled with a y. |
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Definition
| try/ stay/ today/ cry/ play/ very/ they/ many/ only/ every/ anyway/ party/ Sunday/ birthday |
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Term
| Plurals of most words are made by adding the letter s. Plural s can sound like /s/ or /z/. |
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Definition
| champs/ sheds/ trains/ boats/ ducks/ ropes/ edges/ cages/ dreams/ sheets |
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Term
| Plurals of nouns that end in s, ss, sh, ch, tch, and x are made by adding the letters es, which is heard as a separate syllable. |
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Definition
| buses/ wishes/ kisses/ branches/ matches/ boxes |
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Term
| Plurals for words that end in y after a vowel are made by adding s. If the letter before y is not a vowel, the y is replaced by ie |
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Definition
| Days/ Trays/ guys/ cities/ babies/ copies/ activities |
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Term
| Plurals of some words stay the same as the singular word and for some words, the plurals change completely |
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Definition
| Child (children)/ sheep (sheep)/ leaf (leaves)/ goose (geese)/ wife (wives) |
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Term
| Lightbulb pattern: The long i sound has no consistent "shy guy" team. In addition to gh in lightbulb, the /r/ sound is sometimes spelled with wr, and the /n/ sound is sometimes spelled with kn. |
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Definition
| Knight/ write/ white/ know/ night/ might/ light/ bright/ height/ flight/ flashlight |
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Term
| Snowflake Pattern: When the long-o sound is at the end of a word (or at the end of a root word), it will often be spelled ow. |
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Definition
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Term
| Unfair words: Some words just don't play fair. Some words are called Heart words and don't follow a pattern. Adults use memory clues to learn to spell words that don't "play fair" |
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Definition
| Who/ what/ where/ friend/ was/ of/ said/ been/ some/ want/ were/ with/ went/ family |
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