Top Tips in the Book

Although the primary way of learning spellings is through using phonics, there are tricky words that need a little more help. The tips in the book provide a range of ideas - mnemonics, silly stories, spotting the tricky part, trying physical ways to repeat each word...

The tips for words in this book are as follows: 

Laugh can be a very tricky word to remember. Why not try a silly saying.

‘Laugh and u get happy!’

Remind your child that for fun, the letter name for ‘u’ is being used.

Use mnemonics to help with tricky words like ‘because.’

big

elephants

can

always

understand

small

elephants

Can you find a silly way to remember the spelling of ‘beautiful’? Saying words in different ways often helps.

Stretch the word and use the letter names for the first four letters:

b - e - a - u - ti - ful

(pronounced bee - ee - ay - you - ti - ful!).

Can your child explain what a split digraph is?

Many spellings on this page have these. For example, your child should recognise the split digraph ‘u - e’ in ‘cube’. This means the ‘u’ makes a long sound, not a short sound like in ‘cub.’

Check that your child is using the ‘im-’ prefix when pronouncing ‘improve.’ This will help with spelling the word correctly.

When there are homophones like ‘break’ and ‘brake’, please check that your child knows which one is being used. This is why saying words in sentences is vital: “I’m tired. I’ll need a break soon.”

Use pictures to help your child to look carefully at a word. Maybe drawing a fancy shoe closely around the word ‘shoes’ would be memorable and fun!

Check that your child is saying ‘everything,’ not incorrectly saying it with a ‘k’ at the end. This is a commonly occurring misconception.

Need more help?

There are further ways to help you with your spellings. For more ideas for children who are building the phonetic code, click here. Alternatively, try out a variety of activities, alongside the phonics mats to increase repetition over time and long-term retention. Please do not hesitate to discuss your child's progress with their teacher or our SENDCo.