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: 

Make sure that you say ‘anything’ out loud. Are you remembering to say it with a ‘ng’ at the end? This will stop you accidentally writing it with a ‘nk’ at the end.

This is a good time to make sure that you know the difference in meaning between ‘write’ and ‘right’, even though they sound the same. Maybe the ‘w’ at the start of ‘write’ will remind you of zig-zag writing practice.

Write the ‘d’ in ‘during’ in a different colour if it catches you out. Keep using your phonics mat to help you to choose the correct grapheme.

Write the ‘t’ in ‘often’ in a different colour if you miss it out.

Find silly ways to remember spellings. Can you remember the ‘oh u great hairy tarantula’ to help with ‘brought’ and ‘thoughtful’?

Remember that the ‘u’ is said as the letter name for fun.

Remember that your phonics knowledge is your most helpful way to remember these spellings. If needed, ask your teacher to draw in sound buttons for the graphemes.

Can you say ‘we-ight’ and ‘he-ight’ to remember the ‘e’ in both words?

“He checks the ‘height’ and we check the ‘weight’.”

Try saying this in a bouncy rhythm.

On one of these pages, there is a plural (more than one) spelling. Can you spot it and see how it is different from some other plural words? Can you remember why you don’t just add an ‘s’ on to the end?

Clue: tomatoes, heroes and volcanoes.

Can you try the handwriting sheets for each book to help you to repeat each tricky word? Your beautifully joined handwriting will help too.

Talk about a word to find a way that helps you.

‘balloon’

Does it help to imagine two people for the ‘ll’ and two balloons for the ‘oo’?

Just like you did with ‘veg-e-table’, say the word ‘interest’ in three parts to remember the unstressed vowel. ‘in-ter-est’.

Ask someone to say a sentence using spellings from across this book. Can you write this down at a good speed? Which words needed more time and a little more practice?

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.