We have a new and fun way to practise your spelling! Spelling Shed is a great way to practise your spellings and have fun by earning honey pots for rewards within the game. Earn points for our class and try to get on the school leader board...

You can log in with your own username and password here: https://play.edshed.co/login

You should be using Spelling Shed here to be practising your Year 5 and Year 6 words now. I have set you all some 'Assignments' which include the Year 5 and Year 6 words - they are split into separate lists (list 4, 5 and 6). Try to complete each list 3 times - if you get the spellings wrong then you know that you need to focus on those words.

You can also be practising the spelling rules we have already learned this year.

If you know you have problems with any of the Year 2 words or words that you learned in Year 3 or Year 4 then you should also be working on learning those too. The Spelling SAT will include words from Years 3 to 6  but the focus will be on words from Years 5 and 6. 

What are we learning this week?

We are practising our problem words and Y3/4 and Y5/6 words.

We have been thinking about proofreading our own work and thinking about strategies to spell words we are unsure of.

- Syllables - breaking words down into syllables can help us to spell.

- Phonemes - thinking about how syllables sound can help us to spell them.

What will we be testing next week?

We will be testing a variety of words from the statutory rules we have already learned (see below), along with some of our 'problem' words. Our focus will increasingly be on the Y5/6 list too.

Homophones

'homo' means 'same'.

'phone' means 'sound'.

So 'homophone' means words that sound the same but have different meanings.

There are many, many homophones in the English language - the list below records lots of the KS2 homophones that are covered in school! Don't forget these common ones too:

- your / you're

- to / too / two

- there / their / they're

Prefixes

Prefixes are used to build words or alter the meaning of words. Here are some examples of how this week's prefixes can be used in words but there are lots, lots more:

uni-         unicycle    university    universe    unite

bi-           bicycle       biped          binoculars

tri-           tricycle      triangle       triathlon  

semi-      semicircle    semifinal    semiconscious

extra-      extraordinary    extravagant    extraterrestrial

super-     supermarket     superior    supersonic    superhuman

auto-       automatic    automobile    autograph    autobiography

trans-      transfer    transplant    translate    translucent    transparent

tele-         telephone    television    teleport    telescope

circum-   circuit    circumference    circumnavigate

pro-         proceed    progress    prolong    probable

anti-        antiseptic    antibiotic   antibacterial   antidote    antisocial

aero-       aeroplane     aerobics    aerosol    aerial    

aqua-      aquarium    aquamarine    aqualung   aquatic

-cial and -tial

- cial is more common after vowels (and the root words often end with -ce)  e.g. race / racial

- tial is more common after consonants (and the root words often end with -t)  e.g. part/ partial

There are several exceptions to these rules (e.g. financial, provincial, initial and others)

Example -cial words

official           commercial         glacial
special          facial                   social
artificial         racial                   financial

provincial     beneficial             crucial

Example  -tial words
partial            confidential        essential
influential       substantial        torrential
preferential    residential         quintessential

initial              potential

-ough

This is a tricky rule because the one spelling pattern -ough can make six or seven different phonemes (sounds).

Here are some examples - see if you can spot the different phonemes (sounds):

bough

dough    though    although

drought   plough

sought    thought    ought    brought    bought     nought      fought
tough     rough      enough

thorough
cough

The children also need to be able to extend these words using affixes (prefixes and suffixes correctly). Here are some examples for a variety of phonemes - you can probably think of lots more:

boughs

ploughing

thoughtless

toughen

thoroughly

coughed

-cious or -tious.

Lots of the -cious words have related root words that end with -ice. Here are some examples:

malicious (malice)

vicious (vice)

precious

delicious

Lots of the -tious words have related root words that end with -tion. Here are some examples:

cautious (caution)

ambitious (ambition)

nutritious (nutrition)

fictitious (fiction)

There are also some words that don't fit the above rules:

suspicious (suspicion)

conscious

anxious

Homophones and near homophones

We have starting learning some homophones (homo=same, phones=sounds) - words that sound the same but have different meanings. The children need to know what each word means, which word class it is from and which word is the right one to use in different contexts. We don't know which words will be tested at the end of Y6 in our spelling SAT but we will be concentrating on the following words for now:

         Noun                Verb

• advise              advice    
• devise              device
• practise            practice
• license             licence

-fer words

We have learned how different suffixes change the ending for -fer words. Sometimes -fer stays as it is and sometimes we need to use -ferr.

Example words might include: 

• refer (refers, reference, referring, referred, referral, referee)
• prefer (prefers, preference, preferring, preferral, preferred)
• transfer (transfers, transference, transferring, transferral, transferred)
• infer (infers, inference, inferring, inferral, inferred)
• differ, offer, suffer ... and lots more.

-able  -ible   -ably   -ibly

We have learned a range of words ending with the statutory rules for -able and -ible, -ably and -ibly.

• -able and -ably are the most common and are usually the correct ending when we can hear all of the root word. Example words might include: reasonable (reasonably), unavoidable (unavoidably), valuable (valuably), considerable (considerably) and lots more. Remember that we may have to drop the 'e' from a root word before we add the -able or -ably suffix.
• -ible and -ibly are less common and are usually the correct ending when we cannot hear all of the root word. Example words might include: possible (possibly), terrible (terribly), legible (legibly), horrible (horribly), flexible (flexibly), sensible (sensibly) edible and lots more. Remember that we may have to drop the 'e' from a root word before we add the -ible or -ibly suffix.

Year 3/4 statutory words

We will also be testing a selection of words from the Y3/4 statutory spelling list - this is available at the bottom of this page. The words below, and others, will definitely be tested as they are problem words for lots of us. We have made a start with testing these already!

How can school and families support the children with their spelling?

At home, please practise your spellings for five to ten minutes every night - try to make this fun by playing games, using art materials, getting messy, setting up competitions with each other or by using the internet! I have put together a document outlining 20 ideas for learning and practising spelling at home - see above.

At school, children will be practising their spelling regularly in a variety of different ways as we follow the No Nonsense Spelling scheme. They will be encouraged to be independently checking and improving their own spelling and partners will be able to help each other.

I will provide word lists (in spelling books or on this page) to focus on at home. On occasion, I may also produce wordsearches or other games to help to make practice more fun!

Why should children practise their spelling?

As part of the new primary curriculum, the government have placed an increased emphasis on being able to spell well. Spelling must be accurate in all lessons (including in English, Maths and Topic), in the children's independent written work as well as in spelling tests.

How will spelling be assessed?

Spellings will be tested weekly. These tests will be made up of some of the words following the patterns/rules that are currently being practised in class and those that have been studied previously. Some words from the Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 spelling lists will also be included along with personal 'problem' words.

Testing will either be formal, when results will be recorded by the teacher, or will take place in pairs, when partners will be helping each other to correct mistakes and highlight misconceptions. The intention of carrying out testing in this way is that children become better spellers and won't just learn words for a test without applying their learning.

What are the expectations for spelling in Y6?

Children are expected to include an increasing number of advanced words in their written school work. By Year 6, it is expected that all Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 words are now being spelled correctly with very few errors - I have collated the National Curriculum rules and word list and it is available below. On this list you can see which are the Year 3/4 or Year 5/6 words.

Children are able to use word mats, dictionaries and classroom resources to support their spelling during class work but not during spelling tests.