Spelling

Spelling Strategies

There are multiple ways to learn to spell. If you struggle with certain ones, practising them can help you recall them in the future.

Mnemonics

• A mnemonic is a tool that helps your memory to retrieve the information you have stored in it. 

• In spelling, you might use a pattern, rhyme, or saying to help you recall how a word is put together.

• Finding familiar words within longer words is another way of creating a mnemonic.

• ‘Emma faced a dilemma’  might help you remember that there are two m’s in ‘dilemma’

Hear with your Ear

• Another way of remembering a tricky spelling is to sound the word out.

• Break down the way the word is structured and this will make it easier to remember.

Common rules to remember

Past Tense

• Add -ed to a verb to use the past tense

• Here are some examples

• Some words have irregular spellings in the past tense. In this case we might need to invent mnemonics.

• Here are some examples

“ing” forms of Verbs

Ing is used for continuous past tense however, if the words end with a consonant, you can simply use “-ing”

• Another rule is when a word ends with an ‘e’ will lose that ‘e’ when you add ‘ing’

• Example:

Silent letters

• Some words contain silent like: wrong, lamb, knife

Commonly Misspelled Words

Homophones

• Homophones are words that sound identical but have different spellings and meanings.

• To remember which one is helpful, as these wrong can confuse readers

• Here are some examples: which/witch, two/to/too, sight/site, through/threw, break/brake

Punctuation

Punctuating sentences

Sentences should begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop, an exclamation mark or a question mark.

Full stops

Full stops are important as they help to separate sentences. While reading it is important to take pauses during the full stops for reading to make sense.

Exclamation marks

An exclamation mark is used to change the tone of the sentence. It is often used to add emphasis, outrageous or to show excitement.

E.g.: Wow! You look great today.

Question marks

Question mark sentences are known as interrogative sentences that indicate a question.

E.g.: How are you?

Commas

• Commas are used to separate words in a clause or list in a sentence.

• Eg: I bought mangoes, apples, tomatoes and cucumbers from the market.

• It is also used to separate the main and subordinate of the sentence.

• Eg: Smiths run a barber shop, on 11th Avenue.

Apostrophes

• Apostrophes are used to signify possession or omission in a sentence.

• Possession: This is used to showcase something that belongs to someone. The apostrophe + ‘s’ shows ownership

• Eg: My coat’s pockets are tiny.

• Omission: Apostrophes are also used to shorten certain words.

• E.g.: do not become don’t, could not become couldn’t.

Round brackets

• These are used to add extra information to a sentence

• Eg: Sam loves dogs (she had one since she was a child) and she feeds them every day.

Sophisticated punctuation

Ellipsis

• Three dots in a row are called “ellipsis”.

• They’re used to signify that a part of the sentence is missing.

• Eg: “Oh no…” said Lily

• This ellipsis suggests that Lily is thinking of something.

• It is mainly used in the main body of the writing and signifies unfinished sentences so that the reader can imagine the further happenings.

Colon

• A colon is used to introduce someone or something

• Eg: My daughter has two favourite toys: a horse and a house

Semi-colon

• Semicolon are used to connect two different sentences into one.

• Eg: I can’t make it to the party, I don’t have a ride.

Separating a list

• A semi-colon is used to organize the group information so that it is understandable by the reader

• Eg: To make a cake you’ll need: a large mixing bowl; finely milled flour; softened butter; caster sugar and eggs; and a good strong arm to stir it all together.

Grammar

Nouns

• Nouns are words that represent people, places, things, or ideas. 

• They are one of the basic parts of speech in English grammar. Nouns can be classified into different categories such as

• Common nouns (e.g., dog, city), proper nouns (e.g., John, Paris), concrete nouns (e.g., table, car), abstract nouns (e.g., love, happiness), and collective nouns (e.g., team, flock). 

• Nouns are essential for constructing sentences and conveying meaning in written and spoken language.

Pronouns

• Pronouns are words that are used in place of nouns to avoid repetition.

• They can refer to people, objects, or ideas. 

• Common pronouns include "he," "she," "it," "they," "we," and "you." 

• Pronouns can also be categorized as personal pronouns (e.g., "I," "you," "he," "she," "it," "we," "they")

• Possessive pronouns (e.g., "mine," "yours," "his," "hers," "ours," "theirs")

• Reflexive pronouns (e.g., "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," "ourselves," "themselves")

Adjectives

• Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. 

• They provide additional information about the noun or pronoun in terms of its quality, quantity, size, colour, or other characteristics. 

• Adjectives can be used to make sentences more descriptive and vivid.

•  Examples of adjectives include "beautiful," "tall," "blue," "delicious," and "smart."

Verbs

• Verbs describe the action or state of the subject.

• It is the ‘doing’ or ‘being’ part of the sentence

• Eg: Jane ran through the park.

• Justin tore off his project.

Adverbs

• Adverbs describe the extra details of verbs, adjectives and even the complete sentence.

• Adjectives can be single words or phrases

• An adverb describes how, when or where something happens

• They often end with ‘-ly’

• Eg: The lions suddenly pounced on the deer

• It was a very sunny day

Prepositions

• Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. 

• They indicate location, time, direction, manner, and other relationships. Some common prepositions include "in," "on," "at," "by," "for," "with," and "to." 

• They are essential for constructing meaningful sentences and conveying precise meaning.

Connectives

• Connectives are words that help to join sentences, clauses and phrases together

• Some common connectives are ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘so’ and ‘then’.

• Eg: She was cold but didn’t put her jacket on.

Sentences

• Simple sentences

• Simple sentences include only one main clause

• Eg: Sheeps graze grass

• Compound sentences

• A compound sentence joins more than one major clause with a conjunction

• Eg: It was raining but he had forgotten his raincoat

• Complex sentences

• Complex sentences are sentences that contain both an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. 

• They are formed by combining these clauses using subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns.

•  Complex sentences allow for more complex and nuanced expressions of ideas.

Subjects and objects

Subject

• The subject is the part of a sentence that typically indicates the person, thing, or idea that acts or is being described. 

• It is usually a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that agrees with the verb in number and person.

•  The subject is essential for constructing a complete sentence and can be identified by asking "Who?" or "What?" before the verb. 

• For example: "John runs every morning." (The subject is "John")

• "The cat is sleeping." (The subject is "The cat") 

Objects

• Many verbs use an object.

• A direct object receives the action of the verb directly. It answers the question "what" or "whom" after the verb

• For example, Shanaya plays the piano.

Clauses

• A main clause contains a verb and has one main idea. It can form a complete sentence. This is called a main clause.

• Eg: the dog barked

• Some clauses are not complete ideas and therefore can not function as independent sentences. 

• These are subordinate clauses and add extra information to a sentence. A sentence that includes both a main and a subordinate clause is known as a complex sentence.