LEVEL 1 All About Spelling Rules Key Cards 1.3 The vowels are: a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y. 1.3 A consonant is: any letter that isn t a vowel. 1.5 A vowel s first sound is short. /a/ as in apple, /e/ as in end, /i/ as in igloo, /o/ as in odd, /u/ as in up 1.5 Every word has at least one: vowel. 1.8 Names start with a: capital letter. 1.16 C says /s/ before e,i,or y. 1.16 What are two ways to spell the sound of /k/ at the beginning of a word? c and k (later, ch) Which letter do we try first? c 1.18 Which three letters are often doubled after a single vowel at the end of a one-syllable word? f, l, and s i.e. full, ruff, mess 1.19 Ck is only used after: a short vowel. i.e. duck 1.23 Plural means: more than one. 1.23 Two common ways to make a word plural are by adding: s or es. 1.24 The long vowel sounds are: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. (Long vowel sounds say the name of the letter. 1.24 The vowel in a closed syllable is usually: short. ie. got 1.24 The vowel in an open syllable is usually: long. ie. go
Key Cards LEVEL 2 2.1 The short vowel sounds are: /a/ as in apple, /e/ as in end, /i/ as in igloo, /o/ as in odd, /u/ as in up The long vowels sounds say their letter name. 2.1 The vowel in a closed syllable is usually: short. ie. got The vowel in an open syllable is usually: long. ie. go 2.1 C says /s/ before e,i,or y. i.e. princess, ice, cycle 2.1 Ck is only used after: a short vowel. i.e. duck, lock 2.1 Which three letters are often doubled after a single vowel at the end of a one-syllable word? f, l, and s. i.e. full, ruff, mess 2.3 English words don t end in: i,j,u, or v. 2.4 Every syllable has at least one: vowel. 2.14 The Find Gold Rule for one-syllable words: I and O often say their long sounds when f followed by two consonants. ie. find, gold 2.20 G may say /j/ before: e,i, or y. i.e. gem, gist, gym
Key Cards LEVEL 3 3.6 Homophones are words that wound alike but are spelled differently. i.e. one, won 3.8 To protect a short vowel, we often: double the consonant i.e. bubble 3.11 What can we add to the end of a base word to make a new word? A suffix. 3.13. When we add a consonant suffix, do not double the last consonant of the base word. (Just add the consonant suffix to the end of the word.) i.e. fair + ly > fairly When we add a vowel suffix, sometimes we need to double the last consonant of the base word. i.e. run + ing > running 3.19 Past tense means it happened in the past. 3.20 Use the Drop E Rule when you add a vowel suffix. i.e. hope + ing -> hoping 3.26 How do you add a suffix to a word ending in single vowel y? Change the y to an i and then add the suffix. i.e. cherry + es -> cherries. 3.14 The six question words are: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Exception: If the suffix begins with an i, you do not change the y to an i. i.e. hurry + ing -> hurrying.
Key Cards LEVEL 4 4.2 How do we usually spell /ch/ after a short vowel? tch i.e. catch 4.3 We have two options to spell /j/ at the end of a word. What are they? ge or dge. Which one do we use right after a short vowel? dge i.e. badge 4.5 What can we add in front of a base word to make a new word? a prefix LEVEL 5 5.11 The I-Before-E Poem: When the sound is /e/ (long e) It s i before e Except after c. i.e. field, receive 5.22 Use the Doubling Rule when adding a vowel suffix: Double the consonant if the base word ends in: one vowel followed by one consonant with the accent on the last syllable. i.e. prefer + ed -> preferred offer + ed -> offered LEVEL 6 6.26 To add suffix -ly to a word ending in consonant +le, drop the -le and add suffix -ly. i.e. reasonable + ly -> reasonably
Sound Cards 1. 7 ways to spell the sound of /a/ (long a): a, a_e, ai, ay, ey, ei, eigh - maple, cake, rain, hay, they, vein, eight 2. 9 ways to spell the sound of /e/ (long e): e, e_e, ee, ea, y, i, ey, ie, ei - he, Pete, feet, leaf, happy, ski, key, field, receive 3. 5 ways to spell the sound of /i/ (long i): i, i_e, y, igh, ie - hi, bite, my, right, pie 4. 5 ways to spell the sound of /o/ (long o): o, o_e, oa, ow, oe - go, tote, toad, row, toe 5. 3 ways to spell the sound of /u/ (long u): u, u_e, ue - music, rude, glue 6. 2 ways to spell the sound of /oy/: oy (may use at the end of English words) - toy oi (may not use at the end of English words) - oil 7. 2 ways to spell the sound of /aw/ aw (may use at the end of English words) - saw au (may not use at the end of English words) - sauce 8. 5 ways to spell the sound of /er/: er, ur, or, ir, ear, our - her, fur, work, sir, early, journey 9. 4 ways to spell the sound of /k/: c, k, ck, ch - cat, kite, duck, school 10. 4 ways to spell the sound of /sh/ sh, ti, si, ci - shoe, nation, mansion, social 11. 3 ways to spell the sound of /n/: n, kn, gn - now, know, gnu 12. 2 ways to spell the sound of /r/: r, wr - right, write 13. 2 ways to spell the sound of /f/: f, ph - fish, Philip 15. 3 ways to spell the sound of /j/: j, g, dge - jungle, gem, grudge 16. 4 ways to spell the sound of /ul/: le, al, el, il - table, final, level, fossil 14. 2 ways to spell the sound of /ch/: ch, tch - church, clutch
17. 2 ways to spell the sound of /us/: us, ous - focus, jealous 18. 2 ways to spell /ibl/: albe, ible - fixable, incredible