Spelling Rules

Two Vowels Go Walking

Rule: When two vowels are together, the first one usually has a long vowel sound. “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking!”

Vowel-Consonant-Silent “E”

Rule: Words spelled with a vowel-consonant-silent “e” pattern have a long vowel sound.

“R”-Controlled Words

Rule: Many words have vowels that do not have a short or long sound because they are followed by the letter “r.” You will hear the “r” very clearly controlling the vowel sound.

“Y” Within Words

Rule: The letter “y” within a word usually makes the long “i” sound.

“EI” Words

Rule: The vowels “ei” come together in many words, especially after the letter “c”. The letters “ei” often make the long “a” sound but can make other sounds too.

“IE” Words

Rule: The vowels “ie” come together in many words. The letters “ie” often make the long “e” sound.

Dropping the Silent “E”

Rule: When a word ends with a vowel, a consonant, and a silent “e”, you usually drop the silent “e” before adding “ed” or “ing.”

Doubling the Last Consonant

Rule: When a verb ends with a short vowel and one consonant, you usually double the last consonant before adding “ed” or “ing.”

Words Ending in “Y”

Rule: When a word ends in a consonant followed by the letter “y,” you will change the “y” to “i” before adding an ending. Do not change the “y” to “i” when you add the ending “ing.”

Verb Review

Rule: Remember to make spelling changes to verbs when adding “ed” and “ing.”

“F” Sound Made by “PH” and “GH”

Soft “G” Sound Words

Rule: When the letter “g” is followed by the letters “e,” “i,” or “y,” it usually makes the soft “g” sound like the letter “j.”

Soft “C” Sound Words

Rule: When the letter “c” is followed by the letters “e,” “i,” or “y,” it usually makes the soft “c” sound like the letter “s.”

“QU” and “SQU” Words

Rule: the letter “u” always follows the letter “q”.

Changing “F” to “VES” When Plural

Rule: Words ending in “f” or “fe” are changed to “ves” when made plural.

Irregular Plural Nouns

Rule: Some nouns create new words when showing more than one.Some nouns use the same word for singular and plural forms.

Double Consonant

Rule: Words with double consonants are divided into syllables between the consonants.

Words with Digraphs

Rule: Digraphs are the letter combinations “ch,” “sh,” “th,” and “wh.” The two letters work together to make only one sound.

Words That Add “ES”

Rule: Words that end in “ch,” “s,” “sh,” “ss,” “zz,” and “x” add “es” to the end.

Common Syllables

Rule: Common syllables are letter groups found at the beginning of many words. Some beginning common syllables are “be”.….. and “a”…

Words with Suffixes

Rule: A suffix is a common syllable added to the end of an existing word or base word. A suffix changes the meaning of the base word.

Words with Prefixes

Rule: Prefixes are letters or letter groups that are added to the beginning of a word (base word) to make a new word. Some prefixes are “un,” “re,” “mis,” and “dis.”

Comparative Endings

Rule: To make an adjective compare two things, add “er” to the end. If the adjective ends with “y,” change the “y” to an “i” and then add “er.”

Adverbs

Rule: Adverbs tell more about a verb. They can tell when, where, or how. (Examples: She raced yesterday. The hat blew away. The man spoke softly.

Pronouns

Rule: Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. The can be singular, plural, and/or possessive.

Homophones

Rule: Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

Contractions

Rule: Contractions are made by combining two words and shortening them by using an apostrophe to make one word.

Compound Words

Rule: A compound word is a new word made from combining (but not changing) two existing words.

Focus on Syllables (1)

Rule: All words can be divided into parts or syllables. Each syllable has one vowel sound. The vowel sounds may be long, short, “r” controlled, dipthongs, or schwas.

Focus on Syllables (2)

Rule: All words can be divided into parts or syllables. Each syllable has one vowel sound. The vowel sound may be long, short, “r” controlled, dipthongs, or schwas.