SPELLING SORT HELP SHEET

VOWELS
(a, e, I, o, u)
Vowels can be long or short. Long vowels say their name. Most long
vowels require a special vowel pattern, such as:
a e i o u
a_e e_e i_e o_e u_e
ai_ ee igh oa_ ui_
_ay ea _y _ow
_y
BLENDS
(two or three consonants together
that make a continuous sound)
bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, tw, br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr, qu, sc, sk, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, lf, lp, lt,
sk, mp, ng, nt, nd, nk, rd, rt, rp, spr, str, spl
DIGRAPHS
(two consonants that create a new
sound)
ch, sh, th, wh, ph

DIPHTHONGS
(a vowel team that creates a new
sound)
oi, oy, ou, ow, au, aw, ew, oo

R CONTROLLED
(the vowel is controlled by the R
sound)
er, ir, ur, ar, or

SYLLABLES Vowel sounds in a word (not necessarily the number of actual vowels)
Open syllables have a long vowel sound at the end (po-ta-to)
Closed syllables have a consonant sound at the end (mar-ket)
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Singular one person, place, or thing
Plural more than one person, place, or thing (words usually end in -s, -
es, or -ies)
SYNONYMS
ANTONYMS
Synonym words with same meaning (happy/glad)
Antonym opposites (happy/sad)
HOMOPHONE Words that are spelled differently but are pronounced the same and
have different meanings (there, their)
HOMONYM Words with multiple meanings (bat=flying animal, bat=equipment for
baseball)
CONTRACTIONS Two words brought together and made smaller by taking out a letter or
letters from the interior (can not= cant)
COMPOUND WORDS Two words together to form a new word (rain + bow = rainbow)
PREFIX
SUFFIX
BASEWORD
Prefix A syllable added to the beginning of a word (re, over, un)
Suffix A syllable added to the ending of a word (ing, ful, ly, ed)
Baseword the word that the prefix or suffix is added to, a complete
word that carries meaning
PARTS OF SPEECH Noun person, place, or thing
Verb action
Adjective describes a noun (tells which one, how many)
Adverb describes a verb or adjective (tells when, why, where, and
under what conditions. Usually ends in ly)
ABC Order
(alphabetical order)
Listing the words in a systematic order using the alphabet.
ADDING ENDINGS
(SUFFIXES)
DOUBLE IT double the final consonant before suffix. Keeps a short vowel
in the first syllable. (hop-hopping, stop-stopped)
DROP IT drop a silent e before suffix. Keeps a long vowel sound in the
first syllable. (make-making, use-used, taste-taster)
LEAVE IT ALONE simply add the suffix to the baseword. Keeps vowel
sounds constant because baseword ends with a blend or digraph.
(camp-camping, wish-wished)