Alternative Spellings for Sounds
Spell words using alternative grapheme choices for known phonemes, learning new spellings for sounds already encountered (e.g., /ɔ:/ as 'a' before ll, /ʌ/ as 'o', words ending -tion), including distinguishing common homophones
What a learner can do afterwards
- Spell 'ball', 'call', 'walk' using alternative grapheme /ɔ:/ as 'a' before ll
- Distinguish homophones in writing: 'there/their/they’re', 'here/hear', 'quite/quiet'
- Spell words ending in -tion correctly: 'station', 'fiction', 'motion'
The lesson
You already know that one sound can be spelled more than one way. Today you learn new spellings for sounds you already know, so tricky words make more sense.
Some words spell the 'uh' sound with the letter 'o' instead of 'u'. Look at 'son', 'come', and 'love'. The letter 'o' says 'uh' in each one, even though it looks like it should say 'oh'.
Words like 'station', 'fiction', and 'motion' end with the letters 't-i-o-n'. Those four letters together say 'shun'.
Some words sound exactly the same but are spelled differently because they mean different things. 'There' points to a place, 'their' shows something belongs to someone, and 'they're' means 'they are'. Read the sentence and think about the meaning to pick the right spelling.
Same sound, different spelling: match the letters to the word's meaning, not just its sound.
Watch it
Where it sits
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.