Spellings from Greek, French and Latin
Spell English words with ch representing /k/ in words with Greek roots, ch representing /ʃ/ and -gue/-que in words borrowed through French, and sc representing /s/ in words with Latin in their histories
What a learner can do afterwards
- Spell chorus, chemist, echo and scheme with ch representing /k/, and recognise the connection with Greek roots
- Spell chef, chalet and machine with ch representing /ʃ/, and league and unique with their learned -gue/-que endings
- Spell science, scene and discipline with sc representing one /s/ sound, and recognise that a word's history may involve several languages
1 · Read
English words have histories involving many languages. Some spelling patterns can help us remember those histories. A word may pass through several languages before reaching English, so one letter group cannot tell us its whole story.
Some English words with Greek roots use ch for the k sound. Learn chorus, chemist, echo and scheme with this spelling. A chemist studies chemicals. These are English spellings and pronunciations, not instructions for writing or speaking Greek.
In English words borrowed through French, ch can represent sh: chef, chalet and machine. A chalet is a house often found in the mountains. League ends in gue, representing g here. Unique ends in que, representing k here. Learn each whole spelling; these patterns do not apply to every word.
Science, scene and discipline each keep sc for one s sound. Their histories involve Latin, sometimes along with other languages. Discipline can mean training that helps someone follow rules. Keep both letters when spelling these words. Check a dictionary's origin entry to learn more about a word's history.
Learn each word's letters: ch can represent k or sh, gue and que can represent g and k, and sc represents s in science. A dictionary can tell you more about word history.
Both spelling readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Check the written word
Your spelling card says scene. Cover it and write the word from memory. Then uncover the card and compare the letters in order.
Did you keep both s and c? The pair represents one s sound here. Saying the word cannot tell you every letter it needs.
Use the printed word or a dictionary to check. Mark any letters you left out, then write the complete word again.
One letter pair, different sounds
Write school, chair and machine on three cards. Find ch on each card. Say each word and listen to the sound that ch represents.
In school it represents k. In chair it represents ch. In machine it represents sh. The letters match, but the sounds differ.
Keep the whole word on each card. A card showing only ch would not tell you which of these sounds to use.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
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.