Spelling 6: The "Schwa" Was Here!
The schwa (upside-down e) represents an indistinct vowel sound in an
unstressed syllable -- It sounds like a soft "uh"
Any unstressed vowel may spell the schwa sound: (a)bove, cact(u)s, mod(i)fy,
gall(o)n, it(e)m.
The schwa-L sound can be spelled al, el, il, ol, ul, or le: trial, jewel,
tendril, violin, fearful, apple
The schwa-R sound can be spelled ar, er, ir, or, ur, or ure: popular, cavern,
admiral, doctor, surprise, future.
1. comical
2. percentage
3. comparable
4. philosopher
5. faculty
6. stability
7. kernel
8. status
9. minimum
10.vigor
Spelling 5: the short "o" sound
The short "o" sound is spelled "au" or "aw" in most words, like August and
awful. It is also spelled a, augh, ough, and of course, o: halt, daughter,
ought, hot.
The "or" sound is usually spelled "or" or "oar": form, coarse.
1. audible
2. appall
3. authentic
4. thoughtful
5. haunted
6. slaughter
7. precaution
8. flawless
9. notorious
10. seaboard
Spelling Unit 1 Review of Lessons 1-4: Week of 10/19 (no spelling during
conference week):
1. assistant
2. diaphragm
3. fundamental
4. repeatedly
5. camouflage
6. efficiency
7. guarantee
8. satellite
9. coincide
10. endurance
11. infinity
12. successful
13. cubicle
14. eulogy
15. magnificent
16. vague
17. dialogue
18. fatigue
19. opponent
20. vengeance
Spelling 4: Week of 10/5: Perplexing Words
Although the sound of a word can often help you to spell it correctly, the
spellings of many English
words are difficult to remember because the spellings reflect pronunciations
from other languages.
For example, in Middle English, the consonant "b" in "subtle" was sounded.
Modern English drops
the sound but keeps the spelling.
Some of the most difficult words to spell contain unpronounced vowels. These
silent vowels may
also reflect patterns of other languages. For example, "vague" and other
"-gue" words come from
French.
1. subtle
2. chaos
3. vague
4. dialogue
5. diaphragm
6. vengeance
7. ghastly
8. debris
9. camouflage
10. fatigue
Spelling 3: Week of 9/28: Double Consonants
Double consonants often follow short vowel sounds: illness, motto
Double consonants usually represent a single unit of sound: occupy, nagging
Sometimes double consonants represent two units of sound: succeed, fishhook
1. accord
2. challenge
3. official
4. commend
5. efficiency
6. opponent
7. fulfill
8. assistant
9. satellite
10. successful
Spelling 2: Week of 9/21: Long Vowel Sounds
"A" as in stain and grape
"E" as in reach and handy
"I" as in sigh and sky
"O" as in road and close
"U" as in cue and use
Long vowel sounds are often spelled with vowel combinations.
Long A can be spelled ai, ay, or a_e.
Long E can be spelled ea, ee, y, i_e, or e_e.
Long I can be spelled igh, u, or i_e.
Long O can be spelled oa, ow, ough, or o_e.
Long U can be spelled ou, ew, eu, u, ue, or u_e.
Word List:
1. mainstay
2. guarantee
3. coincide
4. eulogy
5. enlighten
6. gratify
7. repeatedly
8. speculate
9. although
10. cubicle
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Spelling 1: Week of 9/14: Short Vowel Sounds
"a" as in hat
"e" as in bed
"i" as in hit
"o" as in hot
"u" as in bug
Short vowel sounds are usually spelled with one letter, like in "comic" or
"bankrupt."
Word list:
1. evidence
2. abstract
3. magnificent
4. candid
5. fundamental
6. digital
7. symbolic
8. endurance
9. infinity
10. cultural
Your homework sheet is due on Thursday.
