Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Back to Study Hub Browse Year 2 English Guides

Year 2 - English

The 'j' spellings, including 'g', 'ge' and 'dge'

Alternative GPCS for consonants and homophones

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils learn to spell homophones, near-homophones and new consonant spellings.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to spell words containing the representations of the 'j' phoneme: 'g', 'ge' and 'dge'.

Key Notes

The letter 'j' is never used to represent the 'j' phoneme at the end of the word.
The spelling 'dge' is usually used after short vowels.
The spelling 'ge' is usually used after consonants and other vowel sounds.
The spelling 'g' is often used before 'i', 'e' and 'y'.
How to spell the common exception word: because.

Vocabulary To Learn

digraph: two letters that represent one sound
trigraph: three letters that represent one sound
consonant: a sound that is made by blocking air in the mouth with the teeth, tongue, lips or palate
short vowel: a vowel sound that sounds short when spoken like "a" in "cat" or the "o" sound in "hot"
mnemonic: a word, short poem, or sentence that can help you remember things such as spelling rules

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Children may be using 'ge' and 'dge' interchangeably.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

The letter 'j' is never used to represent the 'j' phoneme at the end of the word. The spelling 'dge' is usually used after short vowels.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'digraph'

two letters that represent one sound.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Children may be using 'ge' and 'dge' interchangeably. Correction: Be very explicit about 'dge' being found alongside the short vowel and the 'ge' spelling being found alongside other vowel sounds.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 2 English guide library.