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Year 2 - English

The 'or' spellings, including 'or', 'oor', 'au' and 'aw'

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 read and spell words containing four representations of the 'or' phoneme: 'or', 'oor', 'au' and 'aw'.

Key Notes

  • 'aw' is a representation of the 'or' phoneme that often comes at the end of a word and sometimes in the middle.
  • 'oor' is a representation of the 'or' phoneme that sometimes comes at the end of a word.
  • 'Paw' and 'poor' are homophones.
  • How to spell the common exception words: people, Mr and Mrs.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • digraph: two letters that represent one sound
  • trigraph: three letters that represent one sound
  • homophone: words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils can think the 'rules' for the spelling will always help to choose the right spelling.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

'aw' is a representation of the 'or' phoneme that often comes at the end of a word and sometimes in the middle. 'oor' is a representation of the 'or' phoneme that sometimes comes at the end of a word.

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: Pupils can think the 'rules' for the spelling will always help to choose the right spelling. Correction: Explain that rules can help us a certain amount. We also need to use our judgement of 'what looks right'.

More Lessons In This Unit

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