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Year 2 - English

New 'ay' spellings, including 'a', 'eigh' and 'ey'

Alternative GPCs for long vowels

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils learn new GPCs (grapheme phoneme correspondences) for long vowel sounds.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to know three new spellings for the 'ay' phoneme: 'a', 'eigh' and 'ey'.

Key Notes

  • a', 'eigh' and 'ey' are alternative spellings for the 'ay' phoneme.
  • Words in word families often have similar spellings.
  • How to spell the common exception words: told, hold and oh.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • common: common spellings are spellings which appear frequently
  • homophone: homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings, like 'oh' and 'owe'
  • proper noun: a naming word that does need capitalisation
  • rare: rare spellings are spellings which appear less frequently

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils will look for any word with 'a' in it e.g. shared. 'A' can be pronounced in different ways.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

a', 'eigh' and 'ey' are alternative spellings for the 'ay' phoneme. Words in word families often have similar spellings.

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

common spellings are spellings which appear frequently.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils will look for any word with 'a' in it e.g. shared. 'A' can be pronounced in different ways. Correction: Remind pupils to stretch each word when reading to help hear the 'ay' sound e.g. s-t-a-b-le vs sh-are-d.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 2 English guide library.