Year 6 - English
Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'
Letter strings, etymology and curriculum words
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils review and learn a wide range of Year 6 spellings, including letter strings, words with the suffixes -ant, -ance, -ent, -ence, -able and -ible, silent letters, French and Greek origin words, curriculum words and words that use the hyphen in two ways.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to recognise when words might be spelt with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'.
Key Notes
- The 'ough' spelling can make a variety of sounds.
- The 'au' spelling can make a variety of sounds.
- When you hear one of these sounds, the word might contain the 'ough' or 'au' spelling.
- The pronunciation of the 'au' letter string may vary depending on accent.
- How to spell the curriculum words: amateur and sacrifice.
Vocabulary To Learn
- letter string: a group of letters that are written together in a word
- phoneme: the smallest unit of sound that can change a word's meaning
- digraph: two letters that represent one sound
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils might think that all words with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au' are pronounced the same way.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
The 'ough' spelling can make a variety of sounds. The 'au' spelling can make a variety of sounds.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'letter string'
a group of letters that are written together in a word.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils might think that all words with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au' are pronounced the same way. Correction: Show pupils that these letter strings can sound different depending on the word they are in. Explore different words and talk about which sounds are the most and least common.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings "ou", "ear" and "ice" Study Guide
- Spelling key curriculum words Study Guide
- Spelling words from the Y5/6 curriculum list Study Guide
- Spelling words with French etymology Study Guide
- Spelling words with Greek and Latin etymology Study Guide
- Spelling words with the -able suffix Study Guide
- Spelling words with the -ible suffix Study Guide
- Spelling words with the 'ee' sound spelt 'ei' Study Guide
- Spelling words with the 'ee' sound spelt 'ie' Study Guide
- Spelling words with the silent letters 'b', 'k', 'g', 'w' and 't' Study Guide
- Spelling words with the silent letters 'h', 'p', 'n', 'l' and 's' Study Guide
- Spelling words with the suffixes -ant and -ance Study Guide
- Spelling words with the suffixes -ent and -ence Study Guide
- Using hyphens to create adjectives Study Guide
- Using hyphens to join prefixes to root words Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 6 English guide library.