The following spellings are all based on the recommended spellings that Year 6s are expected to know.
The spellings have been arranged according to the type of spelling problem that each word presents. Each spelling will tend to build upon the one that came before. This will help you see how many of the words in the English language are, in many ways, logically constructed. You will see some gaps in each of the tables some of the time. They are there for a number of reasons and you can ignore them.
Before using the lists, you need to be clear about the following terms:
Longer words are built around a word or syllable that serves as a base for the longer word. This is called the STEM or ROOT. For example:
sign - signature - design
As you can see the STEM enables all the other bits and pieces to be put onto it to create new words.
The STEM is not always a word. For example:
cur - occur - occurrence - reoccur - reoccurring
The spelling of the STEM might change slightly according to the sounds that follow it. You will need to be alert to this.
An AFFIX is the general term for a letter or series of letters that come before and after a word to change its meaning. For example:
sign - signature - design
The "De" and the "er" are examples of affixes. The ones that go before the STEM are called PREFIXES and the ones that come after are called SUFFIXES.
Being able to break down a word into its separate parts can be very helpful for improving your spelling. Take the following word:
Disappointment
How many different suffixes and prefixes are used to build this word from the stem? The answer is three.
POINT
AP+POINT
AP+POINT+MENT
DIS+AP+POINT+MENT
It is important that you train yourself to break down words into their STEMS, PREFIXES and SUFFIXES and that you become alert to any small changes that result. The way these spelling lists have been arranged will go some way to helping you do that and you will find that you will more easily be able to see the connections between words.
A set of spellings have been put into three grids. The first grid is the "MUST" grid. These are spellings that you all must make sure that you can get right. Although these ones are not so difficult, you should check these spellings even if you are a confident speller. This is because many of the patterns that occur in these spellings appear in the more difficult spellings in the next grids.
The next grid is the "SHOULD" grid. Everyone should have a go at these and should be able to get most of them right.
The third grid is the "COULD" grid. If you are confident with the easier spellings then you should find the spellings in this section more challenging on the whole. Also, some or the vocabulary will be more difficult, so you should check the meaning of any words you don't know.
The final grid is empty. This is for you to write in any additional spellings that follow some of the same patterns to the ones in the previous grids.