FS English Level 2 – March 07, 2023 (Spelling, punctuation and grammar : Spelling strategies).

1. SPELLING
SPELLING STRATEGIES

2. SPELLING STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1: Mnemonics
STRATEGY 2: Breaking words apart
STRATEGY 3: Look, Say, Cover,Write, Check
STRATEGY 4: Spelling Rules
STRATEGY 5: Prefixes and Suffixes

3. STRATEGY 1: Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a technique for helping to memorise spellings.
necessary – It is necessary to cut some services.
accommodation – This accommodation has cosy comfort and
modern mirrors.
separate - There is a rat in separate.

4. STRATEGY 2: Breaking words apart
Breaking words apart into syllables is a useful spelling strategy to help you spell longer
words.
advertisement = ad / ver / tise / ment (4 syllables)
qualification = qua / li / fi / ca / tion (5 syallables)

5. STRATEGY 2: Breaking words apart
This strategy is also especially helpful for words with double letters. By splitting up
double letters in words it makes them easier to remember.
op po site
ac com mo dation
ad dress
an nu al ly
re com mend

6. STRATEGY 3: Look, Say, Cover,Write, Check
Take a word you have difficulty in spelling.
• Write the word down.
• Look at the word.
• Say the word.
• Cover the word.
• Practice writing the word.
• Check you have spelt it correctly.
This technique is commonly used in schools to improve spelling.

7. STRATEGY 4: Spelling rules
British spelling includes rules.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common rules. Memorising them can help you to
avoid particular spelling errors.

8. STRATEGY 4: Spelling rules
‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’
believe / niece / pierce / friend
receive / deceive / receipt /perceive / ceiling
However, there are exceptions to this rule:
species /seize / height / either / leisure / weird
There is no trick to help you remember these exceptions.You just have to try to memorise
them.

9. STRATEGY 4: Spelling rules
Making plurals
To make most words plural, you just need to add an ‘s’ to the end of the word:
dog/dogs, egg/eggs, house/houses,student/students
If a word ends with ‘ch’,‘x’,‘s’,‘sh’ or ‘z’, you need to add ‘es’ on the end to make it plural:
two torches, three boxes, several glasses, some dishes, five waltzes

10. STRATEGY 4: Spelling rules
Making plurals
For words that end with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) and then a ‘y’, just add an ‘s’ to the end of the
word. (E.G. tray/trays, key/keys, toy/toys, buy/buys).
For words that end in a consonant and then a ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding ‘es’.
(E.G. cry/cries, country/countries, company/companies, family/families).

11. STRATEGY 4: Spelling rules
Making plurals
For words that end with ‘f’, change the ‘f’ to ‘v’ and add ‘es’. (E.G. leaf/leaves, thief/thieves,
shelf/shelves).
For words that end with ‘fe’, change the ‘f’ to ‘v’ and add ‘s’. (E.G. knife/knives, life/lives,
wife/wives).

12. STRATEGY 4: Spelling rules
Making plurals
There are some plural words that don’t have a rule.
(E.G. tooth - teeth, woman - women, mouse - mice).
Other words don’t change from singular to plural.
(E.G. one fish - lots of fish, one deer - a herd of deer, one sheep - a flock of sheep).

13. STRATEGY 5: Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes are letters added to the front of words. Sometimes they create an opposite
meaning.
(E.G. well - unwell, agree - disagree, understand - misunderstand).
The important rule to remember is that prefixes do not change the spelling of a word.
(E.G. im + perfect = imperfect, un + necessary = unnecessary,il + legal = illegal, mis +
spell = misspell).
Other prefixes that don’t create an opposite meaning: inter— (means ‘between’ -
international; pre— (means ‘before’ or ‘previous to’ - prewar, preset, prepay).

14. STRATEGY 5: Prefixes and Suffixes
Suffixes are letters added to the end of words.
Unlike prefixes, suffixes can change the spelling of words.
(E.G. If a word ends in ‘e’ and the first letter of a suffix is a vowel, you remove the ‘e’
before adding a suffix - care + ing = caring, write + ing = writing, manage + ing =
managing, true + ly = truly ).
But sometimes this rule doesn’t apply. E.G. knowledge/knowledgeable, replace/replaceable,
love/loveable.

15. STRATEGY 5: Prefixes and Suffixes
If a words ends with a consonant and then a ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’.
(E.G. tidy + ness = tidiness, cry + ed = cried, study + ed = studied).
The C-V-C rule helps you to remember about doubling letters when you are adding a suffix
that begins with a vowel if the last three letters of a word go consonant - vowel -
consonant (C-V-C).
(E.G. commit + ing = committing, begin + ing = beginning).
But if the first letter of a suffix is a consonant, you don’t double the last letter.
(E.G. dread + ful = dreadful, joyful + ness = joyfulness).

16. SPELLING STRATEGIES - REVIEW
STRATEGY 1: Mnemonics
STRATEGY 2: Breaking words apart
STRATEGY 3: Look, Say, Cover,Write, Check
STRATEGY 4: Spelling Rules
Which spelling strategy from
1 to 4 would work best for
you?
STRATEGY 5: Prefixes and Suffixes

17. Other Useful Ideas
• Sound out the silent letters in words e.g. the i in
bus-i-ness or the d and nes in Wed-nes-day.
• Finally, always take the time to proofread your work
for spelling errors, especially in the writing exam.