Alternative spellings of sounds · Grade 1
Many English sounds can be spelt in more than one way. The long a sound can be ai (rain), ay (play) or a-e (cake). Good spellers learn the choices and where each one usually goes in a word, then check that the word looks right.
Key facts
- Long a: ai (rain), ay (day), a-e (game). Long e: ee (tree), ea (dream), y (happy).
- Long o: oa (boat), ow (snow), o-e (home). Long i: igh (night), ie (pie), y (fly), i-e (bike).
- oo (moon), ue (glue), ew (new); ow (cow), ou (house); er (her), ir (bird), ur (nurse); or (fork), aw (saw), au (sauce).
- Position helps: ay, ow, ew and aw often come at the end of a word (play, snow, new, saw); ai, oa and ou usually come in the middle (rain, boat, cloud).
- Not sure? Write the word two ways and choose the one that looks right, then check in a dictionary.
Worked examples
Example 1
Which spelling is correct: trane, trayn or train?
Answer: train
Example 2
Fill the gap: pl__ (you do it in a game)
Answer: play
Example 3
Which word has the same sound as boat: snow, cow or book?
Answer: snow