Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's spelling lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss.

I love spelling.

I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

With you today you need to bring your looking eyes, your listening ears, and your thinking brains, and as well as that, something to write with and write on would also be really helpful.

Right, let's waste no more time and get straight into today's spelling lesson.

In this spelling lesson we'll be recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings O-U-G-H and A-U.

The outcome will be, I can recognise when words might be spelled with the letter strings O-U-G-H, and A-U.

Here are the key words for today's learning.

Just three of them, so keep an eye and an ear out for them.

My turn, your turn.

Letter string.

Phoneme.

Digraph.

Brilliant.

So you may recognise some of these words from your time learning phonics.

A letter string is a group of letters that are written together in a word.

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can change a word's meaning.

And a digraph is two letters that represent one sound.

So we're gonna be looking at that digraph A-U a little later in the lesson.

And we're gonna be looking at different phonemes that these letter strings we're looking at, O-U-G-H and A-U can make.

So here's the outline.

We're gonna begin by looking at that O-U-G-H letter string, then we're gonna move on to the A-U letter string, and we're gonna finish out stage lesson by spelling some curriculum words in the final learning cycle.

Let's get on with looking at that O-U-G-H letter string then.

So let's read some words that contain this letter string.

My turn, your turn.

Cough.

(imitates coughing) Rough, like a rough surface.

Enough.

I have had enough.

Plough like a plough that might be used in farming fields.

Through.

I walked through the door.

Though.

Thought.

Brought.

Fought, as in past tense of fight.

So what do all of these spellings have in common? What do you notice that's similar about all of them? Have a think.

Well, that's it.

They all contain this O-U-G-H letter string.

But you may have noticed that it's actually making different sounds as well, different phonemes.

We know that a phoneme can be spelled in more than one way.

For example, the or sounds can be represented in many different ways.

Can you remember any of those ways that our or sound can be spelled? Pause the video and have a think.

Brilliant, lovely thinking and lovely accessing of your prior knowledge there.

So here are the ways that I've thought of.

We have O-R spelling or, double O-R, A-U, A-W, O-R-E, A/A-L, and O-U-G-H, that letter string we're concentrating on.

Bought, thought, and fought can also make that or sound.

With that in mind, could you identify the words containing the or sound here? You must read them out loud and listen carefully.

See if you can find them.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

Let's have a go at reading them.

Float.

Well, that's making an O sound, isn't it? Not an or sound.

Yawn, absolutely yawn does, and it's that A-W representation.

It's a digraph there making that or phoneme.

Star.

It's making an R sound, not an or sound.

And thought, that has our O-U-G-H letter string in it, doesn't it? Making that or sound.

Brilliant.

Just as a phoneme could be spelled in more than one way, the same spelling may represent more than one phoneme.

And this is the key bit about today's learning.

These seven words all contain our letter string O-U-G-H, but it can represent different sounds, different phonemes.

So we have cough, making that off sound, tough, making an uff sound, plough, making an ow sound, through, making an oo sound, though, making an O sound, bought, making that O sound, and thorough, making that schwa, that ah sound.

However, in each word the letter string is pronounced differently here.

So we have the same spelling, that O-U-G-H letter string, but it's making different phonemes.

Look at these words and fill in the blanks in the following sentence.

Read the words first.

Brilliant.

We have cough, rough, plough, through.

These words all contain the same mm, but it makes a different mm in each word.

Fill in those sentences with the words from below.

Off you go, team.

Great job.

So these words all contain the same letter string, but it makes a different sound or phoneme in each word.

The letter string O-U-G-H is quite common, but it can be hard to remember.

We see it here in bought, though, rough, and thorough, making different sounds.

The pneumonic, oh you grumpy hippo, can help us, that O standing for oh, that U standing for the you, grumpy standing for the G, and hippo standing for the H, and they are, our grumpy hippo.

When you hear one of these sounds, the word might contain the O-U-G-H letter string.

Cough, where it's making that off.

Trough, like a trough a pig might eat from, rough, tough, enough.

We have plough, bough like the bow of a ship, drought when there's not enough water.

That's our O-U-G-H making that ow sound.

Then we have through where it's making that oo sound, though, where it's making an O sound.

Although, dough, like the dough you would make bread from.

Then we have thought, bought, brought, fought, sought, which is where you seek something, but in the past tense.

Naught, as in number zero.

And then our schwa.

Thorough, it's making that ah sort of vowel sound there.

So we know that our O-U-G-H letter string then can make an off, uff, ow, oo, oa, or a schwa sound.

Borough being another one.

Match the words to the sound that the O-U-G-H letter string is making.

Read the words and match them.

Off you go.

Good job.

So we've got aw, oo, and oa.

So through, our O-U-G-H there is making that oo.

Then we have though.

That's it making that oa, and thought, that's it making that aw.

Brilliant.

The most common pronunciation of our O-U-G-H letter string is in words where it makes an aw sound.

Such as thought, bought, brought, fought, sought, and naught.

Do you notice anything interesting about these spellings? Pause the video and have a think now.

Consider word class.

Consider where it comes.

Consider what they end in.

Off you go.

Great job, team.

So I've noticed that the O-U-G-H letter string is always in the middle of the word when it is making this or sound.

I've also noticed that all of these words end in the letter T, and most of these words are verbs in the past tense, with the exception of naught, which is zero.

There are no specific rules or patterns, and these are spellings we just have to learn, which is why we're spending time looking at them today.

Sometimes just seeing the word in a sentence can help us to know whether it's the correct spelling or not.

We can just see whether it looks right.

There was enough cake for everyone to have a slice.

Which is my correct spelling of enough here? Which one looks right to you? Point to it now.

Brilliant.

Absolutely.

It's our O-U-G-H making that uff.

I did a thorough job of cleaning my room.

So you'd have no corner unclean.

Which is the correct spelling of thorough? Which one looks right? Point to it now.

Excellent.

I did a thorough, it's that schwa for that O-U-G-H.

Again, which ones look correct? Choose the correct spelling in each sentence.

Read them and select them.

Off you go, team.

Brilliant.

The farmer filled the trough with water.

It's again, it's that off spelled O-U-G-H.

Too much hot weather will cause a drought.

It's that O-U-G-H making that ow sound.

I sought help from my teacher when I could not figure out the answer.

Which means you've gone looking for, you've gone seeking.

So it's that O-U-G-H.

Now S-O-R-T is also a word.

It's a homophone.

It wouldn't make sense in this context, though.

Remember that homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled different and have different meanings.

So onto our practise task then.

We're gonna spell some words that contain our O-U-G-H letter string.

But watch out.

They might be making different phonemes.

So just listen to me carefully.

The first word is tough.

The second word is bought.

I bought something from the shops.

Three is although, four is cough, (imitates coughing) and five is through.

I looked through the window.

I'll say those one more time for you.

Tough, bought, although, cough, and through.

Pause the video.

Off you go.

Excellent job, team.

Really careful consideration as to where that letter string was going in the word and where the different sound or phoneme for the letter string was as well.

So the first one was tough.

So it is tough.

So it's uff there and it's our O-U-G-H spelling.

Then we have bought.

Now be careful, it's not brought, you're not bringing something somewhere.

You're buying something, so it's that bought past tense.

O-U-G-H-T.

Brilliant.

Then we have although.

Remember, it's that word though in it and it's not a double L, it's just A-L and then though, and then we had cough making that off sound, O-U-G-H, and then we had through, th th, T-H, and then R-O-U-G-H.

Oh, you grumpy hippo.

Great, how did you get on with spelling our O-U-G-H letter string then? Pause the video now, share your learning, and make any corrections.

Off you go.

Onto our next learning cycle then, which is going to be looking at a different letter string, the A-U letter string.

So let's read some words that contain this letter string.

Aunt.

An aunt is a relation.

Some people may pronounce this ant.

Sausage.

Fault.

Someone who is at fault is to blame.

If you made a fault, you make a mistake.

Because, cause, pause, a stop, trauma, where something very severe and bad has happened.

Autumn, that season.

And sauce.

What do you notice about all of these spellings then? What do they have in common? Brilliant.

Quite obvious, isn't it? They all contain our A-U letter string, this letter string we're gonna focus on in this learning cycle.

So can you identify the words containing the A-U letter string? See if you can find it.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

Let's have a look at these words in isolation then.

Seesaw.

Nope, I don't see my A-U spelling digraph in there anywhere.

Report.

Nope.

Pause, yes, I can see that A-U spelling.

And interestingly, it's making that aw phoneme here.

And paws.

Oh, it's a homophone with the word above, but it's not got the A-U letter string.

It has the same sound but it's not the letter string.

Pause as in P-A-U-S-E has our A-U letter string, is pause, stop.

Paws, P-A-W-S, like the paws of a dog.

The A-U letter string then can represent more than one phoneme, just like our O-U-G-H letter string did earlier.

These five words all contain the letter string A-U.

We have aunt, vault, like a secure place you may eat money in, because, cause, haunt.

However, the letter string here is being pronounced in different ways.

Aunt, vault, because, cause, haunt.

Look at these words.

Read the words and fill in the blanks in the following sentence from below.

These words will contain the letter string mm but it makes the different mm in each word.

Off you go.

Great.

The words are haunt, aunt or aunt, sausage.

These words then all contain the letter string A-U, but it makes a different sound or phoneme in each word.

Let's read these words.

When you hear one of these sounds, the word might contain the A-U letter string.

Depending on your accent, the pronunciation of the letter string may be different as well, which is important to remember.

So we have aunt, sausage, fault, vault, because, cause, pause, trauma, autumn, haunt, fraud, sauce.

What sound does the A-U letter string here make in each of these words? Have a read of them.

See if you can figure it out.

Brilliant.

Well, it's making a few different sounds isn't it? It can make a or sound, an ah sound.

It can also make an ant, a ah sound, or an R sound too.

So where does the A-U letter string most commonly appear in these words? Have a read of the words.

Is it appearing at the beginning, the middle, or the end? You can select more than one.

Read the words, select the correct answers.

Off you go.

Great.

I can see it coming in aunt and autumn at the beginning.

Most commonly I would say, though, it is coming in the middle.

I don't see it at the end.

Sometimes just seeing the word in a sentence can help us, as we looked said earlier.

Would you like chocolate sauce in your ice cream? Which is the correct spelling of sauce? Point to it now.

Brilliant.

Absolutely it has our A-U letter string in it, and watch out for that ss at the end.

It's that C-E spelling.

My aunt is a surgeon.

So that relation of mine, my auntie or auntie is a surgeon.

Which of these is the correct spelling? Brilliant.

Absolutely it's my A-U letter string, but making a different phoneme name here.

Could you choose the correct spelling in each sentence here for me? Read through them.

Consider which ones look correct.

Off you go.

Great.

They took a moment to pause and take in the view.

It's our A-U letter string making that ah sound there.

Deep within the vault was an ancient treasure trove.

So a lot of treasure hidden away in the vault.

It's that A-U-L-T spelling.

Be careful not to get confused here with that O-L-T, like a volt of electricity.

The autumn leaves carpeted the ground, so it's a A-U again making that ah sound at the beginning.

Watch out for that silent N here too.

Just to go back a step, watch out for the homophones vault and volt.

Vault with our A-U letter string is that secure place you might keep something in, and volt V-O-L-T is like a volt of electricity.

So we're now gonna have a go at spelling some words containing our A-U letter string.

Remember, it can represent different sounds or phonemes.

So watch out and consider where that A-U digraph is going to come in the words.

The first word is fault.

You are at fault.

You're the one who's done something wrong.

The next word is aunt or aunt.

Number three is sausage.

Number four is cause.

And number five is trauma.

I'll say those one more time.

Fault, aren't, sausage, cause, trauma.

Pause the video.

Off you go.

Excellent job, team.

This is quite tricky.

Really listening out for where those different sounds are and where you think and what you think also looks correct is going to be really important here.

And remember, there are no obvious rules.

So the first one was fault.

It's our A-U letter string making an ah sound there.

Fault.

Aunt or aunt.

Be careful not spell it A-N-T 'cause that'd be ant as in the little insect.

We're looking for aunt or aunt, A-U-N-T, that relation of yours.

Sausage.

This is an interesting one.

Sausage, making that oh sound there our A-U, and then S-A-G-E.

Cause, it's our A-U letter string, and it's that S-E at the end there.

There is also a near-homophone here.

Course and cause some very similar.

Course, the middle one here, C-O-A-R-S-E, as in sand, something that's small and rough, coarse.

And then we have cause, C-A-U-S-E, the word I was looking for.

And finally, trauma.

It's that ah being made by the A-U, T-R-A-U-M-A, trauma.

How did you do? Share your learning and make any corrections now.

Off you go.

Onto our final learning cycle then, which is going to be spelling some curriculum words.

Let's begin by reading these curriculum words.

Amateur.

Now, some people might pronounce this amateur.

You might also pronounce it amateur.

Sacrifice.

Sacrifice.

If you sacrifice something, you give it up.

So I've noticed a couple of interesting things about these words.

In amateur, the E-U-R ending is really uncommon since it contains an irregular placement of vowels.

The letter U is almost silent there.

It sounds like the spelling should end in E-R, amateur, er.

We don't really hear that U.

It's a very strange spelling at the end.

In sacrifice, the I can be often confused with an A, sacrafice, but it's sacrifice.

We don't always really reemphasize that I that I've highlighted there.

So we have amateur and sacrifice.

Take a snapshot of these now.

Brilliant.

With that in mind, which of these words that we've just read is spelled correctly? Pause the video and point to them now.

Brilliant.

So amateur or amateur is that E-U-R at the end there.

Watch out for that.

And sacrifice.

Remember, it's gonna sound like sacrafice, but we know it's with that I.

Brilliant.

So we're gonna use a strategy now called the look, cover, write, check strategy to practise these curriculum words.

Curriculum words are those words which are going to appear with great regularity in our reading, writing, and our spelling.

It's really important we are confident with knowing how to spell them, write them.

They often have tricky elements to them.

So this strategy really helps us by looking carefully at the word.

And in amateur or amateur, it has that E-U-R.

So I look carefully at the word and consider what's difficult about it and put it to my memory.

I then cover it up and I have a go at writing it.

Brilliant.

Obviously, my neatest handwriting.

I then check back and see how I did.

I got it correct, but just 'cause I got it correct once doesn't mean I'm only going to do it once.

I'm going to use that look cover, write, check strategy a number of times to really embed that spelling into my long-term memory.

I'd like you to do that now with both of these words, writing them out a number of times.

Off you go.

Great job, team.

How did you get on with that strategy? Did you manage to spell them correctly? Have a check now.

Make any corrections, share your learning.

Off you go.

Excellent job in spelling today, team.

We've been recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings O-U-G-H and that digraph A-U.

The O-U-G-H letter string can make a variety of different sounds and our A-U letter string can make a variety of different sounds too.

When you hear one of these sounds, the word might contain the O-U-G-H or A-U letter string.

The pronunciation of the A-U letter string may vary depending on accent and region.

Keep up the great spelling practise, and I'll see you again soon.