accidentally

Build it in pieces: accident + al + ly. Saying “acci-dent-al-ly” slowly stops the al from going missing.

“Spilling the paint was an accident.”

actually

Actual already ends in l, and ly adds another, so actually has two l's.

“The actual size of the spider was tiny.”

address

Two pairs: a double d and a double s. Ad-dress.

“Write your address on the back of the envelope.”

answer

There's a silent w after the s, and it ends er. Say “an-swer” in your head as you write it.

“Put your hand up if you know the answer.”

appear

Two p's at the start: ap + pear.

“Stars appear in the sky after sunset.”

arrive

Two r's: ar-rive.

“Our train should arrive at ten o'clock.”

believe

It's i before e here: be-lie-ve. Spot the lie hiding in believe.

“I believe it will rain this afternoon.”

bicycle

Bi means two, for two wheels, then cycle: bi + cycle. The y comes straight after the first c.

“Amelia rides her bicycle to school.”

breath

The noun has no e on the end. You take a breath.

“Take a deep breath before you jump in.”

breathe

The verb ends in e, and that e is why it says “breeth”. You breathe in and out.

“Breathe in slowly through your nose.”

build

The u is silent: b-u-i-l-d. Think “u and I build it together”.

“We're going to build a den in the garden.”

busy

The u makes an “i” sound in both words. Business is busy + ness, and the y changes to i: busi + ness.

“The shops are always busy on Saturdays.”

calendar

It ends ar, not er: calend-ar.

“Mark the school trip on the calendar.”

caught

The “or” sound is spelt augh, the same as in taught and daughter.

“Harry caught the ball with one hand.”

centre

The British spelling ends re, like theatre and metre.

“The library is in the centre of town.”

century

Cent means a hundred, so a century is a hundred years: cent + ury.

“The castle was built in the twelfth century.”

certain

It ends ain, like captain and mountain: cert-ain.

“Are you certain you locked the door?”

circle

Two c's: the first says “s” and the second says “k”. It ends le: cir-cle.

“Draw a circle round the right answer.”

complete

It ends with an e, which makes the second e say its name: com-plete.

“Complete the puzzle before break time.”

consider

Three parts: con + sid + er.

“Please consider the question carefully.”

continue

It ends ue: con-tin-ue.

“We'll continue the story after lunch.”

decide

The “s” sound in the middle is a c: de-cide.

“It's hard to decide which flavour to choose.”

describe

It starts de, not di: de-scribe.

“Describe the castle in three sentences.”

different

Two f's, and don't lose the e in the middle: dif-fer-ent.

“Every snowflake is different.”

difficult

Two f's, then cult: dif-fi-cult.

“The last question was really difficult.”

disappear

It's dis + appear, so there's one s and two p's.

“Watch the magician make the coin disappear.”

early

It starts with ear: ear + ly.

“We left early to beat the traffic.”

earth

It starts with ear: ear + th.

“The Earth goes round the Sun once a year.”

eight

The “ay” sound is spelt eigh. Eighth is eight + h, so the t and the h both stay.

“There are eight children in the team.”

enough

The “uff” sound is spelt ough: en-ough.

“Have we got enough chairs for everyone?”

exercise

An x, then a c later on: ex-er-cise. The end sounds like “size” but is spelt cise.

“Swimming is good exercise.”

experience

Ex-per-i-ence. It ends ence.

“Camping was a new experience for Isla.”

experiment

Ex-per-i-ment. It ends ment.

“Our science experiment used vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.”

extreme

Ex-treme. The e on the end makes the middle e say its name.

“The weather can be extreme in the mountains.”

famous

Fame drops its e and adds ous: fam + ous.

“Shakespeare is a famous writer.”

favourite

The British spelling has ou, like colour: fav-our-ite.

“Fish and chips is my favourite meal.”

February

Say every letter: Feb-ru-ar-y. The first r is the one people forget. Months always start with a capital letter.

“Half term is in February.”

forward

For + ward. The end is ward, not word.

“Take one step forward.”

fruit

The “oo” sound is spelt ui: fr-ui-t.

“Have a piece of fruit at break time.”

grammar

Two m's, and it ends ar, not er: gram-mar.

“Our grammar test is on Friday.”

group

The “oo” sound is spelt ou: gr-ou-p.

“Work in a group of four.”

guard

There's a silent u after the g: g-u-ard.

“A guard stood outside the palace.”

guide

A silent u after the g, just like guard: g-u-ide.

“Our guide showed us round the museum.”

heard

It's hear + d. Keep the ear: you heard it with your ears.

“I heard a fox in the garden last night.”

heart

Spot the ear in heart: h-ear-t.

“Your heart beats faster when you run.”

height

The “eye” sound is spelt eigh: h-eigh-t. It ends in t, not th.

“Measure the height of the sunflower.”

history

His + tory. Don't miss the o in the middle.

“We're learning about the Romans in history.”

imagine

Image drops its e and adds ine: imag + ine.

“Imagine you could fly.”

increase

In + crease. The “ee” sound is spelt ea.

“Bus fares will increase in January.”

important

Im-port-ant. It ends ant, not ent.

“It's important to drink plenty of water.”

interest

Three parts: in-ter-est. Don't drop the e in the middle.

“Ruby has a real interest in birds.”

island

There's a silent s: is + land. An island is land with water all round it.

“The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast.”

knowledge

A silent k at the start, and a d before the ge: know + ledge.

“Her knowledge of the planets is amazing.”

learn

Spot the ear: l-ear-n. You learn with your ears.

“We learn a new song every week.”

length

Long becomes length. Don't miss the g before th.

“Measure the length of the table.”

library

Say li-brar-y: there are two r's, and the first one is easy to miss.

“Return your books to the library on Tuesday.”

material

Ma-te-ri-al. It ends al.

“Wool is a warm material.”

medicine

Med-i-cine. The i in the middle is easy to miss.

“Take the medicine twice a day.”

mention

The “shun” ending is spelt tion: men-tion.

“Did Dad mention the party?”

minute

Min-ute. It ends ute, not it.

“Wait a minute while I find my coat.”

natural

Nature drops its e and adds al: natur + al.

“The park has a natural pond.”

naughty

The “or” sound is spelt augh, just like in caught.

“The naughty puppy chewed my slipper.”

notice

It ends ice: not-ice.

“Did you notice the new sign by the gate?”

occasion

Two c's but only one s: oc-ca-sion. Occasionally is occasion + al + ly.

“A wedding is a special occasion.”

often

The t is often silent, but it's always written: of-ten.

“We often walk to school when it's sunny.”

opposite

Two p's: op-po-site.

“Hot is the opposite of cold.”

ordinary

Or-din-ar-y. It ends ary.

“It was just an ordinary Monday.”

particular

Par-tic-u-lar. It ends ar.

“Is there a particular book you'd like?”

peculiar

Pe-cu-li-ar. It ends iar.

“There was a peculiar smell in the kitchen.”

perhaps

Per + haps. Don't lose the h.

“Perhaps we'll see a rainbow.”

popular

Pop-u-lar. It ends ar, like particular.

“Football is popular in our school.”

position

Pos-i-tion. The “shun” ending is tion.

“The goalkeeper got into position.”

possess

Two pairs of s: po-ss-e-ss. Possession adds ion on the end.

“Dragons in stories often possess great treasure.”

possible

Two s's, and it ends ible: pos-si-ble.

“Is it possible to finish by four?”

potatoes

One potato, two potatoes. Add es to make more than one.

“We had roast potatoes on Sunday.”

pressure

Press + ure: a double s, and it ends ure.

“Check the pressure in your bike tyres.”

probably

Prob-ab-ly. Don't miss the ab in the middle.

“It will probably snow tonight.”

promise

Prom-ise. It ends ise.

“I promise to tidy my room.”

purpose

Pur + pose. The second half is spelt pose.

“The purpose of a seat belt is to keep you safe.”

quarter

Q is always followed by u, and it ends er: quar-ter.

“It's a quarter past three.”

question

Q, then u. The end sounds like “chun” but is spelt tion.

“Read each question carefully.”

recent

The “s” sound is a c: re-cent.

“Our most recent trip was to the zoo.”

regular

Reg-u-lar. It ends ar.

“Regular practice makes a real difference.”

reign

The g is silent: re-ig-n. A king or queen reigns.

“Queen Victoria's reign lasted over sixty years.”

remember

Three parts: re-mem-ber.

“Remember to bring your PE kit.”

sentence

All three vowels are e: sen-ten-ce.

“Start every sentence with a capital letter.”

separate

There's a rat in separate: sep-a-rat-e.

“Keep the red pens separate from the blue ones.”

special

The “sh” sound is spelt ci: spe-cial.

“Today is a special day.”

straight

The “ay” sound is spelt aigh: str-aigh-t.

“Draw a straight line with a ruler.”

strange

Str + ange, the same ending as change.

“We heard a strange noise in the loft.”

strength

Strong becomes strength. Keep the g before th, just like length.

“It took all my strength to lift the box.”

suppose

Two p's: sup-pose.

“I suppose we could go to the park.”

surprise

Sur + prise. Don't miss the first r.

“We planned a surprise party for Gran.”

therefore

Two words joined: there + fore. Keep the e at the end of there.

“The shop was shut and therefore we went home.”

though

The “oh” sound is spelt ough. Although is al + though, with only one l.

“It was sunny, though quite cold.”

thought

The “or” sound is spelt ough: th-ough-t.

“I thought the answer was seven.”

through

The “oo” sound is spelt ough: thr-ough. Don't mix it up with threw, which is about throwing.

“We walked through the woods.”

various

Vary changes its y to i and adds ous: var-i-ous.

“The bakery sells various kinds of bread.”

weight

The “ay” sound is spelt eigh, just like eight: w-eigh-t.

“Check the weight of the flour on the scales.”

woman

One woman, two women. Only the a changes to e, even though women sounds like “wimmin”.

“The woman at the counter smiled.”