Vowel digraphs

"ai" or "ay"

"ai" and "ay" spell the same long-a sound. "ai" is the one used inside a word: "rain", "train", "afraid". "ay" is the one used at the end of a word: "day", "play", "holiday".

"ea" or "ee"

"ea" and "ee" spell the same long-e sound, so which one a word uses has to be learned. Some words take "ea": "dream", "please", "reason". Some words take "ee": "green", "sleep", "between".

"ei" or "ie"

"ei" and "ie" sound the same, so they get swapped. After "c" (and in "their"/"weird"/"seize") the "e" comes first - "receive", "perceive" - not "recieve". The "i before e" pattern keeps the "i" first here - "believe", "friend", "piece" - not "beleive".

"er" or "ir"

"er", "ir" and "ur" all make the same sound, so the vowel is a guess. Some words use "er": "her", "person", "letter". Some words use "ir": "girl", "first", "third", "bird".

"er" or "ur"

"er", "ir" and "ur" all make the same sound, so the vowel is a guess. Some words use "er": "her", "person", "letter". Some words use "ur": "turn", "burn", "purple", "Thursday".

The "e" dropped from "-ieve"

"ie" spells the long-e sound in these words and needs both its letters, so the "e" cannot be dropped: "achieve", "believe", "relieve".

"oa" written as "o"

The long-o sound here is spelled with the pair "oa", not a single "o": "boat", "coat", "road", "throat".

"oi" or "oy"

"oi" and "oy" spell the same sound. "oi" is the one used inside a word: "coin", "point", "noise". "oy" is the one used at the end of a word: "boy", "toy", "enjoy".

"ou" or "ow"

"ou" and "ow" can spell the same sound, so either looks plausible. Some words use "ou": "cloud", "about", "mountain". Some words use "ow": "brown", "flower", "shower".

Y1Vowel digraphs and trigraphs

Examples: rain, day, boil, toy, sea, her, girl, turn

Y5 / 6Words with the /iː/ sound spelt ei after c

Examples: deceive, receive, ceiling

Dictation sentences

Read each one aloud and ask your child to write it down.

1. The boy found a coin on his way to the train.
2. I believe she will receive a prize.
3. The girl turned her brown hat round.

Quick check

Can they spell these without help?

• paint
• enjoy
• shirt
• ceiling

Keep going

• Year 1 spelling words - the statutory list with a free worksheet
• Year 5 and 6 spelling words - the statutory list with a free worksheet
• Printable spelling test sheet - for writing the words on paper
• Practise in Spelling.Live - add these words as a list, take a Skills Check, or play games built from them