Spellzone help

This 'Help' section is divided into three parts:

1. How to follow the Spellzone course

2. Technical help

3. A glossary of spelling terms

1. How to follow the Spellzone course

Links

Anything you see in yellow is a link to another part of the program.

You can either:

  • work through the course in sequence, using the link at the end of each unit to move straight to the next one, or...
  • work on certain areas, using the links on the Program Contents page to select the unit of your choice.

Working through the course

Each unit is numbered:
A normal number e.g. Unit 20, will link to the teaching Unit of that section of the course.  If the number is followed by the letter 'H' e.g. 20H, it will link to the 'Beat the Spellchecker' Homophones Test for that section.

Homophones: those words a computer spell-checker can't spot: the words which sound the same but have different spellings for different meanings, for example:

site / sight   brake / break   stationery / stationary

These words are called homophones from the Greek words:

homo: the same phonos: sound


We suggest you look at each section and then decide if that work is at the right level for your needs. If you want to move on, use these links:

  • at the end of each page there is a link to the next stage of that section
  • at the top of each page there is a link to the full list of Program Contents.

At the foot of each page you will find a note of the Unit and page number, and the total number of pages in that Unit, for example: Unit 22 page 8 of 15

You may think some of the early Units are too easy for you. However, it is worth having a look, just to check, as they contain some quite difficult words. For example, in Unit 5 you will find:

  • words which use ch to spell the sound /k/ : character
  • words which use ph to spell the sound /f/ : atmosphere


Logos to look out for

These logos will guide you through the course:

    

Hear the Sound:
Click on the ear to hear the sound for that Unit.
If you cannot hear anything click here for help.

 
 


New Teaching Point:
Next to this logo you will see:
1. The most common ways of spelling the sound you have heard
2. Any rules to help you decide which spelling to use

 

 

Homophones:
Here you will find the words which the computer spellchecker will not spot: the words which sound the same but have different spelling for different meanings.

 

 

 

Rule Breakers:
This logo shows you words that break the spelling rules covered earlier in the Unit.

 

 

Learning Tips:
Next to this logo you will find tips on how to learn and remember difficult words.

 


 

British or US spelling:
These logos draw your attention to spellings which are different in Britain and the USA. You can choose which spelling you wish to study.

 

 

 

Think back:
Sometimes the teaching section will refer back to a teaching point in an earlier Unit. You will also find a direct link to this earlier Unit, in case you wish to review that point.



Off-line activities:
Sometimes you are advised to get some extra practice by working off-line. This can take three forms:

1. Print the page, and study the list of words; you might be asked to make up your own 'Learning Tips' for some words.

 

2. A pile of books may mean you are asked to use a dictionary.

 


3. Sometimes you will be asked to write some words or to make up sentences for words you are learning.

Practice exercises and tests


Throughout the course you can check your progress by completing practice exercises and tests. To do these exercises:

  • click in the first answer box and type your answer
  • move to the next box either by clicking in it - or use the tab key
  • to alter an answer, click in that box and use the delete key.
  • click on 'See how well you've done' to get your work marked. If there are problems with getting your work marked click here for help

Again, we suggest you look at each test and decide if you need the practice at this level. You have these options:

  • complete the test
  • skip the test and go on to the next section
  • after the test has been marked for you, you can go back and repeat it if you wish. If you go back to start the test again, this will delete any answers entered so far.


Special markings for words and letters

Sometimes letters or words are in colour to make them stand out. For example:

manage     village     hostage

These symbols are used to help with the understanding of sound:

  • Obliques are used to signify the sound letters make rather than the name: /er/.
  • Short vowels are shown by a breve: .

  • Long vowels are shown by a macron: .

The glossary at the end of the 'Help' section has more information on these symbols.


Changing the colour and fonts

The combination of colours for background and font was chosen as one that many people find easy to work with. However, some users may prefer different colours and you can change your browser settings to suit yourself:

For example, in Internet Explorer:

  • From the File menu, click Tools, then Internet Options
  • On the General tab, click Colors
  • Uncheck the box 'Use Windows Colors'
  • Click on the Background box and choose a new colour
  • Click on the Font box and choose a new colour (Note; Changing this will affect all the text, so you will lose the special colours for certain letters and words.)
  • On the General tab, click Accessibility
  • Check the box 'Ignore colors specified on web pages'

You can also change the style of font. Follow the same steps as above, but click on 'Font'.

To change the size of the text:

  • From the File menu, point to View
  • Point to Text Size then click the size you want
  • From the File menu, click Tools, then Internet Options, on the General tab click Accessibility, and check the box "Ignore font sizes specified on Web Pages".

Other browsers have similar steps for changing colours and fonts. Please see your browser's own 'Help' menu.


Help with reading

If you would like help in reading the instructions, try these sites which provide a 'Text to speech' service:
www.readplease.com
www.texthelp.com

Translation services

If your first language is not English, you may like to use some of the sites which translate the instructions for you:
world.altavista.com
www.t-mail.com

For help with meanings, and how to pronounce words, try:
www.dictionary.com


2. Technical Help

Choice of browser

For best performance, we recommend:

Internet Explorer 5.0+
Netscape 6.0+

Some features of Spellzone may not work on older versions of these browsers.

If you cannot hear any sounds
 

To hear the sounds in this logo you will need Flash.
Click here to download the Macromedia Flash plugin.

If you still cannot hear any sound:

  • Check that your speakers are plugged in and switched on.
  • Click on the volume control (normally on the bottom right of the taskbar). The slider should be set to at least half-way.
  • Make sure the 'Mute' box on the volume control is unchecked.
  • From Internet Explorer, select Tools, then Internet options. Click the Advanced tab and make sure the 'Play sounds' box is checked.


If you have a problem getting the test results

For the interactive tests to work properly, you need to have javascript enabled on your browser.  In Internet Explorer you need to:

  • click on 'Tools' on the browser menu bar
  • select 'Internet Options' from the drop down list
  • choose the 'Advanced' tab
  • tick all three options under the heading 'Java VM'
  • click OK.

(Your browser stores many of its settings. The best way to ensure changes take effect is to close your browser window completely, then relaunch it. )

 

3. Glossary of spelling terms

All the terms used in Spellzone are fully explained at each stage of the course, when they are first used. For a quick reference they are also listed here, in alphabetical order:


Definitions of terms in bold print can be found elsewhere in the table

 

Term

Definition

Breve

A mark often used to show a short vowel sound e.g.

      

Compound word

Two words joined together to form a new word e.g.

seasick      topspin     hotspot   lighthouse    paperwork

 

Consonants

 

 

 


Consonant blend

 


Consonant digraph

The letters: b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z

 Note: the letter y can be a vowel or a consonant, depending on its sound:  

y in yellow is a consonant

 

When two consonants blend together    e.g.

spit    stop    snap    list     sand    sent

 

When two consonants together make a different sound   e.g.

shop   check   think   phone

 

Contraction

A word formed by shortening (contracting) two other words  e.g.

did not > didn’t        they are > they’re      it is > it’s

 

Homophones

Words which sound the same but have different meanings and different spellings e.g.

meet - meat      piece - peace      current - currant

These words are called homophones from the Greek words:
homo: the same and phonos: sound.

 

Macron

A mark often used to show a long vowel sound e.g.

Mnemonic

A device to help the memory: inventing mnemonics can help you remenber difficult spellings e.g. a piece of pie.

(The word mnemonic starts with a silent m. It comes from an ancient Greek word mnemonikos, meaning 'mindful').

 

Prefix

Letters added at the start of a word to affect the meaning e.g.   

disagree      incorrect      preview

 

Root word (or base word)

The main part of a word, without a prefix or suffix  e.g.

landed       camping       hopeless    

return      unhappy     misprint

 

Schwa sound

The very weak vowel sound often found in an unstressed syllable e.g.

dis - tant     pa - per     station      com - pan - y  

(The word schwa is pronounced ‘shwar’, to rhyme with ‘car’.  It’s a Hebrew word meaning ‘empty’.)  

Suffix

 

 



Vowel suffix

 


Consonant suffix

Letters added on the end of a word to affect the meaning e.g.   

hand + ed = handed       camp + ing = camping      hope + less = topless

 

A suffix that begins with a vowel e.g.   -ed   -er   -est   -ing   -able   -y  

 

A suffix that begins with a consonant e.g.   -less   -ful    -ment   -ly

 

Syllables

   

 

 

 


Stressed syllables

 

 

 

 


Unstressed syllables

 

The number of beats in a word   e.g.

tax-i: 2 syllables,      bi-cy-cle: 3 syllables,     hel-i-cop-ter :  4 syllables

Each syllable has one vowel sound   e.g.

Manchester     hippopotamus      teacher     courageous

 

In longer words, the syllables are not all pronounced with the same strength.  Usually one syllable will be stronger than the rest;  this is the stressed syllable  e.g.

ladder      pilot     hospital      dictionary

assist     attract    collect

Atlantic    computer   independent

 

A syllable which is not stressed  e.g.

Si - mon      dis - tant     pa - per    pi - lot

Often this syllable will have a very weak vowel sound, called the schwa.

 

Vowels

 

 

 

 

Long vowels

 

 


Short vowels

 

 

Vowel digraphs

The letters  a   e   i   o   u

Note: the letter y can be a vowel or a consonant, depending on its sound:  

  • y in spy is  a vowel
  • y in happy is  a vowel

 

The long sound of a vowel is the same as the name of the letter e.g

 age     even     icon     oval     uniform

 

These are examples of short vowel sounds:

ash     egg     insect     office     upset

 

Where two vowels, or a vowel and a consonant are used together to make one vowel sound e.g.

train     stay     herb     shirt     horse     coat     room

new      shout     crown      tie     sweet     head     toy

 

 
Spellzone help: Page 01 of 01
Home page: www.spellzone.com
                                 © 2001 Shireen Shuster All Rights Reserved