What does each word mean? A sleigh is a vehicle on runners which is pulled by horses or dogs over snow. As a verb, the word describes the act of riding in a sleigh. Here is sleigh used in some example sentences: Santa Claus delivers presents in a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer. Do you hear the sleigh bells jingling? We sleighed through the snow. Slay means destroy or kill. Here is slay used in some an example sentence: The show about a teenager who slays vampire. Where does each word come from? The word sleigh dates to 1703 and comes from Dutch the ‘slee’, which is a shortened versio...
January marks the shift into the new year and is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginning and transitions. Janus is usually depicted with two heads – one looking back into the past, and the other looking forward to the future. With this in mind, this month’s Word for Wednesday theme is Janus words. A Janus word is a word with contradictory meanings. These words are also known as contronyms and auto antonyms. Our first Janus word of the year is weather. As a noun, this word refers to atmospheric effects like wind, rain, and snow. It is the verb forms of weather that have contradictory meanings. One meaning of the verb weather is ‘to withstand’. F...
Words ending in ssor and rror In this month’s spelling pattern word list, we’re looking at words ending in 'ssor' and 'rror'. After the letters 'ss' and 'rr', many words use 'or' to spell the weak vowel ending. Learn about 'ssor' and 'rror' word endings in Unit 25 and practise spelling them in this word list. Winter Words Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Whether or not the snow sticks to the ground this year, here in the UK we are sure to get plenty of wind and rain. From blizzard, to flurries, to icicle; this list will teach you how to spell a variety cold-...
With the Christmas holidays approaching, you might not be feeling as focused on your spelling studies as usual. We don’t blame you – there’s nothing like a cozy evening in on a cold day. Why not try out our relaxing Spelling Snowball game to keep your spelling in shape? In the game, you click on snowflakes in the right order to spell out a word. While Spelling Snowball can be used with any word list (click on the football above the list to play), we’ve created five season-appropriate spelling lists for you to practise with. After all, if you have to work on your spelling, you might as feel festive while you’re doing it. Here are our 5 wintry wo...
Over the past few mornings, most of us in the UK have been greeted by ice, snow and frost and some of the coldest conditions yet this winter. With extreme temperatures outside it can be a real struggle to drag yourself out of bed! And then, thanks to the ice, getting to work or school can prove just as tricky. As it happens, the word ‘freeze’ is quite an interesting one - if you look at our Spellzone dictionary entry, you’ll see there are 14 different contexts we can use the word in. Interestingly, ‘to freeze’ actually shares some of its Proto-Indo-European origins with the word ‘to burn’. Etymonline.com references the word ‘...
American vs. British English
Common Mistakes
Commonly Confused Words
English Idioms Explained
English Literature
Exams & Tests
Grammar & Punctuation
Mindful Spelling
Spelling at School
Spelling Games
Spelling Homework
Spelling Tips
Spellzone Tips & Tools
Supporting Adult Learners
Supporting Dyslexic Learners
Supporting EAL Learners
Word Origins & Stories
Writing & Vocabulary
"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."
Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's HillConnect with us at: 
