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. ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ |
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:
|
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
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
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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
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| Stressed syllables | 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
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| Unstressed syllables | 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.
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Vowels
Long 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:
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 hb shirt horse coat room new shout crown tie sweet head toy
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"Spellzone really is an incredibly simple, engaging and cost effective resource - it makes a big difference to literacy levels."
Millthorpe School, York
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