Unit 5: Spelling the consonant digraphs, Part 2
Page 9 of 11
 |
The /f/ sound is usually spelled with the letter f, or ff if after a short vowel - this is covered in Unit 4. |
|
In some words, the /f/ sound is spelled using the digraph ph. |
These are often words from the ancient Greek language. Many share the same root word.
| Greek Word | Meaning | Examples |
| photo | light | photograph photocopy photosynthesis (the process by which plants absorb light) |
| graph | writing | photograph paragraph autograph biography geography |
| phonos | sound | headphones earphones telephone microphone saxophone phonics (speech sounds) |
| sphere | ball | spherical atmosphere stratosphere |
|
|
Remember these ph words by grouping them together in topic sets:
| Words to do with writing: |  |
alphabet
apostrophe hyphen phrase pamphlet |
| Medical words: |  |
physician
pharmacy pharmacist physics physical |
| Animals: |  |
elephant dolphin |
| People, characters: |  |
phantom
nephew prophet orphan Pharaoh |
| Abstract nouns e.g. feelings: |
 |
triumph
phenomenon catastrophe emphasis phobia |
|
|
Other ph words:
| trophy | siphon (or syphon) | typhoon | Joseph | Sophie |
| Ralph | Christopher | Rudolph | Philip |
You have not completed Learn the Words activities for each word list on this page.
The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.
One of the students has put in a huge amount of effort in completing Spellzone at least 3 times a week since his arrival with us in January. Looking at his scores after the latest GL testing, his standardised score has risen from 99 to 131. This is a truly phenomenal result. I just wanted to share the best result I have ever seen.
Terrie Penrose-Toms, Casterton College
Connect with us at: 
