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Unit 6, Part 2: Spelling the short vowel sounds

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Unit 6: Short vowels, Part 2: o and u

Unit StartPage 12: Short vowel /o/: o, wa, quaCourse Test: Spelling test for /o/: o, wa, quaPage 14: Spelling test for /o/: o, wa, quaPage 15: Homophones and rule breakers for /o/Page 16: Short vowel /u/: u, o or ou?Page 17: When to use o to spell the /u/ sound.Course Test: Spelling test for /u/: u, o or ou?Page 19: Spelling test for /u/: u, o or ou?Page 20: Homophones for /u/Page 21: The schwa soundUnit End

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Spelling the short vowel sound /ŭ/

One more thing:

Sometimes English words contain a very weak vowel sound.

Say these words aloud and listen to the sound of the vowel in the underlined syllable:

Spell parrot
parrot
Spell lion
lion
Spell camel
camel
Spell zebra
zebra

Some more examples:

Spell hospital Spell travel
hospital travel

In each case, they sound like they contain a soft /u/. This is called the 'schwa' (from the Hebrew 'emptiness') because it can sound like there is no vowel there at all.

Different vowels spell the schwa sound. There are no rules. We have to remember them.
Unit 24 tells you more about them if you are interested!

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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

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