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Syllables and Phonemes Year 7 Spelling Starters

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Contents

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Syllables

Phonemes

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Syllables

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Syllables are the number of beats in a word.

How many beats are there in the word remember? 3

Syllables

underneath

Internet

dangerous

ridiculous

How many syllables are there in the following words?

sincerely

Australia

physical

scraped

3334

3431

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Some syllables are used in lots of words:

ly – happily slowly angrily

tion – station elation education radiation

Spelling using syllables

Thinking about the syllables in a word can help you to spell the word.

In English, syllables normally have a vowel or the letter 'y' in them: re-mem-ber bi-cy-clede-vel-op-ment mag-ni-fy

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Phonemes

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Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in a word.

Do you know how many phonemes there are in English?

Phonemes

There are approximately 44 phonemes in English!

How many phonemes are in each of the words below?

dog

desk

diary

345

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Phonemes

Some phonemes are represented by one letter; others by two or three letters.

How many phonemes are in each of the words below?

dish

sheep

chat

think

3334

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Spelling using phonemes

Sounding out the phonemes can often help you spell a word. However, some phonemes can be spelt in more than one way.

Why do you think the following words are tricky to spell? gnat

knife

knight

judge

giant

science

city

The n phoneme can be spelt n, kn or gn.The j phoneme is created by the letters j, dge and g.The s phoneme can be made by s, sc, se, s or ce.

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What sound do these words share?

Spelling using phonemes

mission and chef They both use the sh phoneme.

sweet, heat, thief and these

They all have a long e sound (the phoneme ee).

tried and lightThey both have a long i sound (the phoneme ie).

much and watch They both use the ch phoneme.

Can you think of any other words which use each phoneme?

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Syllables and phonemes quiz