MACQUARIE DICTIONARY

Spelling

*This NAPLAN-style spelling and language conventions workbook has been produced by Macquarie Dictionary Publishersindependently of Australian governments and is not an officially endorsed publication of the NAPLAN program.

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Published by Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000 Copyright © Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2018 ISBN: 9781760556532

Designed and illustrated by Natalie BowraEducational consultants: Janelle Ho and Yvette PoshoglianPrinted in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australiahttp://catalogue.nla.gov.au

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from of the publisher.

Papers used by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd are natural, recyclable products madefrom wood grown in sustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to theenvironmental regulations of the country of origin.

*This NAPLAN-style spelling and language conventions workbook has been produced by Macquarie Dictionary Publishers independently of Australian governments and is not an officially endorsed publication of the NAPLAN program.

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ContentsIntroduction 4

Tips for using this book 5

A guide to sounds and spelling 6

All about me 8

Activities 9

Supertest 49

Answers 53

Notes 62

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4 MACQUARIE SPELLING WORKBOOK

Introduction

The Macquarie Dictionary is Australia’s national dictionary and is regarded as the standard

reference on Australian English. Dictionaries are an essential part of our education.

They give a lot more information than just the spelling and meaning of a word – they

also tell you how to pronounce a word, how to use the word in a sentence, as well as

giving information about the word’s history and its family of related words. Many of our

dictionaries also include a guide to grammar and punctuation!

Macquarie has been involved in spelling bees for over 20 years and has worked closely

with teachers and expert consultants to produce spelling guides and workbooks. These

Macquarie Dictionary Spelling Workbooks concentrate on the language conventions

tested in the NAPLAN assessments – spelling, grammar and punctuation. For each

workbook year, the content covered in the activities and questions falls within the

standards set by the Australian Curriculum. There is a workbook for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Even though the NAPLAN assessments are only held in Year 3 and 5 in the primary years,

it is extremely important to practise and prepare.

NAPLAN stands for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy. It is an

annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 and covers the areas of reading,

writing, language conventions and numeracy. The language conventions component

focuses on spelling, grammar and punctuation. To find out more about the National

Assessment Program (NAP) which includes NAPLAN visit https://www.nap.edu.au/

As well as being fun and interactive, the games, activities and puzzles encourage students

to think in different ways and use different approaches to learning. The NAPLAN-style

questions give the students practice for the assessment tests and help them become

familiar with the assessment style.

Learning should be fun, and that’s just what the Macquarie Dictionary Spelling Workbooks are!

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YEAR 4 5

Tips for using this book

Follow the Spelling Bee as it buzzes from page to page, leading you on an adventure

through lots of different activities that will have you thinking hard and laughing out loud.

Before you start, here is some advice from the Spelling Bee:

• use a pencil to write in the answers and to shade in the circles

• have an eraser handy – you may want to change your answers

• read through each question carefully

• start keeping a list of the spelling words that seem to always cause you trouble so

you can practise them – you can use the notes section on page 62

• come up with your own memory tips for those really tricky words, for example,

think of an ill gorilla to remind yourself of the double l in gorilla

For multiple choice activities:

• see if you can work out what the answer is before looking at the options

• make sure to read all of the options before choosing your answer

• fill in the circle completely

Now, the Spelling Bee is itching to get started and show you what it has waiting for you!

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6 MACQUARIE SPELLING WORKBOOK

English spelling can be very difficult. Some sounds can be written in

several different ways, making learning how to spell a challenge. Even

finding words in the dictionary can be hard if the word starts with

something unexpected.

The table opposite lists some of these tricky spellings. To use the table,

think of the sound you are trying to spell, and look for it in the first

column.

A guide to soundsand spelling

ph = f

dge = j

qu = kw

ss = sh

x = y

gn = n

ge = j

c = s

ti = sh

ge = zh

gn = n

gh = f

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YEAR 4 7

SOUND COULD BE SPELT… EXAMPLES

f ph phone f gh cough g gh ghost g gu guess g gue league h wh who j g gentle j dge badge j dj adjective j ge huge k c cat k ch chemist k qu quay k ck pick kw qu quite m mb climb m mn solemn n gn gnome n kn knife r rh rhinoceros r wr wrap s c certain s sc scent s sw sword sh s sugar sh ss tissue sh ti nation sk sch school t tw two t bt debt w wh wheel z x xylophone zh ge mirage

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8 MACQUARIE SPELLING WORKBOOK

All about meThis book belongs to

_________________________

I am ____ years old.

My favourite word is

_________________________

My least favourite word is

_________________________

My favourite book is

_________________________

I can speak these languages:

_________________________

When I grow up I want to be

_________________________

There are 12 words for different types of foods all beginning

with the letter c listed below. Put these words in alphabetical order on the

lines below.

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YEAR 4 9

Sorting it out!

There are 12 words for different types of foods all beginning

with the letter c listed below. Put these words in alphabetical order on the

lines below.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

chocolate citruscutletcrouton cashew

coriander

cerealcoconutchowder

custardcalamaricaramel

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10 MACQUARIE SPELLING WORKBOOK

_ u b e a solid shape with six equal square sides

a b a _ _ s a frame with rods through it which hold beads used for counting

l _ t _ _ a measure of liquid in the metric system

c o _ p _ s _ an instrument with a magnetic needle pointing to north which is used to find directions

l _ _ g _ h the measure of something from one end to the other

s _ _ e r _ something completely round in shape, such as a ball or a planet

f _ a c _ _ o n a part of a whole number

_ i _ _ _ o _ a thousand times a million

a _ t i _ _ d e height above sea level

w _ _ _ h to measure how heavy something is using a scale or balance

Can you guess what these words are, simply by looking at

their meanings? You need to work out what each word is and then spell it

correctly. We’ve filled in some letters in each word to help you along.

Hint! Each word has something to do with maths and measurements.

There are 10 words hidden in the grid below. Can you

find them all? The words are in straight lines and can run forwards or

backwards. They can be vertical (up and down), horizontal (sideways) or

diagonal (slanted). We’ve done one to help get you started.

What word am I

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YEAR 4 11

There are 10 words hidden in the grid below. Can you

find them all? The words are in straight lines and can run forwards or

backwards. They can be vertical (up and down), horizontal (sideways) or

diagonal (slanted). We’ve done one to help get you started.

Find a word

arid

alpine

arctic

coast

desert

jungle

mangrove

rainforest

tropical

tundra

R C E V O R G N A M

Q A R I D W R Y F C

L R I B D E S E R T

A C U N P S L H G S

C T Q I F G E W J A

I I C L N O H D N O

P C T U N D R A V C

O M J R L T I E P B

R Z X D D E A X S F

T U E N I P L A C T

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12 MACQUARIE SPELLING WORKBOOK

PUNCTUATION CHECK

Capital lettersCapital letters are used to begin sentences. They are also used to begin

words which are proper nouns. Proper nouns are people, places and

things that have specific names, for example, Queen Elizabeth, Canberra,

October. Other nouns are called common nouns and do not begin with a

capital letter.

Which sentence correctly uses capital letters? Shade in the

circle below.

1 My family enjoys watching Documentaries made by David Attenborough.

My family enjoys watching documentaries made by David Attenborough.

My family enjoys Watching Documentaries made by David Attenborough.

My family enjoys watching Documentaries made by David attenborough.

2 Doctor Smith is our Family Doctor.

The first British colony in Australia was in new south wales.

In 2020 February will have 29 days.

The kangaroo is a unique Australian Animal.

A sentence is a group of words, or even one word, which gives a self-

contained and complete meaning. When written, a sentence begins with a

capital letter and ends with one of these punctuation marks:

. A full stop is used to mark the end of a sentence that is not a question or

an exclamation. Full stops are sometimes called periods or full points.

I rode my bike to school this morning.My cat has green eyes.

? A question mark is used after any word or string of words which acts as

a question.

Can you give me a lift to the station?When?

! An exclamation mark is used at the end of an exclamation. An exclamation

is something that is said or cried out suddenly or with great emotion. Awesome!Get out!

Fill in each rectangle with a full stop (.), a question mark (?) or

an exclamation mark (!).

1 What did you see through the telescope

What an amazing sight

What I could see was the moon

2 I can sit here, can’t I

I like the seat next to the window

I can’t believe I can see the ocean from here

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YEAR 3 53

ANSWERS

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54 MACQUARIE SPELLING WORKBOOK

9 Sorting it out

calamari, caramel, cashew, cereal, chocolate, chowder, citrus, coconut,

coriander, crouton, custard, cutlet

10 What word am I?

cube a solid shape with six equal square sides

abacus a frame with rods through it which hold beads used for counting

litre a measure of liquid in the metric system

compass an instrument with a magnetic needle pointing to north which is

used to find directions

length the measure of something from one end to the other

sphere something completely round in shape, such as a ball or a planet

fraction a part of a whole number

billion a thousand times a million

altitude height above sea level

weigh to measure how heavy something is using a scale or balance

11 Find a word

12 Punctuation check: Capital letters

1 My family enjoys watching documentaries made by David Attenborough.

2 In 2020 February will have 29 days.

R C E V O R G N A M

Q A R I D W R Y F C

L R I B D E S E R T

A C U N P S L H G S

C T Q I F G E W J A

I I C L N O H D N O

P C T U N D R A V C

O M J R L T I E P B

R Z X D D E A X S F

T U E N I P L A C T

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