Year 6 English: Words to learn, and checking the spelling in a dictionary
Part of the Year 6 English spelling -cious, -tious, -cial and -tial chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Words to learn, and checking the spelling in a dictionary
Some words do not come from a root word that follows the rules. You need to learn them, or check them in a dictionary. Two examples are delicious and suspicious.
When you check a word in a dictionary, look at the first letters, then at the next letters, until you find the entry. Read the spelling of the word in the entry, and check its meaning too.
Three steps to check a spelling
1Find the root word. If there is one, use the rule for its ending.
2If the word has no clear root word, check the letter before the ending.
3If you are still not sure, look the word up in a dictionary, and check its spelling and meaning.
Key ideas
- Some -cious and -tious words have no -ce or -tion root word, so learn them.
- A dictionary gives the spelling and the meaning of a word.
- Use three steps: root word, letter before the ending, then the dictionary.
Method. Use the meaning, then learn the spelling.
- Use the meaning. Tastes very good is the meaning.tastes very good
- Check the root word. Delicious has no root word that ends in -ce or -tion, so learn the spelling.delicious
- Write the answer. Delicious is spelt with -cious.delicious
- Write the answer. delicious
Check. delicious is spelt with c, i, o, u, s. ✓
Method. Read the spelling in the dictionary entry.
- Find the headword. The headword is the word at the top of the entry.suspicious
- Check the meaning. The meaning shows the word is an adjective, which makes you think something is wrong.adjective
- Write the answer. The headword is the spelling to copy.suspicious
- Write the answer. suspicious
Check. The dictionary gives the spelling suspicious. ✓
Method. Learn the spelling, then check it in a dictionary.
- Say the parts of the word. Suspicious has -cious at the end, and the i comes before the o.sus-pi-cious
- Check the spelling. Suspicous leaves out the i, so it is wrong.suspicious
- Write the answer. suspicious
Check. suspicious has the letters i, o, u, s after c. ✓
Watch out. Learn the tricky letters, such as the i in suspicious, and check the spelling when you are not sure.
Watch out
Watch out: a dictionary shows the spelling of each word, not the root word. Use the root word first, then check the dictionary when the word has no clear root.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Choose three words from this section, and ask your child to find each one in a dictionary. Ask them to read the entry aloud, and to point to the spelling of the headword.
Exercise 1E Practice: words to learn and checking
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: tastes very good.tastes very good
- Check the ending. delicious has no root word ending in -ce or -tion, so its spelling must be learned.delicious
- Write the answer. delicious
Check. delicious has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: makes you think something is wrong.makes you think something is wrong
- Check the ending. suspicious has no root word ending in -ce or -tion, so its spelling must be learned.suspicious
- Write the answer. suspicious
Check. suspicious has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.
- Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
- Test the choice. Delicious has the letters i, o, u, s, so the spelling keeps the i.delicious fits
- Reject the other choices. delicous has the wrong ending for this word.delicous do not fit
- Write the answer. delicious
Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓
Watch out. Look at the root word, or at the letter before the ending.
Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.
- Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
- Test the choice. Suspicious keeps the i before -ous, so the spelling is suspicious.suspicious fits
- Reject the other choices. suspicous has the wrong ending for this word.suspicous do not fit
- Write the answer. suspicious
Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓
Watch out. Look at the root word, or at the letter before the ending.
Method. Think about what an entry shows.
- Find the headword. The headword is the correct spelling.headword
- Check the meaning. The meaning shows whether the word fits your sentence.meaning
- Write the answer. It gives the spelling of the headword and its meaning, so you can compare what you wrote.
Check. A dictionary gives spelling and meaning. ✓
Method. Learn the correct letters, then check the spelling.
- Find the word that is wrong. Deliscious has an s before the c, which is not in delicious.deliscious
- Write the correct spelling. The correct spelling is delicious.delicious
- Write the answer. delicious
Check. delicious has the letters d, e, l, i, c, i, o, u, s. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then check the spelling.
- Use the meaning. Makes you think something is wrong is the meaning.makes you think something is wrong
- Check the spelling. The spelling is suspicious, with an i before -ous.suspicious
- Write the answer. suspicious
Check. suspicious has the meaning given. ✓
Method. Think about the order of the three steps.
- Look at the steps. The first step is to find the root word.root word
- Use the other steps only if needed. The dictionary is used when the root word does not help.dictionary is the last step
- Write the answer. root
Check. Find the root word first. ✓
Method. Think about what a dictionary checks.
- Think about the spelling. A word may look right but be spelt differently in the entry.spelling
- Think about the meaning. The entry also shows whether the word means what you want.meaning
- Write the answer. A dictionary can still help, because a word may look right but have a different spelling or meaning.
Check. A dictionary checks both spelling and meaning. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then check for a root word.
- Use the meaning. Tastes very good is delicious.delicious
- Check for a root word. Delicious has no -ce or -tion root word, so it is learned on its own.no root word
- Write the answer. delicious
Check. delicious is learned on its own. ✓
Method. Find the wrong word, then write the correct spelling.
- Find the wrong word. Suspicous is missing the i before -ous.suspicous
- Write the correct spelling. The correct spelling is suspicious.suspicious
- Write the answer. The rule about the suspicious noise was explained in class.
Check. suspicious has the letters i, o, u, s after c. ✓
Method. Check each word for a root word.
- Check gracious and ambitious. Gracious comes from grace, and ambitious comes from ambition.grace, ambition
- Check delicious. Delicious has no root word ending in -ce or -tion, so it must be learned.delicious
- Write the answer. delicious
Check. Only delicious is learned on its own. ✓
Method. Use the three steps in order.
- Step 1. Find the root word, if there is one.root word
- Steps 2 and 3. Check the letter before the ending, then the dictionary.dictionary
- Write the answer. Find the root word, check the letter before the ending, then look the word up in a dictionary.
Check. The three steps are in the correct order. ✓