Applying the spellings ‘ay', ‘ai' and ‘a-e' in familiar words | English

Starter quiz

Match each word to the number of phonemes it contains.
- play
  
  ⇔
  
  3 ✓
- snail
  
  ⇔
  
  4 ✓
- pancake
  
  ⇔
  
  6 ✓
Choose two words that contain the root word play.
- playing ✓
- stay
- played ✓
- plane
How many syllables in the word pancakes?
- 1
- 2 ✓
- 3
- 8
Choose the correct spelling of the word to complete this sentence. Would you like to play this __________ with me?
- game ✓
- gaim
- gaym
- gam
Choose two words that rhyme with the word tail.
- trails
- trail ✓
- snail ✓
- ball
- fill
Choose the three most common spellings of the ay sound.
- a-e ✓
- ay ✓
- oa
- ai ✓
- ea

Select the correct spelling to match the sentence. He wore a __________ necklace.
- gld
- gawld
- gold ✓
- gowld
Match the homophones.
- tale
  
  ⇔
  
  tail ✓
- plain
  
  ⇔
  
  plane ✓
- mail
  
  ⇔
  
  male ✓
Match the spellings to where they are most commonly found in the word.
- 'ay'
  
  ⇔
  
  at the end ✓
- 'a-e'
  
  ⇔
  
  'last but one' ✓
- 'ai'
  
  ⇔
  
  in the middle ✓
Correct the spelling in bold in the following sentence. What are you saiying ?
- 'saying' ✓
Correct the spelling in bold in the following sentence. The snayk slithered through the grass.
- 'snake' ✓
Correct the spelling in bold in the following sentence. She won the rayce at sports day.
- 'race' ✓

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‘ay’ is a representation of the ay phoneme that often comes at the end of a word.
‘ai’ is a representation of the ay phoneme that often is found in the middle of a word.
‘a-e’ is a representation of the ay phoneme that is often found ‘last but one’.
How to spell the common exception words: old, cold and gold.
How to write a complete sentence containing words and spellings previously and recently learnt.

Homophones - using the wrong spelling of a word containing the 'ay' sound e.g. plain vs plane.

Use of images alongside sentences and contexts containing the correct spelling is helpful.

Root word - the base word from which other words are formed often by adding prefixes or suffixes
Suffix - a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning
Common - common spellings are spellings which appear frequently
Homophone - homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings, like 'tail' and 'tale'
Exception - a spelling that does not follow a rule