Spelling words with Greek and Latin etymology | English

Starter quiz

Select all the words containing the 's' sound.
- hiss ✓
- mission
- scent ✓
- city ✓
- island
Select all the words containing the 'ch' sound.
- cello ✓
- scheme
- brochure
- yacht
- hatch ✓
Select all the words containing the 'f' sound.
- pirate
- tough ✓
- fish ✓
- high
- elephant ✓
Match the word to the representation of the 's' sound it contains.
- scheme
  
  ⇔
  
  sc ✓
- hiss
  
  ⇔
  
  ss ✓
- century
  
  ⇔
  
  c ✓
- skid
  
  ⇔
  
  s ✓
Match the word to the meaning.
- crescent
  
  ⇔
  
  the shape of the moon when it looks like a narrow arc ✓
- echo
  
  ⇔
  
  the repeating of a sound ✓
- phobia
  
  ⇔
  
  a strong fear or dislike about something ✓
Select the correct spelling.
- sience
- sciense
- science ✓
- sciance

Exit quiz

Words containing the 'sc' spelling of the 's' sound come from...
- Arabic
- Hindi
- Latin ✓
- French
Identify the Greek derived spellings.
- chef
- chorus ✓
- pink
- photograph ✓
- fussy
Identify the Latin derived spellings.
- school
- scene ✓
- fascinate ✓
- scab
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: A doctor rushed to the sceene to provide help.
- scean
- seene
- scene ✓
- sceane
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: The voice was an ekow in the distance.
- eco
- ecow
- ecko
- echo ✓
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: Can you come up with a catchy fraze for the poster?
- frase
- phrase ✓
- phraze
- phraise

Worksheet

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Presentation

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The /s/ sound in Latin-origin words is generally spelt 'sc'.
The /k/ sound in Greek-origin words is generally spelt 'ch'.
The /f/ sound in Greek-origin words is generally spelt 'ph'.
How to spell the curriculum words: stomach, yacht and ancient.

Common misconception

Pupils will be more familiar with 's' at the beginning and 'ss' in the middle of words so may spell words incorrectly.

Talk about the origin of words drawing links between words containing the 'sc' spelling and looking at examples where it appears at the beginning and in the middle of a word.

Keywords

Etymology - the study of the origin of words and the ways their meanings have changed over time
Origin - the source or beginning of something like the place, time or history of a word or idea