1st Grade Spelling & 2nd Grade Spelling

Spelling Glossary

Abbreviations: The shortened version of a word (Ave.=Avenue).

Acronyms: Phrases that are abbreviated by using letters from the phrase (NASA = National Aeronautics
and Space Administration).

Affixes: A part (morpheme) attached to the root word, such as a prefix or suffix (Unimaginable, reheat)

Beginning Consonant Digraphs: Two consonants at the beginning of a word that when joined make one
sound (chair, shirt).

Consonant Blends: Consonants that when joined together can produce the sound of each consonant
(flow, cradle, speed).

Dolch Words: A list of the most commonly used words, comprised by E.W. Dolch in 1936, which are
generally learned as sight words (the, it, was, I).

Ending Consonant Digraphs: Two consonants at the end of a word that when joined make one sound
(march, swish, path).

Etymology: The history of language through the study of word origins.

High Frequency Words: The most commonly used words in print (the, a, to, I).

Homographs: Words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and pronunciations. (bass,
bow, close, desert)

Homonyms: Words that have the same spelling and pronunciation, but varying meanings (spruce as in to
clean or spruce as in a type of tree).

Homophones: Words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings (here
and hear, see and sea).

Inflectional Endings: The combination of root words and endings to indicate a plural or verb tense
(stars,played, running).

Long Vowels: Vowels generally take a long sound when they are followed by a consonant and the letter e
(cake, side, mope), or when they are placed next to another vowel (maid, eat, pie), or when they are at the
end of a word (he, go, why).

Prefix: The beginning part of a word that precedes the root word (precook, undo, resend).

Multi-syllabic Words: Words that contain more than one syllable(can-teen, pre-dic-tion, sor-row-ful)

R-Controlled Vowels: Vowels that when placed next to the letter r, take on the r-sound as a blend (car,
bird, her).

Root Word: The part of a word, giving it meaning. A prefix or suffix can be added to it. (reread, swimming,
sounded)

Short Vowels: Single vowels usually make a short sound and appear between two consonants (cat, bed,
hid) or in the beginning of a word (at, us, ink).

Sight Words: Words that are commonly used, but may not follow phonetic spelling rules, and as a result
are frequently learned through sight memorization.
Suffix: The end part of a word that follows the rootword (happily, enjoyable, referral).

Syllables: The phonological organization and segmentation of words in parts (hap-pi-ly, en-ter-tain-ment)

Typology: The study of words within a specific context (political terms-election, math terms-Pythagorean,
biology terms-Ecosystem)

Vowel-Consonant-E: Spelling with a vowel, followed by a consonant and the letter /e/ to give a long vowel
sound (cake, mine, rope, dune)

Vowel Digraphs: Two vowels joined together to make one sound, usually the sound of the first vowel
(coat, team, paid).

Vowel Diphthongs: A pair of vowels that when joined, create both sounds (boy, cow, paw, coil).

3º to 6º

Spelling Glossary

Abbreviations: The shortened version of a word (Ave.=Avenue).

Acronyms: Phrases that are abbreviated by using letters from the phrase (NASA = National Aeronautics
and Space Administration).

Affixes: A part (morpheme) attached to the root word, such as a prefix or suffix (Unimaginable, reheat)

Beginning Consonant Digraphs: Two consonants at the beginning of a word that when joined make one
sound (chair, shirt).

Consonant Blends: Consonants that when joined together can produce the sound of each consonant
(flow, cradle, speed).

Dolch Words: A list of the most commonly used words, comprised by E.W. Dolch in 1936, which are
generally learned as sight words (the, it, was, I).

Ending Consonant Digraphs: Two consonants at the end of a word that when joined make one sound
(march, swish, path).

Etymology: The history of language through the study of word origins.

High Frequency Words: The most commonly used words in print (the, a, to, I).

Homographs: Words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and pronunciations. (bass,
bow, close, desert)

Homonyms: Words that have the same spelling and pronunciation, but varying meanings (spruce as in to
clean or spruce as in a type of tree).

Homophones: Words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings (here
and hear, see and sea).

Inflectional Endings: The combination of root words and endings to indicate a plural or verb tense
(stars,played, running).

Long Vowels: Vowels generally take a long sound when they are followed by a consonant and the letter e
(cake, side, mope), or when they are placed next to another vowel (maid, eat, pie), or when they are at the
end of a word (he, go, why).
Prefix: The beginning part of a word that precedes the root word (precook, undo, resend).

Multi-syllabic Words: Words that contain more than one syllable(can-teen, pre-dic-tion, sor-row-ful)

R-Controlled Vowels: Vowels that when placed next to the letter r, take on the r-sound as a blend (car,
bird, her).

Root Word: The part of a word, giving it meaning. A prefix or suffix can be added to it. (reread, swimming,
sounded)

Short Vowels: Single vowels usually make a short sound and appear between two consonants (cat, bed,
hid) or in the beginning of a word (at, us, ink).

Sight Words: Words that are commonly used, but may not follow phonetic spelling rules, and as a result
are frequently learned through sight memorization.

Suffix: The end part of a word that follows the rootword (happily, enjoyable, referral).

Syllables: The phonological organization and segmentation of words in parts (hap-pi-ly, en-ter-tain-ment)

Typology: The study of words within a specific context (political terms-election, math terms-Pythagorean,
biology terms-Ecosystem)

Vowel-Consonant-E: Spelling with a vowel, followed by a consonant and the letter /e/ to give a long vowel
sound (cake, mine, rope, dune)

Vowel Digraphs: Two vowels joined together to make one sound, usually the sound of the first vowel
(coat, team, paid).

Vowel Diphthongs: A pair of vowels that when joined, create both sounds (boy, cow, paw, coil).