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Lesson 18 of 18
Applying the new 'or' spellings, including 'ore', 'ough' and 'a'
I can apply three new spellings for the 'or' phoneme: 'ore', 'ough' and 'a'.
Lesson 18 of 18
New
New
Applying the new 'or' spellings, including 'ore', 'ough' and 'a'
I can apply three new spellings for the 'or' phoneme: 'ore', 'ough' and 'a'.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘ore’ is a representation of the 'or' phoneme that usually comes at the end of a word.
- 'ough' and 'a' are alternative spellings of the 'or' phoneme.
- Most words using the 'ough' spelling are past tense verbs.
- The 'or' sound is usually spelt as 'a' before 'l' or 'll'.
- How to spell the common exception words: war, warm and towards.
Keywords
Digraph - two letters that represent one sound
Trigraph - three letters that represent one sound
Verb - a doing or being word
Past tense - shows the action happened before now
Common misconception
Children can get confused by sounds that use the same spellings, such as 'ar' and 'or'.
Remind children that the same sound can be represented in a number of ways and the same spelling can represent a number of sounds.
There are a lot of hard spellings covered with these patterns, so only focus on the most useful ones for your class or pupils.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.Pick the spelling that matches the sentence: After school, I like to __________ with my friends.
Pick the spelling that matches the sentence: After school, I like to __________ with my friends.
tork
talck
toorc
Q2.Choose the 'or' spellings that match to the words.
Choose the 'or' spellings that match to the words.
ball
thought
snore
Q3.The 'ough' spelling of the 'or' sound is used in verbs in which tense? For example, 'fought', 'bought', 'thought'.
The 'ough' spelling of the 'or' sound is used in verbs in which tense? For example, 'fought', 'bought', 'thought'.
present tense
future tense
Q4.Which sentences are in the past tense?
Which sentences are in the past tense?
I bring my bag to school.
I think it is my friend's birthday.
Q5.Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I need a borl to play with.
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I need a borl to play with.
bal
boughl
Q6.Write the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I brort my coat into the classroom.
Write the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I brort my coat into the classroom.
Assessment exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.Pick the spelling that matches the sentence: The sun is shining and it is __________ today.
Pick the spelling that matches the sentence: The sun is shining and it is __________ today.
werm
walm
Q2.Pick the spelling that matches the sentence: She walked __________ the park.
Pick the spelling that matches the sentence: She walked __________ the park.
toowords
towords
towads
Q3.Choose the 'or' spelling that matches the words.
Choose the 'or' spelling that matches the words.
ough
ore
a
Q4.Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I would like a smorl snack to eat.
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I would like a smorl snack to eat.
smawl
smal
Q5.Write the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: He thort he would go home.
Write the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: He thort he would go home.
Q6.Write the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I orlwaze drink water before going to bed.
Write the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: I orlwaze drink water before going to bed.