New
New
Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'
I can recognise when words might be spelt with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'.
Lesson 1 of 16
New
New
- Year 6
Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'
I can recognise when words might be spelt with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The 'ough' spelling can make a variety of sounds.
- The 'au' spelling can make a variety of sounds.
- When you hear one of these sounds, the word might contain the 'ough' or 'au' spelling.
- The pronunciation of the 'au' letter string may vary depending on accent.
- How to spell the curriculum words: amateur and sacrifice.
Keywords
Letter string - a group of letters that are written together in a word
Phoneme - the smallest unit of sound that can change a word's meaning
Digraph - two letters that represent one sound
Common misconception
Pupils might think that all words with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au' are pronounced the same way.
Show pupils that these letter strings can sound different depending on the word they are in. Explore different words and talk about which sounds are the most and least common.
Take time to discuss the words in this lesson as there may be unfamiliar vocabulary. Pupils need to understand the meaning of words if they are expected to be able to spell them. Take note of your children's accents, particularly in learning cycle 2.
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
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Identify the spellings that contain the 'or' sound.
Identify the spellings that contain the 'or' sound.
laugh
tower
Q2.Match the 'or' sound spellings to the correct words.
Match the 'or' sound spellings to the correct words.
Q3.Which sentences are in the past tense?
Which sentences are in the past tense?
I buy a pint of milk.
I think it is my friend's birthday today.
Q4.Match the words to the number of phonemes they contain.
Match the words to the number of phonemes they contain.
Q5.Which of the following words are homophones?
Which of the following words are homophones?
play
plane
Q6.Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I like to jror in my sketchbook.'
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I like to jror in my sketchbook.'
dror
drawer
droor
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Identify the words containing the 'ough' letter string.
Identify the words containing the 'ough' letter string.
outdoor
scuffle
story
Q2.Match the words to the sound that the ‘ough’ letter string is making.
Match the words to the sound that the ‘ough’ letter string is making.
Q3.Match the words to the sound that the ‘au’ letter string is making.
Match the words to the sound that the ‘au’ letter string is making.
Q4.Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'You need to crawl throw the tunnel.'
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'You need to crawl throw the tunnel.'
throo
threw
thruogh
Q5.Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'There were rumours that the house was hawnted.'
Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'There were rumours that the house was hawnted.'
hornted
houghnted
horented
Q6.Write the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I hope you are wearing enuff layers.'
Write the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I hope you are wearing enuff layers.'
