Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can recognise when words might be spelt with the letter strings 'ough' and 'au'.
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.
Teacher tip
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.
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Identify the spellings that contain the 'or' sound.
Q2.Match the 'or' sound spellings to the correct words.
oor
or
aw
au
ough
Q3.Which sentences are in the past tense?
Q4.Match the words to the number of phonemes they contain.
5
2
3
Q5.Which of the following words are homophones?
Q6.Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I like to jror in my sketchbook.'
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Identify the words containing the 'ough' letter string.
Q2.Match the words to the sound that the ‘ough’ letter string is making.
or
oo
oa
Q3.Match the words to the sound that the ‘au’ letter string is making.
or
o
ar or a
Q4.Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'You need to crawl throw the tunnel.'
Q5.Choose the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'There were rumours that the house was hawnted.'
Q6.Write the correct spelling of the word in bold in the following sentence: 'I hope you are wearing enuff layers.'
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings 'ough' and 'au', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Recognising the different sounds made by the letter strings 'ough' and 'au', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the Letter strings, etymology and curriculum words unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.