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Spelling words with Greek and Latin etymology

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can spell words of Greek and Latin origin including spellings 'sc', 'ch' and 'ph'.

Key learning points

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

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

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.

Teacher tip

Celebrate languages spoken in class to start to understand derivatives, origins and etymology.

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

6 Questions

Q1.
Select all the words containing the 's' sound.

Correct answer: hiss
mission
Correct answer: scent
Correct answer: city
island

Q2.
Select all the words containing the 'ch' sound.

Correct answer: cello
scheme
brochure
yacht
Correct answer: hatch

Q3.
Select all the words containing the 'f' sound.

pirate
Correct answer: tough
Correct answer: fish
high
Correct answer: elephant

Q4.
Match the word to the representation of the 's' sound it contains.

Correct Answer:scheme,sc

sc

Correct Answer:hiss,ss

ss

Correct Answer:century,c

c

Correct Answer:skid,s

s

Q5.
Match the word to the meaning.

Correct Answer:crescent,the shape of the moon when it looks like a narrow arc

the shape of the moon when it looks like a narrow arc

Correct Answer:echo,the repeating of a sound

the repeating of a sound

Correct Answer:phobia,a strong fear or dislike about something

a strong fear or dislike about something

Q6.
Select the correct spelling.

sience
sciense
Correct answer: science
sciance

6 Questions

Q1.
Words containing the 'sc' spelling of the 's' sound come from...

Arabic
Hindi
Correct answer: Latin
French

Q2.
Identify the Greek derived spellings.

chef
Correct answer: chorus
pink
Correct answer: photograph
fussy

Q3.
Identify the Latin derived spellings.

school
Correct answer: scene
Correct answer: fascinate
scab

Q4.
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: A doctor rushed to the sceene to provide help.

scean
seene
Correct answer: scene
sceane

Q5.
Choose the correct spelling for the word in bold in the following sentence: The voice was an ekow in the distance.

eco
ecow
ecko
Correct answer: echo

Q6.
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
Correct answer: phrase
phraze
phraise

To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Spelling words with Greek and Latin etymology, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...