Entering KS2, students will be expected to learn a bigger range of complicated words to increase spelling accuracy. Make sure you download your year 5 spelling list from the National Curriculum.
Year 5 Spelling
Table of Contents
Year 5 Spelling in the National Curriculum
Year 5 and 6 – similar to Year 3 & 4 – share the same statutory spelling lists and requirements, therefore it is easier to split the content into two years.
The last two years of primary school are for preparing students to enter higher education, therefore there will be material that students might find challenging. But with the right resources, they will be well equipped for entering high school.
What Year 5 focuses on
Using more prefixes and suffixes
Year 5 students will keep learning suffixes and prefixes, which in turn will interlink with morphemes.
Spelling words with silent letters
There are some words, in the English language, that carry silent letters with them. This is due to the history of our language, and how it has evolved into the English we speak today.
Some words that carry silent letters are:
Gnome – we say nome
Knight – we say night
Doubt – we say dout
Learning to identify homophones and other tricky words
Tricky words are words that are spelt differently and have different meanings but sound the same – or similar. Therefore, it’s only natural to sometimes confuse them. In year 5, students will be taught the differences, and how to identify them to spell them correctly.
Introduction to morphology
Morphemes are the units of grammar and syntax. Every word in the English language is made up of morphemes. Morphemes can be root words, such as ‘sad’, ‘kind’. Morphemes can also be prefixes and suffixes. Either way, morphemes have their own meaning, but often joins other morphemes to create words!
By introducing morphemes, students will be able to understand why tricky words are spelt the way they are.
Using a thesaurus
Year 5 students will start to explore the thesaurus, getting to know different words as alternatives for others. Thesauruses are a great tool to expand vocabulary!
How Year 5 Spelling is Taught
Much like in KS1, students will be given spelling lists of 10-20 words to learn. These lists are often taken from the national curriculum. In Year 5 and 6, students will interlink spelling with other English subjects, therefore they are constantly exposed to spelling. This encourages them to be more precise and confident when writing.
Activities
Host a Spelling Bee
Excite your students by arranging a classroom spelling bee. Arrange an hour where you usually teach English or spelling and organise the spelling lists you will use. Allow students enough time to practise so they feel confident to compete.
When playing, give the students the word and a small definition, students can ask whether they need context for the word or not. For context, give them the word in a simple sentence.
You can either ask students to compete in teams or on their own, it is up to you! The purpose of this exercise is to get students used to spelling out words, which will help them remember the correct spelling.
Interactive Games
A good way to engage your students with spelling is by using interactive games. Learning with Emile has been designed by teachers for teachers and students. Learning with Emile has tons of resources, especially for spelling and phonics.
If you haven’t tried Learning with Emile, why not request your free demo today!
Guess the silent letter
On your interactive whiteboard write two to three silent letter words, however, to really test your students, spell them incorrectly.
Ask them if they can notice anything strange in how the words are written? Can they tell if letters are missing or not? How is it spelt correctly?
A few examples of silent letter words are:
Bomb Echo
Descend Design
Handsome Knee
Worksheets with Emile
Worksheets are a classic way of helping students spell better. Following the “look, say, cover, spell, and check” method, students can fully learn the required words given by the government on the National Curriculum.
These worksheets are for Year 5 and Year 5 and 6, following the appendix on the National Curriculum. Download them for free below!
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