Friday spelling tests will be based on the sounds and/or 
syllabication rule learned
that week and not merely memorized letters.  
 
Clockface: 
1:00 c or k spelling rule: At the beginning or middle of a word, 
when you 
hear the /k/ sound, it is usually spelled with a 'c' and you use 'k' 
if it 
is followed by an 'i', 'e', or 'y'.

2:00 ge or dge Rule: To spell /j/ at the end of a one syllable word 
use 'dge' so the 'd' blocks the 'e' from making one vowel say its 
name.  
(example: fudge) se 'ge' everywhere else.  (example: huge, barge)

3:00 u, v, or j rule
Words in English do not end in u, v, or j.
At the end of the word, if you hear: 
/ue/ add an 'e' (Ex. venue, cue)
/u/ it is most likely spelled with an 'a' (Ex. panda, agenda)
/v/ add an 'e' (Ex. active, give)
/j/ apply the ge/dge rule 

4:00 Floss Rule
Double the final consonant if the word: 
1. is one syllable (Ex. fluff, miss)
2. has one vowel (Ex. less, fill)
3. ends in f, l, s (or z)

5:00 ck Rule
To spell /k/ at the end of a one syllable word use: 
1. 'ck' after one vowel (Ex. stack, sick)
2. 'k' everywhere else (Ex. sneak, hawk, stork, milk)
To spell /k/ at the end of a multisyllable word, use 'c' (Ex. 
fantastic, 
plastic)

Red words: a, I, the, do, to, of, was, you, be, he, me, 
she, we, as, has, his, is, been, have, said, were, what, come, from, 
some, 
word, your, one, two, all, into, who, and, find, could, should, 
would, give, 
water, their, there, go, no, so, are, many, they, my, by, want, 
work, four,
eight, pull, gone, thought, put, both, brought, done, friend, does, 
know,
world, new, please, few, once, where, buy, sure, clothes, wash, 
poor, wear,
door, early, pretty, ready, very, enough, something, because, cause, 
any,
anything, carry, half, warm, though, eyes, course, built, more, 
front, before
country, today, sometimes, people, mother, father, brother, 
together, 
another, head, learn, suit, woman, questions, national, condition, 
labor,
doctor,wonder, certain, company, love, move, office, service, above, 
across,
against, again, among

Extended SMART activities: Here are some suggestions for reinforcing 
the phonics skills we are 
learning in school each week.  Our phonics time is limited everyday 
but very important for the 
child to become a fluent reader.  These are fun ways to review 
phonics with your child outside 
of school.  

*Discuss the sound of the week.  Have your child tell you the story 
and the rule at the dinner 
table.  
*Brainstorm words that have the sound of the week in the beginning, 
middle, or end.  Dictate 
words to them and them tell you if it is in the beginning, middle, 
or end of the word.  
*Dictate real or nonsense words for your child to write in sand, 
shaving cream, paper/pencil, 
chalk/chalkboard, whiteboard/expo marker, etc.
*When your child is reading or you are reading with the, have them 
identify words with the 
sound of the week in the story as well as red words.
*Write the consonants all over a beachball or any other ball.  Toll 
the ball and say the sound 
of each letter your thumb lands on.  Then have your child put the 
vowel sound in between each 
consonant and make a word.  i.e. my thumbs land on /p/ and /f/.  I 
make the individual sounds 
of each letter and then put the /ee/ sound in between to make 'peef' 
and 'feep'.
*Do a mad lib asking for words with specific sounds.  i.e. give me a 
noun with the /ee/ sound 
in it.
*Play CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) war with card decks.