Spelling

Objective

In this lesson, we’ll review spelling rules and common spelling mistakes.

Previously Covered:

• In the previous lesson we discusses common abbreviations.

Stories abound about people who, at the wrong place and time, misspelled a word with dramatic results. Sometimes, an important person looks silly, and sometimes, a comical misunderstanding takes place. Perhaps because spelling is relatively straightforward when compared to other writing conventions, readers and onlookers love to point out spelling mistakes.

Spell Check and the Dictionary

Perhaps the most useful spelling rule is the reminder to use spell check on your word processing software. Although it won’t catch misplaced words (such as baked instead of biked), spell-check programs will find many obvious misspellings.

Also, explore the spelling and grammar check options for your word processing software. Many programs allow you to make various choices about how they work: automatically correcting misspelled words, automatically capitalizing the first word in a sentence, and overlooking words containing numbers are three choices that many programs allow you to make.

In addition to word processing spell checkers, remember the old fashioned spell checker: the dictionary.

Spelling Rules

Like capitalization rules, spelling rules have plenty of exceptions and gray areas. Here are a few of the rules that you and your students may have learned. Rules and memory devices aside, spelling is usually right or wrong, so check the dictionary for the final ruling.

I before e except after c or when it sounds like a as in neighbor or weigh.

Exceptions to the “i before e” rule include the following words:

science

seize

weird

U follows q, except in some abbreviations (such as qt. for quart), a few proper nouns, and some foreign words.

quarter

quiet

quaint

equator

acquaintance

daiquiri

Common Spelling Mistakes

Homophones or homonyms are words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings. Here are just a few homophones to note. Notice that very common words, including pronouns, show up regularly on this list.

Other spelling obstacles include the following:

• Double letters in words such as recommend and indeed
• Slightly different spellings for different versions of English, such as theater (American English) and theatre (British English)
• Two acceptable spellings for the same word. Check the dictionary if you have a question.

Finally, here’s a brief list of commonly misspelled words

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