English Spelling & Word Studyusually ages 9–10

Advanced Spelling Conventions

Spell words using assorted Y5-6 conventions: doubling after -fer when the stress remains (referring but reference), using hyphens to join prefixes to root words (co-ordinate, re-enter), the /iː/ sound spelt ei after c (receive, ceiling), and the letter string ough representing different sounds (though, through, thought, thorough, plough)

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Apply the -fer doubling rule: double the r when the syllable is stressed (referring, preferred, transferred) but not when stress shifts (reference, preference)
Use hyphens correctly when a prefix ends with the same letter the root begins with (re-enter, co-own) or to avoid ambiguity (re-cover vs recover)
Read and spell words containing ough by recognising its multiple pronunciations: /oʊ/ (though), /uː/ (through), /ɔː/ (thought), /ʌf/ (rough), /aʊ/ (plough)

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Try this together

Can your child correctly spell tricky words like "receive," "though," or "co-ordinate," including knowing when to use a hyphen or the "-ei" pattern after "c"?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Spellings from Greek, French and Latinages 8–10Assorted Y5-6 conventions (ough, ei after c, hyphens, -fer doubling) build on etymological spelling pattern knowledge from Y4

Prefixes (age 7+)ages 7–10Hyphen use with prefixes connects to prefix knowledge; -fer doubling rules relate to suffix addition after specific roots

Advanced Spelling Conventionsthis skill · ages 9–10

Unlocks

Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E3LY11low confidenceYear 3 · Literacy

use phoneme–grapheme (sound–letter) relationships and less common letter patterns to spell words

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN2-SPELL-01medium confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

EN3-SPELL-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 3

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E4LY05low confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

VC2E3LY05low confidenceEnglish · Level 3 · Literacy strand

VC2E4LY04low confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Homophones (age 9+)ages 9–10 Silent Letters in Wordsages 9–10 Spelling -able & -ibleages 9–10 Spelling Word Lists (age 9+)ages 9–10

All Spelling & Word Study skills →