How can you tell they’ve got it: Spellings from Greek, French and Latin?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Spell words with Greek ch such as 'scheme', 'chorus', 'chemist', 'echo' and explain the /k/ sound pattern; Spell words with French ch such as 'chef', 'chalet', 'machine' and -gue/-que endings like 'league', 'unique'; Spell words with Latin sc such as 'science', 'scene', 'discipline' and identify the silent letter pattern. Or just try it together: Does your child know that some words have letter patterns from other languages — like "ch" making a "k" sound in "school" or "chorus" — and can they spell those words correctly?

English Spelling & Word Study Ages 8–10

Spellings from Greek, French and Latin

Your child can spell words that came from other languages. Letters sound unusual here, like ch in chorus and chef, or sc in science.

In curriculum terms

Spell words with etymological letter patterns from Greek (ch = /k/), French (ch = /ʃ/, -gue, -que), and Latin (sc = /s/) origins

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

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

Spell words with Greek ch such as 'scheme', 'chorus', 'chemist', 'echo' and explain the /k/ sound pattern
Spell words with French ch such as 'chef', 'chalet', 'machine' and -gue/-que endings like 'league', 'unique'
Spell words with Latin sc such as 'science', 'scene', 'discipline' and identify the silent letter pattern

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Try this together

Does your child know that some words have letter patterns from other languages — like "ch" making a "k" sound in "school" or "chorus" — and can they spell those words correctly?

Where this sits on the map

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

Builds on

Suffixesages 7–9Etymological spelling patterns extend the suffix and sound-spelling work from Y3

Spellings from Greek, French and Latinthis skill · ages 8–10

Unlocks

Advanced Spelling Conventionsages 9–10Assorted Y5-6 conventions (ough, ei after c, hyphens, -fer doubling) build on etymological spelling pattern knowledge from Y4

Silent Letters in Wordsages 9–10Silent letters are remnants of etymology; etymological spelling pattern knowledge provides the framework for understanding why letters are present but silent

Applying Spelling Rules to Complex Wordsages 11–14Spelling complex vocabulary uses KS2 etymological patterns

Vocabulary Strategiesages 11–14KS3 word-solving extends KS2 etymological patterns (Greek, French, Latin)

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

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

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E3LY11medium confidenceYear 3 · Literacy

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

AC9E3LY09low confidenceYear 3 · Literacy

understand how to apply knowledge of phoneme–grapheme (sound–letter) relationships, syllables, and blending and segmenting to fluently read and write multisyllabic words with more complex letter patterns

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN1-SPELL-01medium confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 1

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

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E3LY05high confidenceEnglish · Level 3 · Literacy strand

VC2E5LY04medium confidenceEnglish · Level 5 · Literacy strand

VC2E6LY04medium confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · 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

Advanced Spelling Conventionsages 9–10 Apostrophes for possessionages 7–10 Homophonesages 7–9 Homophonesages 9–10

All Spelling & Word Study skills →