                     SPELLING FAIR FULL DOC`S
                    ==========================      TYPED BY SHARD
                                                       03-11-93
CONTENTS
========

Introduction

Instructions
Loading Spelling Fair
Using the Main Menu
The Quick Key Menu
User Options Screen

The Games
Coconut Shy
Test Your Strength
Mechanical Grab
Haunted House
Circus Word
Word Juggle

Using the Word Dictionary and Spelling List Editor
The Word Dictionary
Creating a New Word Bank
Editing an Existing Word Bank
Using your own Word Banks
The Spelling List Editor

Reporting and Testing Childrens Progress
Reporting Progress
Testing Progress

Data Structure
The Special Word Set

Spelling Fair and National Curriculum

Spelling Rules and Lists

Credits

INTRODUCTION
============

Welcome  to  Fun School Spelling Fair, a brand new educational package from
the  makers  of the highly successful Fun School series.  Spelling Fair has
been  carefully  designed  to  help children aged seven and over to perfect
their  spelling  while,  at  the  same  time, having fun playing any of six
games.

Spelling  Fair is crammed with a huge collection of over 4,000 words.  Many
of these have been isolated by educationalists as words which children (and
even  adults)  commonly  misspell It contains six colourful and stimulating
games  each  of which will encourage children to spell words correctly.  In
addition  to  this,  by  using  Spelling  Fair`s unique Word and Dictionary
Editors,  the package can be tailored to the particular needs of each user.
Children`s progress can also be monitored.  Spelling Fair contains a report
facility  from  which  parents  and  teachers  can examine how children are
progressing.   From  this facility a permanent record of their progress can
be  printed.   The  package  also  contains  what we believe to be a unique
facility:   the  option  to  load  in  a  special  data bank which has been
specifically  designed  for  children who are dyslexics or who have similar
mild learning difficulties.

Whether  children  find  the  spelling  of  an occasional word difficult or
whether  they  find  spelling  an arduous task, Spelling Fair will turn the
chore  of  learning  new or difficult words into a pleasure.  The six games
which  are  included  in  Spelling  Fair will fascinate, entertain and most
importantly, educate your children.

Each  of the programs has been designed to be as simple as possible to load
and  use.  They can be loaded from the colourful Main Menu Screen using the
mouse  or  from  an Options Screen using the keyboard.  The majority of the
programs   are   controlled  using  simple  mouse  actions.   Despite  this
simplicity,  it  is  important  that, when each game is first used, younger
children  receive assistance and supervision.  This will greatly reduce the
possibility of frustration later on.

Each game, when first loaded, will begin at the lowest level of difficulty.
By  pressing  F10  games  can be moved to the next level of difficulty.  To
leave any program in this package, press Escape.

These  easy-to-use  methods  for  changing  levels  and leaving each of the
programs  will  allow children to switch between games without help playing
each one for as long as they wish.

Children  of  any  age  have widely differing abilities.  Spelling Fair has
been  designed  to  appeal to as wide an ability and age range as possible.
On  the  lowest  levels,  these  programs  should  be able to be used quite
comfortably  by seven year old children.  While on the highest levels, they
may still prove taxing to some eleven year olds.

INSTRUCTIONS
============

Loading Spelling Fair
---------------------

Amiga Users
If  you  have  a single disc drive insert disc 1 into the drive and turn on
your  computer.  After a few seconds you will see a part of Spelling Fair`s
scrolling  Main  Menu.   As  you  use the package you will, on occasion, be
prompted to change discs.

If you own two disc drives insert disc 1 into the internal drive and disc 2
into  any external drive.  Turn on the computer and after a few seconds you
will see a part of Spelling Fairs scrolling Main Menu.

PC Users
Make  sure  that  the  computer  is  turned on and running from within DOS.
Insert disc A into drive A and type A:  then press Enter.  At the A> prompt
type  spell  and  press  Enter.  After a few seconds you will see a part of
Spelling Fair`s scrolling Main Menu.

To install Spelling Fair on your hard drive simply type install from the A>
prompt and press Enter.  Follow the instructions given carefully.

Commodore 64 Users
Please note, The manual refers to moving the pointer with a mouse.  On your
machine you move the pointer with either a joystick in port 1, or using the
following  keys.   O,P  for  left  and  right and Q,A for up and down.  "To
click" press the fire buttons or the return key as appropriate.

Switch  the machine on and insert cassette 1 into the cassette deck.  Press
the  keys  Shift and RunStop simultaneously.  It will ask you to press play
on the cassette deck.  Once play has been pressed the program will load and
run  automatically.   All  of  the  programs are stored sequentially on the
cassette.

There are certain restrictions on the Commodore 64 version.  The reason for
this  is  the way the cassette system works.  On a disc system any file can
be accessed at any time, on a cassette system you must first find out where
the file is on the tape.  Because of this and to simplify its operation for
younger computer users we have elected to have two cassettes.  One for data
files and one for the main programs.

Again  to  simplify  use  we have removed the Spelling List Editor, instead
Commodore  64  users  should  use  the Word Dictionary which has all of the
features  of  the  Spelling  List  Editor.   There  is  no menu page on the
Commodore  64  version.  All options that the menu page gives you have been
incorporated  into  individual  programs,  such  as  boy/girl selection and
ability to load in word files.

Word  files are stored on a separate cassette.  When prompted by individual
programs  you should insert the data cassette and follow instructions.  You
may  wish  to store word files on your own cassette.  This can be done from
the  Word  Dictionary.  To use the files you have created in the games, you
insert your own cassette when the data cassette is requested.

Using the Main Menu

A  short  while  after  loading  you  will  see  a  part of Spelling Fair`s
scrolling  menu.  On the left is Arnie.  Arnie will help you play the games
included  in  this  package.  (If you prefer, you can play these games with
Arnie`s friend Zoe.  Instructions on how to do this are given below).

In  the  centre  of  the  screen are two large arrows.  By taking the mouse
pointer  to either of these arrows and holding down the left button you can
move  Arnie  around  Spelling  Fairs  Main  Menu Screen and load the games.
Alternatively, you can move Arnie by pressing the left and right arrow keys
on the keyboard.

To  load  a  game,  Arnie must be placed immediately in front of one of the
fairground  side-  shows.  Games can be loaded by clicking on the side show
or  by  pressing Return or Enter on the keyboard.  Once you have done this,
you  will  be  asked to confirm your choice.  Click on Yes (or tap Y on the
keyboard)  to  load  a game.  If you have changed your mind click on No (or
tap N) and Arnie will remain within the Main Menu Screen.

The  side  shows  and  their  related  games (from left to right across the
screen) are as follows:

Coconut Shy (the striped tent far left)
Test Your Strength (machine with gong)
Mechanical Grab (arcade type machine)
Haunted House (derelict house)
Circus Word (canon)
Word Juggle (final striped tent)

The  Word  Dictionary and Spelling List Editors are special utilities which
allow  you  to  tailor some programs to your own needs.  They can be loaded
from icons which appear above the Circus Word cannon

The Quick Key Menu

An  alternative  method  of loading the games, Word Dictionary and Spelling
List  Editors  is  to use the Quick Key Menu.  To enter this, press F2 (C64
users  press  F3).   You  can then load any of the programs by pressing the
relevant letter on this menu on your keyboard.  The Quick Key Menu can also
be used to:

show  a  report  of children`s current progress (a facility also exists for
printing out these progress reports), and,

by pressing J you can set various user options

User Options Screen

The  User  Options  Menu  can be seen by pressing F2 to enter the Quick Key
Menu  followed by J.  This menu offers a number of options which can be set
by  parents  and  teachers.   To  alter  any of the settings take the mouse
pointer to the relevant line and click on the left button.  The options are
as follows:

Boy or girl
When Spelling Fair first loads you can play the games with Arnie.  You will
see  him  on  the  main  scrolling menu screen as well as within all of the
programs  which are loaded.  If you click on this line from the User Option
Screen,  Arnie  will  be  replaced  by  his  female counterpart, Zoe.  Now,
instead  of  playing each of the games with Arnie, you will be able to play
them with Zoe

Password
You  can  use  this  function  to  prevent children from accessing the User
Option  Screen.   To enter a password click on this row.  You will be asked
to  type  in the name for the password.  This will now appear on the second
option row.  Each time that you now attempt to enter the User Option Screen
you  must  first enter this password.  To remove the password facility, you
should click again on this option and delete the password.

Help allowed
Each  program in this package has a help facility which can be called up by
pressing  Help  (Amiga),  F3  (C64),  or  F1 (PC) while playing a game.  To
disable this function, click on the third row.

Menu music
Clicking on this row turns the menu music on or off.

Use word bank
Spelling  Fair  contains  20  main  word banks.  Each of these contains 150
words  along  with their definitions.  These word banks are used in Coconut
Shy,  Circus  Word  and  Word  Juggle.  When you first enter any game.  The
default  word bank is loaded along with the game.  When Spelling Fair first
loads,  Bank  1  is  loaded as the default bank.  If you click on this line
with either mouse button you can alter the bank which is loaded by default.
You  should  note  that  Banks 1 and 2 each contain simple words for use by
beginners.

Reset reporting information
Clicking  on  this  function resets all of the information contained within
Spelling Fairs report section.  This facility is particularly useful if two
or more children use the package in a single session.

Special needs bank
A  special  data  set has been produced for use with Mechanical Grab.  This
set  has been designed for children with dyslexia or other similar learning
difficulties  and  is  described  later  in  this manual.  To make this set
available, click on this row.

Date
If  you  would like reports to contain today`s date, this can be entered by
clicking  on  the  final  row.   Type  in the date in which ever format you
prefer.   This  will  now  appear  on the report screen and any print-outs.
This facility may be especially useful if you want to store printed reports
and monitor your children`s progress over a period of time.

THE GAMES
=========

If  you  need  assistance  within  any  of  these games, press the Help key
(Amiga),  F3  (C64), or F1 (PC) on your keyboard.  You will then be given a
useful  hint.   Each  game can be played at three levels of difficulty.  To
change between these levels, press F10 (Amiga/PC) or F1 C64.

Coconut Shy
Arnie has decided to try his luck on the Coconut Shy.  As he approaches the
stall,  he  sees  that  all  of  the coconuts have letters on them.  Hidden
amongst these letters is a correctly spelt word.  In order to find the word
Arnie must knock out the letters which he doesn`t need.

At  the bottom of the screen is a definition of the hidden word.  To remove
an  unwanted  letter  take  the  mouse pointer to the coconut on which that
letter  is printed and click on the left button.  Arnie will pick up a ball
and throw it at the coconut.  If you are right it will fall down If you are
wrong the ball will bounce back towards Arnie.

On Level One, you have to remove two unwanted letters.  These might both be
on the left of the correct word, on the right of the word or one may appear
either side of the word.

On Level Two there are also two unwanted letters.  One letter on one of the
ends and one in the middle of the word.

Each  word  on  Level  Three  contains up to three unwanted letters.  As in
Level two these may appear anywhere amongst the row of coconuts.

Test Your Strength
Test  Your Strength is a game which deals with plurals.  Arnie and his pals
have  found a side- show where a strongman is showing the audience just how
strong  he  is.   There  is, however a problem.  Our strongman can make the
bell ring on only one of the machines.  Can you help him find out which one
that is?

On  the bottom of the screen is a question.  This question asks you to find
the  plural  of  a  particular  word.   Each  of  the  machines carries one
alternative  spelling  of the plural of that particular word.  Decide which
one you think is correct.  Take the mouse pointer to this word and click on
the  left button.  The strongman will try that machine if you`re right, you
will ring the bell.

Mechanical Grab
Arnie  loves Mechanical Grab machines (so does Zoe).  This time, he`s found
a  mechanical  grab machine with a difference.  In this machine you have to
grab hold of a group of letters to complete the word on the platform.

To control the "grabber" take the mouse pointer to the arrows at the bottom
left  of  the  screen.   By  clicking  on  either of these you can move the
grabber to the right and left.  When it is above the part of the word which
you  think is correct, click on the word GRAB.  If you`re right, Arnie will
be  rewarded  with  a chocolate clown.  If you`re wrong, the section of the
word will be returned to where it came from.

On Level One you should look for the endings of words (suffixes).

On Level Two you should look for the beginnings of words (prefixes)

On  Level  Three  you  should  find the letters which go into the middle of
words

There is a special data set which can be used in this program that has been
designed  for  children  with  dyslexia  and similar learning difficulties.
This is designed to help them locate spelling errors which some children in
these  categories  commonly  make.  This set can be loaded into the program
from the Option Screen.  Details on how to do this are given earlier in the
manual

Haunted House
Haunted  House  is  a  program  which  deals  with  similar  sounding words
(homophones)

Arnie  is queuing up to enter the Haunted House.  In front of him are a few
of his friends.  They can only get into this spooky mansion if you are able
to help them to complete some sentences with the correct words.

You  will see a sentence on the screen.  This contains a gap (there are two
gaps  on  Level  Three).   As  you  move  the mouse pointer over a gap some
alternative  spellings  of the missing word will appear on the screen.  One
of these words is correct and must be entered into the sentence.

To  do  this  click on the left mouse button while the pointer is over this
gap.   Now  type in the correct word using the keyboard and the press Enter
or  Return.   If  you should make a mistake you must click on the gap again
before typing in the correct word.

Circus Word
Circus  Word  is  a  crossword  game.   In  the  centre  of the screen is a
crossword  grid.   As you move the mouse pointer to the initial letter of a
word  within the grid, the word becomes highlighted and a clue (definition)
to the word appears at the bottom of the screen.

To enter a word, press the left hand mouse button while the word`s position
in the grid is highlighted.  Now type the missing word in from the keyboard
and press Enter or Return (You must type in the whole word and not just the
missing letters).

When you have completed a crossword sit back and enjoy the human cannonball
show!

Word Juggle
Roll  up!   Roll up!  Enter the circus tent to watch those clowns and their
amazing juggling act But what`s wrong?  Why are they so sad?

The  clowns are sad because they have to spell a word correctly before they
can start their act and the letters of that word are in the wrong order and
must be swapped around

Look  at  the  definition  on  the  bottom  of the screen.  Now look at the
letters.   Can  you  decide  which  word  is  made  up  of those letters as
described by the clue.

Once  you have decided which letters need to be juggled around you can move
them  around  You  can  swap the positions of any two letters.  To do this,
click  on  one  of  the  letters (it will change colour) and then the other
letter.   Their  positions will be swapped around.  You may need to do this
more  than  once  to spell the word correctly.  Once the correct word is on
the  screen  take  the  mouse  pointer  down  to  the  box  which holds the
definition  at  the bottom of the screen.  This definition will be replaced
by  the word Finished.  Click on the bar to confirm that you think the word
is correct.  If you are, the clowns can start their juggling act.

USING THE WORD DICTIONARY AND SPELLING LIST EDITOR
==================================================

Both the Word Dictionary and the Spelling List Editor have been designed to
allow  parents and teachers to customise Spelling Fair for their children`s
use.

The Word Dictionary
The Word Dictionary allows you to load and edit one of the 20 word banks or
create  your  own  new  word  banks.  (These banks are used in Coconut Shy,
Circus Word and Word Juggle).

To  load  the  Word  Dictionary, place Arnie below the dictionary (which is
represented  by  a large blue book) and click on the book or press Enter or
Return.  (Alternatively, press F2 followed by G.) After a few seconds.  you
will  see the Word Dictionary`s menu screen.  This menu gives the option to
load or save a word bank (file) or edit a word bank.  Before you can edit a
word bank you must first load it.

Once  you have selected Load File, you will be prompted to select which one
of the 20 files to load.  You can also look a any data banks which you have
created and saved.

To  load  and edit an existing file click on its name ("Word file 1" and so
on).

To load a bank which you have either previously edited or created, click on
View  User  Banks.   You  will  then  be presented with a list of the files
created  or  edited  by  you  (these are numbered in the order of editing).
This  menu also allows you to return to the main list of data banks.  To do
this, click on View Default Banks.

Creating a new word bank
After  selecting the Word Dictionary from the Main Menu, click on Edit File
(do  not  select  Load File).  You will be presented with a screen in which
you can enter words and their definitions as you wish them to appear in the
games.  This screen is divided into four main sections.  Into each of these
can  be  entered any word along with its definition.  (Words are entered on
the  top line of each window, definitions on the second line.  Each line in
which a definition can appear is initially labelled "No Clue".)

To  enter  a  word and its definition into the first window, click anywhere
within  the top half of this window.  Using the keyboard, you can now enter
the  word.   Press  Enter or return (or mouse click on the second line) and
enter the word`s definition.  To place the cursor in the second word, press
Enter or Return again or click on this window.

You  can  now  repeat this process until you have typed in all of the words
and  definitions  which  you  wish to use in Spelling Fair.  After you have
entered  four  words and their definitions you can write into the next four
windows by either pressing Enter or Return or by clicking on the down arrow
in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

You  can view any part of your new word bank at any time by clicking on the
on-screen  arrows  which  will  allow  you to scroll backwards and forwards
through your list.  To change any of the entries simply click on the window
containing  the  word or definition which you would like to amend.  You can
use the backspace or delete keys to remove letters or words.

To  save your new file, you should first press Escape to return to the Word
Dictionary  Menu Screen (you cannot do this while a Cursor is active in one
of  the  windows,  if  you  find  that  pressing Escape does not return the
program  to  the  Menu Screen, click on either of the arrows and then press
Escape again).  From the Menu Screen click on Save File and then select New
File.

Editing an existing word bank
The  Word Dictionary Editor will allow you to not only edit files which you
have created but, also to alter any of the 20 files which were specifically
created for this package.  To do this, first load a file.  You can now edit
it  as  described  above.  When you save the file it will be given the next
available  User  File  number unless you opt to over-write an existing User
File.   You  cannot  over  write  any  of  the  word banks created for this
package.

Using your own word banks
After you have saved a new word bank, it will become the file which is used
inside  the  three  programs  which use word banks.  If you leave and later
re-load  the package, the Word Bank 1 is always loaded as the default bank.
To  load  your own bank (or any other created for use in Spelling Fair) you
must  change the Word Bank Setting from Spelling Fair`s Options Screen.  To
do  this  first  ensure that the program is showing the main scrolling menu
(of  the  fairground  side-shows),  press F2 and then press J.  You can now
change  the  Word  Bank  by clicking on the fifth line of the Option Screen
until  you see the name of the bank which you wish to use.  You should then
press Escape to return to the main scrolling menu.

The Spelling List Editor
The  Spelling List Editor allows you to rapidly enter a list of words which
will  be  used  in  three of the programs.  These will be presented without
definitions.   This  function  is  especially  useful if you should wish to
revise a particular group of words which some find difficult to spell or to
use  the  programs  to  study  a particular spelling list.  You can use the
Speeling List Editor to enter between one and 150 words.

To  enter  the Spelling List Editor, position Arnie under the poster headed
"Spelling List" in the Main Menu (this is to the right of Haunted House and
the Word Dictionary Editor) and click on the Spelling List poster.

From  the Spelling List screen, enter each of the words as you wish them to
appear  in  the  programs pressing Enter Or Return between each word.  When
you  have  finished  entering your list, you can look at it and check it by
clicking on the on screen arrows.  If you wish to alter any entry, click on
the  word.   You can delete characters using either the backspace or delete
keys and enter other letters from the keyboard.

When  you  have  finished,  press  Escape.   After  you have confirmed your
choice,  the  program  will  return  to  the  Main Menu.  If you now select
Coconut  Shy  or Word Juggle the words entered in your list will be used in
the  games  but will be presented without definitions.  (Note:  if you want
your  own  words  to be presented with definitions then you must enter them
from  the  Word Dictionary Editor.  Alternatively they can be read into the
Word Dictionary Editor and definitions can be added).  To turn off the word
list  and  use  either  a  default  or user bank within the games, press F2
followed by J and click on the fifth line of the Options Menu until you see
the bank that you wish to use.

REPORTING AND TESTING CHILDRENS PROGRESS
========================================

Reporting Progress
Spelling  Fair has a comprehensive reporting facility.  Using this, parents
and  teachers  will be able to monitor children's progress as they use this
package.

From  within  any  of  the  programs  a  simplified report screen showing a
child's  current  progress  can  be  seen  by pressing F2.  A more detailed
report  screen  can be seen by pressing F2 from the Main Menu (to enter the
Quick  Key  Menu)  followed by I.  This table shows the number of questions
attempted, the number correctly answered, the number of times that the help
facility  was  called  up  and the number of questions which were correctly
answered  after  calling up this facility.  A percentage score is given for
each game along with an overall total for the whole package.

Because  of  the space available on the screen, the names of the individual
games have been abbreviated:

Nts:    Coconut Shy
Grb:    Mechanical Grab
Jgl:    Word Juggle
Xwd:    Circus Word
Hnt:    Haunted House
Tst:    Test Your Strength

If  you  have  an  Epson  compatible  printer you can print out a permanent
record of your children`s progress.  To do this ensure that your printer is
on line and loaded with paper, then press F3 on the keyboard.

Testing Progress
By  monitoring  children`s  progress as they use Spelling Fair, you will be
able  to see how their spelling abilities are improving.  With a package as
diverse  as  this,  it  is  often  difficult  to  discover how children are
progressing compared to their chronological age.

At  the  end  of this manual are five tables of words.  These each show 100
representative  words  which  children of ages 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 should be
able  to  spell.   In  order  to  assess  whether  your children`s spelling
abilities  are  in  step with their chronohogical ages, you may wish to use
these  words  as  either  the basis of simple spelling tests or incorporate
them into the programs using the Word Dictionary or Spelling List Editor.

DATA STRUCTURE
==============

At  the  core of Spelling Fair`s data is a group of 20 data banks which are
used  in  Coconut Shy, Circus Word and Word juggle.  These each contain 150
words along with their definitions.  The words were carefully selected from
lists of commonly mis-spelt words and many were chosen as representative of
common spelling rules (see below)

When  Spelling  Fair  is loaded, the program will access the first of these
banks.   The  words  in  this  bank, along with those in Bank 2 represent a
selection  of  simple,  short,  words  which may be appropriare to use with
younger children.  The remaining banks contain a random mixture of words.

These  banks  can be altered and saved as User created files using the Word
Dictionary  Editor.   In  this  way,  each  of  the  Main Data Banks can be
tailored for children's individual needs.

Special  sets  of  data are used in Test Your Strength, Mechanical Grab and
Haunted  House which are specific to each of these programs.  These include
a  special  data  set  for  dyslexics  and  children  with similar learning
difficulties which can be used in Mechanical Grab.

The Special Word Set
To  use  this  data set, press F2 followed by J and then click on the words
"Special  Needs  Bank".   This  will  activate  the data set which will now
become active when you select Mechanical Grab

The words (and the mistakes covered) in this data set include some of those
which  children  with  dyslexia  and  those  who  experience  above average
problems  with  their spelling often find difficult to spell.  In producing
this set, eight main "problem" spelling patterns were isolated:

1. ck 
The  spelling  ck  is often confused with similar sounds including c, k and
ke.  Some children transpose these letters to ke.

2 ch and tch 
These  combinations  of  letter  may often be confused.  We might see match
being  mis-spelt  as  mach,  some  children over compensate for an apparent
"lack" of letters spelling a word such as chat as tchat.

3 a/e. 
Transposing  these two letters is a very common error, especially when they
occur  next  to  one another.  For example, hear may become haer and appear
may be written as appaer.

4. i/e
Transpositions  of  these  letters  are  probably  more common than the a/e
errors.  Again, mistakes occur most frequently when the letters appear next
to each other.

5. Silent Letters
There  are  many  words  which fall into this category which are often mis-
spelt.   Most  frequently,  the  silent letter is ignored.  Colour is often
spelt color, scenery may appear as senery.  Sometimes children realise that
a  letter is missing and compensate for this with some rather odd spellings
such as cowler and seanery.

6. ee/ea
These combinations of letters are frequently confused.  Peace is often seen
as peece, sleet could be presented as sleat or even slete.

7. le
A  common  error  occurs  in  mis-using  the ending le.  This ending may be
replaced  by  el,  al, lle as well as other endings.  For example, the word
angle might appear as angel, angal, anglle and in other forms.

8. er sounds
The  sounds made by the letters er, or, our, ar and ur are very similar and
often confused.

SPELLING FAIR AND THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
=========================================

The  importance  of  good  spelling  is  inherent  throughout  the National
Curriculum  as  well  as current educational philosophies in general.  From
1992  for  example,  spelling  was taken into account in the marking of the
majority  of  GCSE  examination  papers,  not  just  English Language.  The
ability  to  spell  is  not only an important educational skill but it is a
vital skill for life.

The National Curriculum in English is divided into five attainment targets.
One of these (attainment target 4) deals with spelling.  The data presented
in  Spelling  Fair  will  help to equip children to achieve a high standard
within  this  attainment  target  at  key  Stages 2 (ages 7-11) and 3 (ages
11-14)

SPELLING RULES AND LISTS
========================

The  English  language  contains  many words.  Some of these can be grouped
together  into  sets  and because of this apparent "spelling rules" seem to
evolve.   There  are far too many such "rules" to cover in a brief computer
software  manual.   Below, are some of the most commonly quoted rules which
between them cover a large number of words in the language.

If  you  wish to examine more specific rules, it is suggested that you read
one of the many spelling guides which are available from most book shops.

Rules  1  to  6:  General Rules (These can be practised by using any of the
programs  which  use  the  Main Data Banks.  These are Circus Word and Word
juggle).

1. Long and short vowels
Some  words (such as tap, hit, hop and shut) contain short vowels.  In each
of  these  words, the vowel is followed by a consonant and there is no e at
the  end  of  the word.  When ing or ed are added to these words, the final
letter is doubled (tapped.  hitting, hopped and shutting).

Some  words (such as tape, glide, hope and salute) contain long vowels.  In
such  words,  the vowel sound is made long by the e at the end of the word.
When  ing  or  ed are added to these words, the e is lost and extra letters
are not added (taping, gliding, hoped and saluted).

When  you  are  forming  words which end in ed or ing think about the vowel
sounds.  This will tell you whether or not to double the last letter.

2. ie and ei
Many  words  contain  the  letters  i  and  e next to each other.  Numerous
spelling  errors  arise  because people are not sure which way around these
letters  should  be placed.  The order usually depends upon the sounds that
these letters make.

A well known rule states:

i before e except after c. 

This  rule  is  true  when the vowel sound is a long "ee" such as in thief,
piece,  grief,  field,  receive,  conceit,  and  deceived.   There are some
exceptions to this such as in seize and wierd.

In  some  words,  the  letters ie make a long i sound.  The rule i before e
also  applies  to  such words.  For example:  defied.  replies.  unties and
relied.

When  the  letters make an ay sound (as in hay), the e goes before the i as
in:  weigh, neighbour and eight.

The  e also comes before the i when the letters make some other sounds such
as forfeit, leisure, and foreign.

Sometimes,  the combination of ie and c make a sh sound.  When this happens
the  i  comes before e even though it is after c.  For example:  deficient,
ancient, and proficient.

3. Words ending in y.
Problems  sometimes  arise  with  words which end in y when they are turned
into  new  words  by adding letters such as ed, s or ing to them.  Here are
some rules regarding forming such words:

a. When you add s to a word that ends in y, the y is usually replaced by ie:
   fly, flies: apply, applies: diary, diaries.

b. When you add ed to a word that ends in y, the y is often changed to an i:
   fry, fried: apply, applied: vary, varied.

c. There are exceptions to (a) and (b). If the letter before the y is a vowel you should not
   change the y:
   valley, valleys: monkey, monkeys: guy, guys: destroy, destroyed: sway, swayed.

(Three words do not obey this rule:
lay, laid: pay, paid: say, said)

d.  When you add ing to a word ending in o, the y does not change:
    apply, applying: fry, frying: say, saying

4. The spelling of adjectives
Generally,  to  turn  a  noun  (naming  word) into an adjective (describing
word),  we simply add ful.  The most common mistake in spelling these words
is to use full instead of ful

For example:

careful, dreadful, faithful, hopeful and tearful are all correctly spelt adjectives

When you add ful to a word ending in y, you must change the y to an i:

beauty, beautiful: duty, dutiful; mercy, merciful.

5. The spelling of adverbs
You  can  turn  an  adjective (a word which describes something or someone)
into  an  adverb (a word which describes an action) by adding ly.  For most
words, doing this is enough, for example:

badly, sadly, slowly, nicely, carefully, hopefully, tearfully

There are some words which have to be treated differently:

For words ending: le remove the e and then add y:

double, doubly: idle, idly: single, singly.

For words ending in y, change the y to i and then add ly:

happy, happily: angry, angrily; funny, funnily.

6. Words ending in er, ar, or and our
Many  words end in er.  The endings of some words may sound the same as er,
but the spelling of the ending may be ar, or or our.  There are no hard and
fast  rules  about  the  spelings  of  these  words, they simply have to be
remembered.

Here are some of the most commonly used words with each ending.  As many er
and  or  words  refer  to people or the jobs that they do, these are listed
separately.

Some common er words:

after  alter   altogether another  bitter  chapter  clever    conquer
corner cover   deliver    discover drawer  Easter   either    enter
ever   father  gather     however  ladder  laughter letter    linger
mother neither other      over     quarter rather   register  remainder
rubber ruler   September  shower   suffer  summer   surrender upper
utter  weather winter     wither

People and jobs; er words:

adviser  builder commuter  customer driver   employer  explorer farmer
gardener grocer  lawyer    master   member   messenger miner    minister
officer  partner passenger plumber  prisoner ruler     soldier  stranger
teacher  waiter  worker    writer

People and jobs: or words:

actor     ancestor author     bachelor conductor creator  doctor  emperor
governor  impostor instructor inventor mayor     operator sailor  senator
solicitor surveyor tailor     traitor  tutor     vendor   visitor warrior

Other common or words:

anchor corridor error    exterior indicator inferior interior junior
mirror motor    radiator razor    reactor   senior   superior terror

Common ar words:

altar   beggar burglar    calendar cellar  cigar   circular familiar
grammar liar   particular peculiar regular similar singular vinegar

Common our words:

armour behaviour colour endeavour favour flavour harbour honour
humour neighbour rumour vapour

Rule 7: forming Plurals

These rules can be practised in Test Your Strength.

Here are some of the rules for forming plurals of words:

a. Most plurals are formed by simply adding an s to a word:

chairs, cats, dogs, houses, rivers.

b. When a word ends with s, sh, x, o or ch: add es, for example:

boss, bosses: dish, dishes; box, boxes: potato, potatoes.

There are some exceptions to this rule:

When a word ends in a vowel plus o just add s, for example:

videos, ratios.

Some other words which end in an o are turned into plurals by just adding s:

photos, pianos, solos

c. For most words which end in f change the f to ves:

half, halves; loaf, loaves.

There are some exceptions to this rule:

To some words ending in f just add s;

gulfs, roofs, chiefs, beliefs

d. For most words ending in y, this letter is replaced by ies:

fly, flies: sky, skies.

Again,  there are exceptions to the rule.  When a word ends in a vowel plus
y just add s:

guys, runways, monkeys.

Some words do not conform to any of these rules. These include:

Words which are taken from other languages, for example:

terminus, termini: bureau, bureaux; basis, bases.

Words which change their form when they become plural, for example:

woman, women: ox, oxen; mouse, mice.

Words which are the same as a singular or plural word:

sheep, deer, salmon

Some words have no singular and can only exist in the plural, for example:

trousers, shorts, scissors.

Some nouns are made up of several words. Only the main word changes when
forming the plural:

brothers  in  law  (not  brother in-laws), passers-by, bye laws, men of war
(warships).

Rule 8: Homophones (Similar-sounding words)

(These rules can be practised in Haunted House)

Similar  sounding  words are called homophones.  Many spelling errors arise
due  to  using  the wrong homophone.  The spellings of different homophones
have  to  be  learnt.   To  help  you do this, there are three lists below.
Lists  (a) and (b) contain the most commonly confused homophones.  Those in
list  (a)  you will encounter on numerous occasions in Level One of Haunted
House.   You  will also frequently come across the words in list (b) within
the  program.   The words in list (c) are often confused.  You`ll find many
of these words as you play Haunted House.


List (a) 

here (this place)     here (sounds)
its (belonging to)    it`s (it is)
right (direction)     write (pen)
there (that place)    their (belonging to)    they`re (they are)
too (also, excessive) two (number)            to (until, etc.)
through (moved)       threw (slung)
where (location)      wear (clothing)
witch (Halloween)     which (question)
whose (possession)    who`s (who is)


List (b) 

ate (eaten)            eight (number)
buy (purchase)         by (passed)             bye (so long!)
four (number)          for (places, people) 
he`ll (he will)        heal (improve)          heel (foot)
passed (travelled)     past (times gone by)
three (number)         free (not caged)
waist (above the hips) waste (rubbish)
weather (snow etc )    whether (alternative)
wheel (cars, bikes)    we`ll (we will)

List (c)
allowed (permitted)    aloud (noisy)
alms (charity)         arms (limbs)
bald (hairless)        bawled (shouted)
border (edge)          boarder (guest)
blue (colour)          blew (wind)
boy (a lad)            buoy (guide at sea)
bridle (of a horse)    bridal (of a bride)
ceiling (roof)         sealing (closing)
cellar (place)         seller (person)
cheque (money)         check (look over)
clause (section)       claws (of animals)
compliment (praise)    complement (amount)
conquer (defeat)       conker (nut)
foul (horrid)          fowl (a bird)
hair (of the head)     hare (animal)
hanger (clothes)       hangar (aircraft)
hole (a gap)           whole (complete)
humorous (funny)       humerus (a bone)
liable (likely)        libel (lies)
lightning (storm)      lightening (bright)
night (after day)      knight (a warrior)
medal (award)          meddle (interfere)
miner (one who mines)  minor (lesser, younger)
muscle (movement)      mussel (shellfish)
naval (of the Navy)    navel (stomach)
pale (light colour)    pail (a bucket)
personal (private)     personnel (people)
plain (simple)         plane (aircraft)
principal (chief)      principle (origin)
rain (weather)         rein (lead)
scene (views: plays)   seen (looked)
sent (despatched)      scent (perfume)
serial (of a series)   cereal (grain)
so (that)              sow (seeds)
son (offspring)        Sun (a star)
stationary (static)    stationery (paper)
story (a tale)         storey (of buildings)
told (informed)        tolled (rang)
wait (delay)           weight (heaviness)

Sample spelling lists

Table 1: 100 representative words which 7 year-olds should be able to spell

man    get    run     can     bud     pin      pet     top
ill    fill   rag     shut    rub     tub      dust    sit
bit    pen    open    fog     pig     look     men     mill
cook   trap   still   all     ball    fall     small   egg
when   sing   good    send    king    mend     thing   foot
boot   lend   them    call    tall    gold     bold    calling
him    his    see     tree    been    box      try     name
dish   fish   game    about   ink     drink    read    sea
rich   put    pull    clean   part    soft     hand    song
long   jam    stand   jar     nest    best     say     day
ship   help   play    rest    saw     snow     blow    grow
happy  sunny  making  summer  mother  brother  father  fast
sold   house  mouse   year

Table 2: 100 representative words which 8 year-olds should be able to spell

lamp    rent     camp     spin       swing    skip     plan    clock
stick   blunt    block    seed       hang     brick    band    pond
fond    crush    thank    cave       wave     smell    shell   drive
driver  hood     hunt     baker      spoon    meet     sheet   awake
named   date     free     pine       chase    creep    asleep  painting
waiting cost     fog      life       grand    push     herself place
itself  body     fold     mind       strap    children another swim
storm   window   broom    garden     bedroom  barn     bless   beat
farmer  fear     glass    flower     bunch    pink     feast   nail
blame   shame    ready    third      died     pair     right   bright
forget  upstairs inside   sharp      walked   talked   asked   opening
key     even     tomorrow dropping   skipping place    biggest nothing
sound   bound    puppy    playground

Table 3: 100 representative words which 9 year olds should be able to spell

team       stream  scream   shave    Monday  playing   saying    upper
sudden     globe   obtain   moment   rainbow noise     soil      light
fright     pocket  money    robber   ladder  bottom    rabbit    wear
princess   crowd   wheat    drawing  grape   remain    monkey    monkeys
donkey     donkeys prison   polite   arrow   narrow    shallow   snake
drank      hungry  March    April    May     something sometime  anybody
Thursday   Monday  Sunday   thumb    crumb   shelter   frosty    stormy
cottage    shower  tower    towel    brain   pudding   September December 
everyone   tender  cradle   infant   hammer  cheese    geese     brighter
brightest  smiling darkness illness  writing Christmas yesterday glasses
afterwards price   pepper   dwell    dishes  pretend   hundred   twelve
twenty     knife   snail    building fasten  history   glory     swimming
slipped    axe     arch     touch

Table 4: 100 representative words which 10 year-olds should be able to spell

manage    package    postage   police  forty    property  conduct  silence
advantage remarkable purple    furnish Saturday orchard   coward   kitchen
enjoyed   perfect    tease     often   hasten   listen    hotel    camel
favourite castle     women     stare   whisper  contain   captain  Britian
fountain  certain    extra     paddle  meddle   fortnight midnight county
country   Scotland   England   Wales   lately   safely    linger   laughter
likeness  adventure  important ashamed evening  equator   village  cabbage
brought   bought     across    among   dangerous stumble  protect  monster
tremble   discover   distinct  razor   dislike   question potatoes tomato
thread    measure    treasure  groan   prettier  drowned  season   reason
petrol    guest      relate    restore herd      remember memory   exchange
carrying  picnic     division  giant   seldom    aunt     saucer   clumsy
arithmetic losing    pony      navy

Table 5: 100 representative words which 11 year-olds should be able to spell

address    regret   lawyer    gardener   passenger  approach  allowed  clown
refer      confuse  consider  convict    describe   pastime   inhabit  splendid
insist     dismiss  invent    gradual    wonderful  equally   really   Atlantic
America    squeeze  yawn      pickle     knuckle    climate   entitle  measles
Auslralia  fraction direction reduction  protection addition  lantern  terrible
horrible   possible puzzle    northern   southern shepherd    district singular
vinegar    calendar handsome  mistress   election electricity musical  refrain
bargain    waist    secure    exactly    exercise   buried    progress promote
process    grammar  burglar   chimney    represent  evident   frequent attempt
invitation labour   accept    according  population construct explore  confirm
consume    height   neighbour department government observation
meanness   cupboard naturally weariness  annual     cough   abundant laundry
sentence   moisture anxious   successful material   abrupt
 
  
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