20 words, shortest first. Level 1 has the most common words.
aid
aim
air
aims
fail
fair
gain
hair
lain
mail
main
paid
pain
pair
rain
said
wait
again
aimed
chain
The spelling pattern
Every word on this list contains ai (rain). Seeing the same letters in many words helps children spot the pattern and spell new words that follow it. Level 1 uses the shortest, most common words.
Ways to practise
Read the list aloud, then cover each word and write it from memory.
Use the fill-in sheet below: the pattern letters are blanked out.
Sort the words by length or by where the pattern appears (start, middle or end).
Where the pattern appears
At the start (5): aid, aim, air, aims, aimed.
In the middle (15): fail, fair, gain, hair, lain, mail, main, paid, pain, pair, rain, said, wait, again, chain.
Sorting the words like this is a good first activity: children say each word, find the ai (rain) letters and decide which group it belongs to. It shows that the same letters keep the same sound wherever they appear in a word.
Running a spelling test with this list
Read each word aloud, use it in a short sentence, then read it once more. Children write the word without looking. Mark the test with the list above and practise any misspelled words again the next day. Five or ten words at a time is plenty for younger children.
Practice sheet: fill in the missing letters
__d
__m
__r
__ms
f__l
f__r
g__n
h__r
l__n
m__l
m__n
p__d
p__n
p__r
r__n
s__d
w__t
ag__n
__med
ch__n
Questions
How many words are on this list?
20 words, all containing ai (rain). The shortest has 3 letters and the longest, again, has 5.
What does level 1 mean?
Levels sort the ai (rain) words by how common and how long they are. Level 1 has the shortest, most frequent words; higher levels add longer and rarer ones.
What should come next?
When this list is secure, move on to level 2 of the same pattern.