20 words, shortest first. Level 1 has the most common words.
courses
culture
curious
current
disturb
ensured
ensures
failure
feature
figures
further
lecture
measure
natural
obscure
picture
purpose
returns
sources
surface
The spelling pattern
Every word on this list contains ur (turn). Seeing the same letters in many words helps children spot the pattern and spell new words that follow it. Level 3 is the most challenging set.
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).
Sorting the words like this is a good first activity: children say each word, find the ur (turn) 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
co__ses
cult__e
c__ious
c__rent
dist__b
ens__ed
ens__es
fail__e
feat__e
fig__es
f__ther
lect__e
meas__e
nat__al
obsc__e
pict__e
p__pose
ret__ns
so__ces
s__face
Questions
How many words are on this list?
20 words, all containing ur (turn). The shortest has 7 letters and the longest, courses, has 7.
What does level 3 mean?
Levels sort the ur (turn) 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?
This is the last level for ur (turn). Try another spelling pattern from the word lists page.