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3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 5 of 13

Spelling Patterns

Vowel teams and word endings

What your child practices

Spelling long vowel sounds with vowel teams (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh, ie) and adding -ed and -ing by doubling a letter, dropping a silent e or just adding the ending.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 3.8; 3.32 · spelling vowel teams and word endings

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Two vowels together often make one long sound: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh.
  2. If a word ends in silent e, drop the e before -ing or -ed: bake → baking.
  3. Short vowel plus one consonant? Double it: hop → hopping.

Example: Add “-ing” to “run”. Which spelling is correct? “Run” has a short u and ends in one consonant. Double the n, then add -ing. Answer: running

Spelling Patterns in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 5 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Punctuation Power and before Prefixes & Suffixes.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which letters finish the word for the picture?

    ❄️sn__
    • oe
    • oa
    • ow

  2. Question 2

    Which letters finish the word for the picture?

    🥧p__
    • ie
    • y
    • igh

  3. Question 3

    Which word has the same vowel team as “sheep”?

    • sleep
    • show
    • beach

  4. Question 4

    Add “-ed” to “bake”. Which spelling is correct?

    bake + ed

    • bakeed
    • baked
    • bakked

  5. Question 5

    Which letters finish the word for the picture?

    🐐g__t
    • oe
    • oa
    • ow

  6. Question 6

    Which word has the same vowel team as “tray”?

    • wait
    • day
    • cried

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