KS2 SATs 2024 — English GPS Paper 2: Spelling

The idea

Words that share the same root belong to a word family. Help, helpful, helpless and unhelpful all grow from help, so knowing one word helps you spell the others. The family of sign is useful too. The g is silent in sign, but you can hear it in signal and signature, which reminds you that the letter belongs in sign as well. In the same way, act grows into action, active and activity.

Some roots carry a meaning of their own. The root port means carry. That helps you understand transport, carry across; portable, able to be carried; and import and export, carry in and carry out. The root spect means look, as in inspect and spectator.

When a word looks hard, search for a relative you already know. Break the word into its prefix, root and suffix, spell each part, then build it back together. A family link often explains a letter that sound alone would miss.

Worked example

The root 'port' means carry and 'trans-' means across. Spell the word meaning 'carry people or goods across from one place to another'.

1. Start with the prefix trans-, meaning across.
2. Add the root port, meaning carry.
3. Join the parts without changing them: trans + port = transport.

Answer: transport

Watch out

• Spelling sign from sound alone and missing the g that signal and signature reveal.
• Assuming related words must sound the same: family words can change their sounds.
• Trying to split a word into parts that are not really there.