Advanced phonics patterns worksheets
Aligned with Common Core RF.3.3
Printable phonics worksheets for third graders and older readers: soft c and g, silent letters, -tion and -sion, -tch and -dge, oi and oy, ou and ow, au and aw, and -ture, with sorting, fill-in sentences and fluency lines.
The worksheets
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Advanced Phonics Patterns Chart
Eight patterns on one page, each with a short rule and example words with the pattern in color: soft c and g, silent letters, -tion and -sion, -tch and -dge, oi and oy, ou and ow, au and aw, and -ture.
Soft or Hard c and g?
A word box to sort into four columns: soft c, hard c, soft g and hard g. Fewer, Standard or More give 12, 16 or 20 words. Includes an answer key.
Find the Silent Letter
Words like knee, write, lamb, light, listen and honest. Cross out the silent letters, then write each word. Fewer, Standard or More give 9, 12 or 15 words. Includes an answer key.
-tion or -sion?
Sentences with words like vacation, question, vision and television missing their ending. Fewer, Standard or More give 6, 8 or 10 sentences. Includes an answer key.
-tch or -dge?
Sentences with words like catch, beach, bridge and page missing their ending, with the short vowel rule at the top. Fewer, Standard or More give 6, 8 or 10 sentences. Includes an answer key.
oi or oy? ou or ow?
Sentences with words like coin, toy, cloud and cow missing two letters. Fewer, Standard or More give 6, 8 or 10 sentences. Includes an answer key.
Pattern Fluency Lines
Rows of six words that share a pattern, with the pattern in color, and a place to time the whole page three times. Fewer, Standard or More give 6, 8 or 10 rows.
Pattern Sentences
Short sentences packed with pattern words, like "A brown owl sat on the ledge near the kitchen." Fewer, Standard or More give 5, 7 or 9 sentences. Includes an answer key.
Print the whole packet
One copy of every sheet above, in order. Tap + for more copies (up to 10).
For the parent or teacher
What it is
These are the spelling patterns that show up more and more in longer words: soft c and g, silent letters, -tion and -sion, -tch and -dge, oi and oy, ou and ow, au and aw, and -ture. The pages use real words and a plain, grown-up look, so they work for third graders and for older students who are still filling in a few patterns.
What comes next
The Syllable types and Prefixes, suffixes and roots topics use these patterns in longer words.
How to teach it
- Teach in order or jump to whatever your student needs. A student may be solid on some patterns and still building others.
- Read the rule on the chart together, then find the pattern in two or three example words.
- Say each word out loud. Hearing the pattern helps as much as seeing it.
- Keep a short list of words your student finds tricky and come back to them.
Common mistakes
- Reading the c in city or the g in gem with a hard sound. Check the letter that comes next.
- Sounding out silent letters, like the k in knee or the b in lamb.
- Spelling the /ch/ and /j/ sounds at the end of a word without checking the vowel before them, like writing mach for match.