Wacky W / w & wh sounds — Spelling Secrets

This video explores 50 commonly used ‘wh’ words and groups them into three memorable categories to make them easier to learn and retrieve:

1. Question words, conjunctions and pronouns – such as when, where, who and which.

2. Noise-making words – such as whirring, whining and whistling.

3. Other ‘wh’ words – such as whale, white and wheel.

To help students remember these words, I have also created a visual cartoon, ‘The Tale of the White Whale’. The story links ‘wh’ words to memorable images and contexts, supporting both spelling recall and vocabulary development. Students are encouraged to watch the cartoon, identify the ‘wh’ words and learn the meanings of any unfamiliar vocabulary.

The video also introduces two useful spelling patterns involving the letter w. When w is followed by the sound heard in words such as wand, wasp, want and wash, the vowel sound is usually represented by the letter a.

A second pattern occurs when w is followed by the /er/ sound. In many common words, this sound is represented by or, as in word, work, worm, world and worse. Recognising these patterns helps students move beyond memorising individual words and instead use spelling knowledge to read, spell and retrieve unfamiliar words more confidently.

For more information and activities, please refer to Spelling Secrets Book 1.