Free Year 3 Less common letter patterns Practice | Skillo

Year 3 students sitting their first NAPLAN need to be confident with less common letter patterns. Use phoneme-grapheme relationships and less common letter patterns to spell words (-tch, -dge, -igh, -ough at Year 3 level). Skillo has targeted practice questions for this exact skill, mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0, free and ready to go.

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What is tested: Less common letter patterns

  • Use phoneme-grapheme relationships and less common letter patterns to spell words (-tch, -dge, -igh, -ough at Year 3 level).
  • Questions present words in sentence context
  • Australian English spelling conventions apply throughout

Sample questions

Question 1Easy

The ________ above the shops read 'Grand Opening' in big red letters. Which option shows the correct spelling of the missing word?

A) banner
B) baner
C) bannor
D) bannir

Answer: 'Banner' is the correct spelling, with a double 'n' and ending in '-er'. The other options misspell the double consonant or ending.

Question 2Medium

Luca's dad cooked a delicious ________ for dinner on Australia Day. Which option shows the correct spelling of the missing word?

A) barbicue
B) barbeque
C) barbecue
D) barbequew

Answer: 'Barbecue' is the standard correct spelling. 'Barbeque' is a common variant but 'barbecue' is the accepted dictionary spelling in Australian English.

Question 3Hard

Priya used a ________ to hold all her drawings together before handing them in. Which option shows the correct spelling of the missing word?

A) portfoleo
B) portfilio
C) portfolio
D) portfollio

Answer: 'Portfolio' is the correct spelling, with 'port', 'fo', and 'lio' — one 'l' and ending in 'io'.

How to use Skillo for Year 3 Spelling

  1. Select Year 3 and Spelling on the home screen
  2. Use Quick Practice — questions on less common letter patterns will appear as part of the session
  3. Check the Skill Breakdown on your profile to track your accuracy on less common letter patterns specifically
  4. Review explanations after each question to understand the reasoning behind correct answers

Skillo is free, requires no email or account details, and is built specifically for Australian students. Every question is mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0 and filtered by skill so your child practises exactly what they need.

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