Using British spellings rather than American ones: -our endings (colour, favourite), -re endings (centre, metre), -ise/-yse verbs (realise, analyse), -ogue endings (catalogue), and doubling the l (travelling, cancelled).
Where your child meets this in real life: So much of what children read online uses American spellings, the SEAG test expects the British forms used in Northern Ireland schools
SEAGReady breaks british spelling conventions into 2 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Spell British -our words (colour, favourite, neighbour, harbour) and -re words (centre, metre, litre, theatre), spotting and correcting the American -or and -er versions.
Spell British -ise/-yse verbs (realise, organise, analyse), -ogue endings (catalogue, dialogue), and double the l before endings (travelling, cancelled, jewellery, marvellous).
Three free sample questions from our british spelling conventions course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Max is writing about the Titanic for his class in Belfast. Choose the section that contains a spelling mistake, or 'No mistake'. [A] Max painted the Titanic poster [B] with a dark color [C] near the tall funnels [D] on the ship's deck.
Answer: B. with a dark color
Section B spells 'color' the American way. British English keeps the u: colour (like favourite, neighbour, harbour). Sections A, C and D are all correct, so the mistake is in section B.
Stuck? Start here: Read the whole sentence once for meaning, then check each section for a hidden American spelling.
Oliver is writing a recount of his weekend. Choose the section that contains a spelling mistake, or 'No mistake'. [A] We were traveling to [B] Newcastle when we saw [C] a rainbow over [D] the Mourne mountains.
Answer: A. We were traveling to
Section A spells 'traveling' with a single l. British English always doubles a final l before -ing: travelling. The mistake is in section A.
Stuck? Start here: The root word in one section ends in the letter l, check what happens before -ing.
Anna copied a fact from an American website for her project. Choose the section that contains a spelling mistake, or 'No mistake'. [A] Anna found that Belfast [B] city center has many [C] famous buildings worth [D] visiting on a school trip.
Answer: B. city center has many
Section B spells 'center' the American way. British English swaps -er for -re: centre (like metre, litre, theatre). The mistake is in section B.
Stuck? Start here: Check each section for a word that ends the American way instead of the British way.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Sinead is copying facts from an American website for her project on the Giant's Causeway: "The visitor center has a display about the color of the stones."
Two words are American spellings. What should Sinead write in her project?
Step 1 of 4
Sinead is copying facts from an American website for her project on the Giant's Causeway: "The visitor center has a display about the color of the stones."
Two words are American spellings. What should Sinead write in her project?
Sinead should write "The visitor centre has a display about the colour of the stones", British -re and -our endings.
The key insight: Websites, games and apps are often American, in Northern Ireland we keep the u in colour and flip the ending in centre!
Watch out: my favorite football team. Favourite is in the -our family with colour and neighbour. British English keeps the u: favourite.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in british spelling conventions, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with british spelling conventions? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
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