Levels 5-4 and 5-5 focus on the long a sound written as either ai or ay. The general rule of thumb for deciding whether to use ai or ay in a word to make the long a sound is straightforward: in the middle of a syllable, use ai; to close a syllable or end a word, use ay.

Over the past few days, we've broken down all 1,200 Rocket Spelling words by grade level. Here are of those words, by level, in one convenient place.

Here are the Rocket Spelling word lists and level numbers that we think align well with fourth grade standards. For more background on this, check out this post.

Level 10.1 Compound words #1: something, sometimes, anything, everything, yourself, everyone, himself, herself, someone, anyone

Level 10.2 Compound words #2: keyboard, notebook, homework, wheelchair, baseball, afternoon, birthday, newspaper, grasshopper, skateboard

Here are the Rocket Spelling word lists and level numbers that we think align well with third grade standards. For more background on this, check out this post.

Level 7.1 Colors: orange, green, blue, violet, yellow, purple, black, brown, white, pink

Level 7.2 Parts of the body: hand, elbow, finger, arm, ear, foot, head, back, stomach, toe

Here are the Rocket Spelling word lists and level numbers that we think align well with second grade standards. For more background on this, check out this post.

Level 5.1 -ar, -or sounds: for, part, form, large, car, far, farm, stars, born, chart

Level 5.2 -er, -ir, -ur sounds: other, her, first, water, over, turn, bird, girl, third, burn

Here are the Rocket Spelling word lists and level numbers that we think align well with first grade standards. For more background on this, check out this post.

Level 2.1 Initial ch, sh, or th: that, then, them, shut, chin, this, they, than, chat, shop

Level 2.2 Initial __ + L blends: plan, clap, flip, slam, slip, glad, flag, sled, plus, slap

Here are the Rocket Spelling word lists and level numbers that we think align well with kindergarten standards. For more background on this, check out yesterday's post.

Level 1.1 Short 'a' words: had, can, has, am, man, map, ran, sat, cat, dad

Level 1.2 Short 'e' words: net, get, beg, pen, let, red, yes, yet, bed, leg

Level 5-3 focuses on the /oi/ sound written as either oi or oy. The general rule of thumb for deciding whether to use oi or oy in a word to make the /oi/ sound is straightforward: in the middle of a syllable, use oi; to close a syllable or end a word, use oy. Simply telling students that oy is used only at the end of a word is not enough, because a suffix can then be added to a root word ending in oy, so words like toys, joyful, and annoying still use oy rather than oi.

The first two levels in Planet 5 focus on -ar, -er, -ir, -or, and -ur patterns. The -ar and -or patterns in level 5-1 are fairly friendly, as they make a predictable, easily distinguishable sound (car, part, for, born) that can be taught in a straightforward manner. The -er, -ir, and -ur patterns in level 5-2 are much more challenging, as they all make the same sound. Students must rely on visual cues to determine what "looks right" instead of using strictly phonetic strategies to help them here.

Now that we've worked with both long vowels (levels 4-1 through 4-9) and consonant blends (all of planet 2 and 3), we're ready to try to combine those two strategies in a fun review level (4-10). This is the most challenging level in the first 4 worlds, as students have to adjust between various vowel patterns, including long vowels with a silent 'e' and long 'e' sounds made from 'ea' or 'ee'.