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Spanish · Grade 1

Sound-Spelling Patterns and Accents

Spanish is spelled much the way it sounds, once you know a handful of patterns. Learners hear and read the five vowels and the special letters (h, ñ, ll, j, r and rr), learn the c/qu, g/gu and c/z spelling patterns, find the stressed syllable and decide when a word needs a written accent, and use the opening ¿ and ¡ marks. Every item is heard, tapped or typed; no microphone is needed.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 85 minutes
  • Sounds, spelling and accents check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, sort into groups and arrange tiles
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What learners will discover

  • Match the five vowels and the special letters h (silent), ñ, ll, j, r and rr to their sounds when listening and reading.
  • Spell words with the patterns ca/co/cu–que/qui, ga/go/gu–gue/gui, ge/gi–j, and za/zo/zu–ce/ci.
  • Find the stressed syllable, apply the basic accent rule, and use accents that change meaning (tú/tu, él/el, sí/si, papá/papa).
  • Write questions and exclamations with ¿ ? and ¡ ! and accented question words (qué, cómo, dónde, cuándo).

Lessons

  1. Vowels and special letters 7 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Spelling patterns: c and qu, g and gu, c and z 7 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  3. Stress and the written accent 7 steps4 practiceabout 22 min
  4. ¿Preguntas? ¡Exclamaciones! 5 steps3 practiceabout 19 min
  5. Sounds, spelling and accents check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Spanish Adventure¡Hola! Learn first Spanish words through pictures, little stories and short conversations.
  • French AdventureBonjour ! Learn first French words through pictures, little stories and short conversations.
  • Arabic AdventureMarhaban! Learn first words in Modern Standard Arabic, from letter shapes to little stories.

More 1st grade world language

Guide for grown-ups