Mnemonic Weekly Tip 11-10-02

Mnemonic Weekly Tip # 9 November 10, 2002

The Problem

There are some words in English that are so similar that they are difficult to read and spell especially for children and adults who have learning problems. The words: though, although, thought, through, thorough, and tough are such words.

The Mnemonic

This week’s clue is both a spelling stack and a sequence. A spelling stack is a way of grouping the letters in words to make memorable patterns. A sequence is a number of items that are related and therefore memorable.

The words: though, although, thought, through, thorough, and tough can be distinguished by the following clues.

1^st the stack of: th

ou

gh is easy to remember because:

th is a common letter combination,

ou are the last two vowels in a e i o u

gh are two letters that are next to each other in the alphabet

The word although is the word (stacked) though with the prefix al

The word thought is the word (stacked) though with an extra t, you think a thought

The word through is the word (stacked) though with the r and the idea, "This word is rough to get through.

The word thorough is the word (stacked) though with the letters or and the idea this word is so rough.

The word tough is the word (stacked) though without the h because the word is so tough that it does not need an extra h.