Reception English and phonics: Letters in words
Part of the Reception English and phonics letter sounds: s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Letters in words
Now you know eight letters: s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d. You can use them to make short words.
Look at each letter in the word. Say its sound. Then join the sounds together.
Mia writes the letters of tap: t - a - p. She reads the sounds, and then the word.
Key ideas
- Each letter in a short word makes one sound.
- Join the sounds together to read the word.
- Write the letters in the same order as the sounds.
pin
tap
mat
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.p - i - n
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./p/ /i/ /n/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./p/ /i/ /n/ = pin
Check. Check the picture of a pin. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
Method. Say the word, sound by sound. Then write one letter, or one group of letters, in each box.
- Say the name of the picture. A grown-up says the word slowly.nap
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.n - a - p
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.n-a-p
Check. Read the letters back: n-a-p. They spell nap. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
mat
map
pan
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.m - a - t
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./m/ /a/ /t/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./m/ /a/ /t/ = mat
Check. Check the picture of a mat. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
Watch out
Watch out: a word can have the same letter twice, like dad. Write every letter in the word, in order.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Point to each letter as the child says its sound. Then say the whole word together.
Exercise 1E Words from the letters
sad
tap
pan
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.t - a - p
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./t/ /a/ /p/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./t/ /a/ /p/ = tap
Check. Check the picture of a tap. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
mat
sad
pin
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.m - a - t
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./m/ /a/ /t/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./m/ /a/ /t/ = mat
Check. Check the picture of a mat. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
tin
map
pan
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.p - a - n
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./p/ /a/ /n/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./p/ /a/ /n/ = pan
Check. Check the picture of a pan. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
map
Method. Say the word, sound by sound. Then write one letter, or one group of letters, in each box.
- Say the name of the picture. A grown-up says the word slowly.map
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.m - a - p
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.m-a-p
Check. Read the letters back: m-a-p. They spell map. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
tin
Method. Say the word, sound by sound. Then write one letter, or one group of letters, in each box.
- Say the name of the picture. A grown-up says the word slowly.tin
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.t - i - n
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.t-i-n
Check. Read the letters back: t-i-n. They spell tin. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
dad
Method. Say the word, sound by sound. Then write one letter, or one group of letters, in each box.
- Say the name of the picture. A grown-up says the word slowly.dad
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.d - a - d
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.d-a-d
Check. Read the letters back: d-a-d. They spell dad. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
tap
tin
nest
Method. Look at the start of each name. One of them starts with a different sound.
- Look at the first letter of each name. Read the names as a grown-up points to them.tap: t · tin: t · nest: n
- Find the one that is different. The other names all start with t.nest is different.
- Write the answer. Say what the odd one starts with.nest (starts with n)
Check. The other pictures start with t, so nest is the odd one. ✓
Watch out. Find the sound that most names share first. The odd one is the name that does not match.
sad
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.s - a - d
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./s/ /a/ /d/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./s/ /a/ /d/ = sad
Check. Check the picture of a sad. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
pin
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.p - i - n
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./p/ /i/ /n/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./p/ /i/ /n/ = pin
Check. Check the picture of a pin. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
Method. Say the word, sound by sound. Then write one letter, or one group of letters, in each box.
- Say the name of the picture. A grown-up says the word slowly.sat
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.s - a - t
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.s-a-t
Check. Read the letters back: s-a-t. They spell sat. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.m - a - n
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./m/ /a/ /n/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./m/ /a/ /n/ = man
Check. Check the picture of a man. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
tin
tap
pan
Method. Look at the letters in order: t, i, n. Check each picture name.
- Check tin. tin has t, then i, then n.t - i - n
- Check tap. tap has t, a, p. It is not right.t - a - p
- Write the answer. tin
Check. tin is the only word with t, i, n in order. ✓
Watch out. Check the middle letter, not only the first.
Method. Read the parts in order. Then say the sounds together, faster and faster, to make the word.
- Read each part, one at a time. Each part makes one sound. Read them from left to right.p - a - t
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./p/ /a/ /t/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./p/ /a/ /t/ = pat
Check. Check the picture of a pat. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
Method. Make words from the three letters a, t and p, one letter in each place.
- Try the letters in one order. Each letter is used once.t - a - p
- Try the letters in another order. Change the order to make a new word.p - a - t
- Write the answer. Each word uses the three letters once.Accept any two words with a, t and p, such as tap and pat.
Check. Each word uses a, t and p. ✓
Watch out. Change the order of the letters to make a new word.
Method. Look at the order of the letters in each word.
- Say man. The sounds are m - a - n.m - a - n
- Say nam. The letters are n - a - m, in a different order.n - a - m
- Give your answer. Say whether the sounds are in the same order.Accept any answer that says no: man has the sounds m - a - n, and nam is not a word in the same order.
Check. The order of the sounds is different. ✓
Watch out. The order of the letters matters.