Reception English and phonics: Two s letters at the end: ss
Part of the Reception English and phonics letter sounds: h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Two s letters at the end: ss
Bus has one s at the end. Hiss has two letters ss at the end.
The letters ss make one sound, /s/. Hiss has three sounds: h, i and ss.
Miss the bus! The word miss ends with ss.
bus
Key ideas
- ss at the end of a short word makes one sound, /s/.
- Write ss together, in one box.
- Count the sounds, not the letters.
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.hiss
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.h - i - ss
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.h-i-ss
Check. Read the letters back: h-i-ss. They spell hiss. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
Method. Say the word miss, sound by sound.
- Say the sounds. Each box is one sound.m - i - ss
- Find the last box. The last box has two letters, but one sound.last box: ss
- Write the answer. The two letters ss make one sound.ss
Check. Miss has three sounds: m, i and ss. ✓
Watch out. Do not write s and s as two sounds.
bus
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.bus
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.b - u - s
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.b-u-s
Check. Read the letters back: b-u-s. They spell bus. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
Watch out
Watch out: bus has one s, and hiss has ss. Both end with the sound /s/, but they are written differently.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Point to the end of each word. Ask: “Is it one letter or two letters in the last box?”
Exercise 3D Words ending in ss
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.hiss
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.h - i - ss
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.h-i-ss
Check. Read the letters back: h-i-ss. They spell hiss. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
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.fuss
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.f - u - ss
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.f-u-ss
Check. Read the letters back: f-u-ss. They spell fuss. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
bus
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.bus
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.b - u - s
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.b-u-s
Check. Read the letters back: b-u-s. They spell bus. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
Method. Say miss, sound by sound.
- Say miss. Each sound is one box.m - i - ss
- Find the last sound. The last sound is /s/, written ss.last sound: /s/
- Write the answer. ss
Check. ss makes one sound at the end. ✓
Watch out. Write both s letters together.
Method. Look at the end of each word.
- Look at bus. bus ends with one s.bus: s
- Look at boss. boss ends with ss.boss: ss
- Write the answer. boss
Check. Only boss has two s letters at the end. ✓
Watch out. Look for two letters at the end, not one.
Method. Count the letters one at a time.
- Write the letters. Write each letter once.h | i | s | s
- Count the letters. Count every letter.1, 2, 3, 4
- Write the answer. 4 letters.
Check. Hiss has four letters. ✓
Watch out. Count both s letters.
Method. Count the sounds, not the letters.
- Say the sounds. The letters ss make one sound.h - i - ss
- Count the sounds. ss is one sound.h, i, ss
- Write the answer. 3 sounds.
Check. Three sounds: h, i and ss. ✓
Watch out. Two letters can make one sound.
bus
bell
ball
Method. Look at the end of each name.
- Look at bus. bus ends with one s.bus: s
- Look at bell and ball. bell ends with ll. ball ends with ll.bell: ll; ball: ll
- Write the answer. bus
Check. Only bus ends with one s. ✓
Watch out. Check the last letters.
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.h - i - ss
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./h/ /i/ /s/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./h/ /i/ /s/ = hiss
Check. Check the picture of a hiss. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
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 - i - ss
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./m/ /i/ /s/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./m/ /i/ /s/ = miss
Check. Check the picture of a miss. 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.boss
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.b - o - ss
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.b-o-ss
Check. Read the letters back: b-o-ss. They spell boss. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
bus
bed
bell
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.b - u - s
- Say the sounds, then join them. Blending means joining the sounds together into one word./b/ /u/ /s/
- Write the word. The blended sounds make the word./b/ /u/ /s/ = bus
Check. Check the picture of a bus. The picture matches the word. ✓
Watch out. Do not say each sound as a separate word. Join them together.
Method. Think of a short word, then add ss at the end.
- Think of a short word. Use one vowel, like i or u.h - i - ss
- Check the end of the word. The last two letters make one sound.hiss ends with ss
- Write the answer. Accept any word that ends with ss, such as hiss, miss, fuss or boss.
Check. Each word ends with the two letters ss. ✓
Watch out. Write both s letters together at the end.
bus
Method. Say the last sound of each word.
- Say bus. The last sound is /s/.bus: /s/
- Say hiss. The last sound is /s/, written ss.hiss: /s/
- Give your answer. Say how the two words are spelled.Accept any answer that says yes: both end with /s/. Bus has one s, and hiss has ss.
Check. Both words end with the sound /s/. ✓
Watch out. The sound can be the same, even when the spelling is different.
Method. Look at the last letters of each word.
- Look at puff and off. Both end with ff.puff: ff; off: ff
- Look at hill. It ends with ll.hill: ll
- Give your answer. Say whether all three end with a double letter.Accept any answer that says yes: puff ends with ff, off ends with ff, and hill ends with ll.
Check. All three end with two of the same letter. ✓
Watch out. Double letters at the end are written together.