Reception English and phonics: Tricky words: be, was, my, you, her, they, all, are
Part of the Reception English and phonics common tricky words chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Tricky words: be, was, my, you, her, they, all, are
This is my cat. Can you see her bag? They are happy. The cats all sat down.
Look at each word as a whole. Some letters do not make the sound you expect.
Key ideas
- was has the sound /wos/, but it is learned by its look.
- my and you are learned by their look.
- her, they, all and are are tricky words too.
Method. A tricky word does not follow the sounds, so learn how it looks.
- Look at the whole word. Learn the shape of the word.was
- Say the word. Say it the same way each time.was
- Find it again. Compare each word in the list with the word you are looking for.was is the word.
Check. Read the word again. It is was. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words cannot be sounded out in the usual way, so look at the whole word.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.This is ___ cat.
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.my
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.This is my cat.
Check. Read the sentence again: This is my cat.. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.The cats ___ sat on the mat.
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.all
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.The cats all sat on the mat.
Check. Read the sentence again: The cats all sat on the mat.. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
Watch out
Watch out: was looks like it should say /w/ /a/ /s/, but the sound is /wos/. Learn the whole word.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask the child to point to the whole word and say it. Do not spell it out loud for these words.
Exercise 8C Reading be, was, my, you, her, they, all and are
Method. A tricky word does not follow the sounds, so learn how it looks.
- Look at the whole word. Learn the shape of the word.was
- Say the word. Say it the same way each time.was
- Find it again. Compare each word in the list with the word you are looking for.was is the word.
Check. Read the word again. It is was. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words cannot be sounded out in the usual way, so look at the whole word.
Method. A tricky word does not follow the sounds, so learn how it looks.
- Look at the whole word. Learn the shape of the word.my
- Say the word. Say it the same way each time.my
- Find it again. Compare each word in the list with the word you are looking for.my is the word.
Check. Read the word again. It is my. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words cannot be sounded out in the usual way, so look at the whole word.
Method. A tricky word does not follow the sounds, so learn how it looks.
- Look at the whole word. Learn the shape of the word.you
- Say the word. Say it the same way each time.you
- Find it again. Compare each word in the list with the word you are looking for.you is the word.
Check. Read the word again. It is you. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words cannot be sounded out in the usual way, so look at the whole word.
Method. A tricky word does not follow the sounds, so learn how it looks.
- Look at the whole word. Learn the shape of the word.they
- Say the word. Say it the same way each time.they
- Find it again. Compare each word in the list with the word you are looking for.they is the word.
Check. Read the word again. It is they. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words cannot be sounded out in the usual way, so look at the whole word.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.Can ___ run fast?
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.you
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.Can you run fast?
Check. Read the sentence again: Can you run fast?. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.The cat sat by ___ bag.
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.her
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.The cat sat by her bag.
Check. Read the sentence again: The cat sat by her bag.. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.Please ___ quiet.
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.be
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.Please be quiet.
Check. Read the sentence again: Please be quiet.. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.It ___ hot in the sun.
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.was
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.It was hot in the sun.
Check. Read the sentence again: It was hot in the sun.. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
Method. Read the whole sentence first. Then find the tricky word that fits the gap.
- Read the sentence. Read it all the way to the gap.We ___ big.
- Find the tricky word. Read the word on sight, from the whole word.are
- Read the full sentence. Check that the sentence reads correctly.We are big.
Check. Read the sentence again: We are big.. ✓
Watch out. Tricky words are learned by their look, not by their sounds.
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.was
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.w - a - s
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.w-a-s
Check. Read the letters back: w-a-s. They spell was. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
Method. Look at the whole word, then count the letters.
- Look at the word. Read the whole word.are
- Count the letters. Count each letter once.a, r, e
- Write the answer. 3 letters.
Check. Count again: a, r, e. There are 3. ✓
Watch out. Count the letters, not the sounds.
Method. Think about the meaning of each word.
- Think about belonging. A word that shows something belongs to you is my.belongs to me
- Find the word. It has two letters.m, y
- Write the answer. my
Check. my shows that something is yours. ✓
Watch out. Read the word on sight.
Method. Look at the sounds of the word.
- Say the letters. The sounds of a - l - l do not match the usual sound of all.a - l - l
- Think about the way it is read. Some words must be learned by their look.learn by sight
- Give your answer. Say what to do with tricky words.Accept any answer that says no: all is a tricky word, so it is learned by its look, not sounded out.
Check. all is learned by sight. ✓
Watch out. Learn the look of each tricky word.
Method. Read the sentence, then find the tricky words in it.
- Read the sentence. Read each word in order.They - can - see - my - dog
- Find the tricky words. They and my are tricky words.They, my
- Write the answer. They, my
Check. The tricky words are They and my. ✓
Watch out. Check each word in the sentence.
Method. Look at the word that Ravi wrote, then write the right tricky word.
- Look at tehy. The letters are in the wrong order.tehy
- Look at the right word. They is spelled t - h - e - y.t - h - e - y
- Write the answer. they
Check. they is spelled t-h-e-y. ✓
Watch out. Learn the look of the whole word.
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.her
- Say each sound in order. Each sound is written as one box.h - er
- Write the letters in order. The letters go in the same order as the sounds.h-er
Check. Read the letters back: h-er. They spell her. ✓
Watch out. Write the sounds from left to right, and leave no box out.
Method. Think about the meaning of the word for belonging to her.
- Think about the meaning. The word that means belonging to her is her.belonging to her
- Check the other words. my, you and they are different.my, you, they
- Write the answer. her
Check. her is the word for belonging to her. ✓
Watch out. Read the word on sight.