Year 1 English Letters, Sounds and the Alphabet: check-up and quiz

Key words. Every letter has a name, like ay for a. The name is how we say the letter, not the sound it makes.

Method. Look at the letter, then say its name. The name is not the sound the letter makes.

1. Look at the letter h. Each letter has a name, like bee for b.
   The letter is h
2. Say its name. Use the name from the alphabet chart.
   h = aitch
3. Write the name.
   aitch

Check. Say the names in order from a to h. ✓

Watch out. The name of a letter is not the same as its sound. The name of a is ay, but a has a short sound too.

Key words. After is the next letter. Before is the letter just before.

Method. Find r in the alphabet. The letter after it is the answer.

1. Find r in the alphabet. The alphabet always goes in the same order.
   … q r s …
2. Say the letter after it. Letters go forwards one at a time.
   r → s
3. Write the answer.
   s

Check. Say the alphabet from a to s. The letter before s is r. ✓

Watch out. Do not write the letter you started with. Move one letter, not two.

Key words. A capital letter is a big letter, like A. A lower-case letter is a small letter, like a.

Method. Capital letters are the big shapes. Each small letter has a big partner.

1. Look at the small letter q. It is a lower-case letter.
   lower-case q
2. Find its big partner. The capital letter has the same name, but it is bigger.
   q goes with Q
3. Write the capital letter.
   Q

Check. Say both names: cue for Q and q. They match. ✓

Watch out. Make the capital letter tall. A capital is not always just a bigger letter, so check the shape.

Key words. A sound is what a letter says. A letter is the shape we write. Two letters can make one sound, like ck.

Method. Find the sound at the start of the word lamp, then write the letter or letters that make it.

1. Read the name of the picture. The name tells us which word to look at.
   The picture is a lamp.
2. Find the sound at the start of the word. The letter l makes the sound at the start of lamp.
   The start sound of lamp is made by l.
3. Write the answer. Write every letter that makes the sound, in order.
   l

Check. The other letters in lamp make the other sounds. l is the one at the start. ✓

Watch out. Lamp starts with l and ends with p.

Key words. A sound is what a letter says. A letter is the shape we write. Two letters can make one sound, like ck.

Method. Find the sound at the end of the word duck, then write the letter or letters that make it.

1. Read the name of the picture. The name tells us which word to look at.
   The picture is a duck.
2. Find the sound at the end of the word. The letters ck make one sound at the end of duck.
   The end sound of duck is made by ck.
3. Write the answer. Write every letter that makes the sound, in order.
   ck

Check. The other letters in duck make the other sounds. ck is the one at the end. ✓

Watch out. Write both letters, c and k, together. Do not write only c or only k.

Key words. A sound is what a letter says. A letter is the shape we write. Two letters can make one sound, like ck.

Method. Find the sound at the start of the word queen, then write the letter or letters that make it.

1. Read the name of the picture. The name tells us which word to look at.
   The picture is a queen.
2. Find the sound at the start of the word. The letters qu make two sounds, k and w, at the start of queen.
   The start sound of queen is made by qu.
3. Write the answer. Write every letter that makes the sound, in order.
   qu

Check. The other letters in queen make the other sounds. qu is the one at the start. ✓

Watch out. Write both letters, q and u, together.

Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.

Method. Find b in the list of letter families.

1. Look for b in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.
   b is in the list
2. Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.
   b is in the one-armed robot family
3. Write the answer.
   one-armed robot

Check. The one-armed robot family has: r, b, n, h, m, k, p. ✓

Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.

Key words. A sound is what a letter says. A letter is the shape we write. Two letters can make one sound, like ck.

Method. Find the sound at the start of the word van, then write the letter or letters that make it.

1. Read the name of the picture. The name tells us which word to look at.
   The picture is a van.
2. Find the sound at the start of the word. The letter v makes the sound at the start of van.
   The start sound of van is made by v.
3. Write the answer. Write every letter that makes the sound, in order.
   v

Check. The other letters in van make the other sounds. v is the one at the start. ✓

Watch out. Van starts with v and ends with n.

Key words. After means the next digit. Before means the digit just before.

Method. Find 3 in the digits and move one place up the list.

1. Find the digit 3. The digits go in order from 0 to 9.
   … 2 3 4 …
2. Move one digit up. Each digit is one more or one less than the one before.
   3 + 1 = 4
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. Count on from 3 to 4 to check. ✓

Watch out. Do not write the digit you started with.

Method. Put the letters in the order of the alphabet, from a to z.

1. Say the alphabet in your head. The alphabet is always in the same order.
   a, b, c, d, e …
2. Find each letter in order. Put the letter that comes first in the alphabet at the front.
   y, b, t, e → b, e, t, y
3. Write the letters in order.
   b, e, t, y

Check. There are 4 letters in the question and 4 in the answer. ✓

Watch out. Check each letter is in the right place. Look at the first letter of each pair.

Key words. After is the next letter. Before is the letter just before.

Method. Find f in the alphabet. The letter after it is the answer.

1. Find f in the alphabet. The alphabet always goes in the same order.
   … e f g …
2. Say the letter after it. Letters go forwards one at a time.
   f → g
3. Write the answer.
   g

Check. Say the alphabet from a to g. The letter before g is f. ✓

Watch out. Do not write the letter you started with. Move one letter, not two.

Method. Find the small letter that goes with the capital letter.

1. Look at the capital T. Capital letters are big.
   capital T
2. Find its small partner. The small letter has the same name.
   T goes with t
3. Write the small letter.
   t

Check. Both letters are called tee. ✓

Watch out. Make sure the small letter is small, not a capital.

Key words. A sound is what a letter says. A letter is the shape we write. Two letters can make one sound, like ck.

Method. Find the sound at the start of the word kite, then write the letter or letters that make it.

1. Read the name of the picture. The name tells us which word to look at.
   The picture is a kite.
2. Find the sound at the start of the word. The letter k makes the k sound at the start of kite.
   The start sound of kite is made by k.
3. Write the answer. Write every letter that makes the sound, in order.
   k

Check. The other letters in kite make the other sounds. k is the one at the start. ✓

Watch out. Kite starts with k, not c.

Key words. A sound is what a letter says. A letter is the shape we write. Two letters can make one sound, like ck.

Method. Find the sound at the end of the word grass, then write the letter or letters that make it.

1. Read the name of the picture. The name tells us which word to look at.
   The picture is a grass.
2. Find the sound at the end of the word. The letters ss make one s sound at the end of grass.
   The end sound of grass is made by ss.
3. Write the answer. Write every letter that makes the sound, in order.
   ss

Check. The other letters in grass make the other sounds. ss is the one at the end. ✓

Watch out. Two s letters make one sound, so write both.

Key words. A letter family is a group of letters that are made in a similar way.

Method. Find c in the list of letter families.

1. Look for c in the families. Each letter belongs to one family.
   c is in the list
2. Read the family name. The family name tells you how the letter is made.
   c is in the curly caterpillar family
3. Write the answer.
   curly caterpillar

Check. The curly caterpillar family has: c, a, d, g, o, q. ✓

Watch out. Letters in one family are grouped by how they are made, not by their sound.

Method. Find the digit that matches the number word.

1. Read the word. Read the whole word.
   “five”
2. Find the digit. Each number word has one digit.
   five = 5
3. Write the digit.
   5

Check. Count 5 things and say the number word for the last one. ✓

Watch out. Zero is written as 0. It is a digit, not the letter O.

Method. Put the letters in the order of the alphabet, from a to z.

1. Say the alphabet in your head. The alphabet is always in the same order.
   a, b, c, d, e …
2. Find each letter in order. Put the letter that comes first in the alphabet at the front.
   m, a, s, d → a, d, m, s
3. Write the letters in order.
   a, d, m, s

Check. There are 4 letters in the question and 4 in the answer. ✓

Watch out. Check each letter is in the right place. Look at the first letter of each pair.

Method. Find the picture that starts with the letter v.

1. Read each picture name. Each name has its own sound at the start or the end.
   van, web, yo-yo
2. Find the name with the sound at the start. Only van starts with the sound v.
   van has the sound at the start
3. Write the answer.
   van

Check. Only van has that sound at the start. The other names do not. ✓

Watch out. Do not choose a picture because it looks like the answer. Check the spelling of its name.

Method. Look at the start of queen. Two letters make two sounds together.

1. Look at the start of queen. Read the first two letters.
   q and u together
2. Find the sounds they make. In queen, qu says the k sound and the w sound.
   k + w = qu
3. Write the answer.
   No. Queen starts with qu, which makes two sounds, k and w.

Check. Queen starts with q and u together, so it does not start with q on its own. ✓

Watch out. Write qu together. q on its own is not the start of queen.

Method. Check what d says about ball, then compare it with the spelling.

1. Look at the word ball. Read the whole word.
   ball
2. Find the letters at the start. We check what the word starts with.
   The start of ball is b
3. Compare with what was said. d is not the same as b.
   d ≠ b
4. Write the answer.
   No. Ball starts with b.

Check. Point to the start of ball and say what you see: b. ✓

Watch out. Ball starts with b. It ends with ll, which is one sound.