Year 1 English: Split digraph: u-e
Part of the Year 1 English more ways to write a sound chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Split digraph: u-e
Look at cube. There is a u, then a b, then an e at the end. The u says its name, like the letter u. The e does not make a sound of its own.
Other u-e words are tube, huge, cute and tune. Some short words look alike. A cub is a baby animal. A cube is a shape with six square faces.
Key ideas
- u-e: the u says its name, as in cube and tube.
- Other u-e words: huge, cute and tune.
- Short words that look alike: cub and cube, tub and tube, cut and cute, hug and huge.
- The e at the end does not make a sound of its own.
Key words. A split digraph is a vowel, then one consonant, then e at the end, like the a, k and e in cake.
Method. Name the picture, then write the word with the right letters.
- Look at the picture. Say the name of the thing in a whole word.The picture shows a tube.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.t - u - b - e
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.tube
Check. Count the letters in tube: there are 4. ✓
Watch out. Look at every letter. A word with a letter missing or in the wrong place is not right.
Key words. Adding an e at the end can change the word, as cut becomes cute.
Method. Add an e at the end of the short word. The vowel then says its name.
- Look at the short word. The vowel in a short word has a short sound.cut: the u has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.cut + e = cute
- Check the vowel now. The u says its name in the new word.cute
Check. Read cute as one word. The u says its name. ✓
Watch out. The e does not go on the end of every word. Only add it where the new word needs it.
Key words. A split digraph: two vowel letters split by one consonant. The first vowel says its name.
Method. Find the e at the end, then the consonant and vowel in front of it.
- Find the e at the end. The last letter is the e.huge: last letter is e
- Find the consonant before the e. One consonant sits between the vowel and the e.consonant: g
- Find the vowel before the consonant. This vowel says its own name.vowel: u, so the pattern is u-e
Check. The vowel u says its name in huge. ✓
Watch out. The pattern is written with the vowel first: u-e.
Watch out
Watch out: cut and cute are different words. A cub is a baby animal. A cube is a shape. Check the e at the end every time.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Use real things at home: a small toy cube, a cardboard tube from kitchen roll. Ask: “Which one is the cube? Which one is the tube?” and point to the u in each word.
Exercise 3C Split digraph u-e
Key words. A split digraph is a vowel, then one consonant, then e at the end, like the a, k and e in cake.
Method. Name the picture, then write the word with the right letters.
- Look at the picture. Say the name of the thing in a whole word.The picture shows a cube.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.c - u - b - e
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.cube
Check. Count the letters in cube: there are 4. ✓
Watch out. Look at every letter. A word with a letter missing or in the wrong place is not right.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.c?be
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.cube: the gap is u
- Write the missing letters. u
Check. Put u into the gap and read cube again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.h?ge
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.huge: the gap is u
- Write the missing letters. u
Check. Put u into the gap and read huge again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.t?ne
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.tune: the gap is u
- Write the missing letters. u
Check. Put u into the gap and read tune again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Key words. Adding an e at the end can change the word, as cub becomes cube.
Method. Add an e at the end of the short word. The vowel then says its name.
- Look at the short word. The vowel in a short word has a short sound.cub: the u has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.cub + e = cube
- Check the vowel now. The u says its name in the new word.cube
Check. Read cube as one word. The u says its name. ✓
Watch out. The e does not go on the end of every word. Only add it where the new word needs it.
Key words. Adding an e at the end can change the word, as tub becomes tube.
Method. Add an e at the end of the short word. The vowel then says its name.
- Look at the short word. The vowel in a short word has a short sound.tub: the u has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.tub + e = tube
- Check the vowel now. The u says its name in the new word.tube
Check. Read tube as one word. The u says its name. ✓
Watch out. The e does not go on the end of every word. Only add it where the new word needs it.
Key words. Adding an e at the end can change the word, as cut becomes cute.
Method. Add an e at the end of the short word. The vowel then says its name.
- Look at the short word. The vowel in a short word has a short sound.cut: the u has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.cut + e = cute
- Check the vowel now. The u says its name in the new word.cute
Check. Read cute as one word. The u says its name. ✓
Watch out. The e does not go on the end of every word. Only add it where the new word needs it.
Key words. Adding an e at the end can change the word, as hug becomes huge.
Method. Add an e at the end of the short word. The vowel then says its name.
- Look at the short word. The vowel in a short word has a short sound.hug: the u has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.hug + e = huge
- Check the vowel now. The u says its name in the new word.huge
Check. Read huge as one word. The u says its name. ✓
Watch out. The e does not go on the end of every word. Only add it where the new word needs it.
Method. We want the word that has the u-e pattern: a vowel, one consonant, then e at the end.
- Look at the end of each word. The e at the end is the first clue.cut: no e at the end, so no split e
cute: u, t, e makes u-e ✓
cup: no e at the end, so no split e - Look at the two letters before the e. The vowel and the consonant must be in the right places.Pattern for cute: u-e
- Write the answer. Only one word has the right pattern.cute
Check. Check cute once more: the letters are c - u - t - e. ✓
Watch out. A word that ends in e is not always a split e. Check the vowel and the consonant before the e.
Method. Compare the two words, letter by letter.
- Look at tub. tub is a short word with no e at the end.tub
- Look at the picture. The picture shows a tube. A tube needs an e at the end.tube
- Write what is missing. The e is missing from the end of the word.An e at the end. The word is tube.
Check. Read tube with your finger: t, u, b, e. ✓
Watch out. Look at the end of the word for an e that is missing.
Method. Look for the pattern that most of the words have. Then find the word that does not have it.
- Look at all the words. Find the pattern in each word.cube, tube, huge, cup
- Find the word that does not match. cube, tube and huge all have a u-e split. cup has no e at the end.cup does not match
- Write the answer. cup
Check. Check each of the other words has the same pattern. ✓
Watch out. Look at the letters, not the picture or the meaning, for this question.
Method. Sort each word by its spelling pattern, one word at a time.
- Look at each word in turn. Find the letters or the pattern that tells the group.cube, tune, cute, cup, cut, hug
- Put each word in the group that matches. Keep the groups apart.Has a u-e split: cube, tune, cute
No u-e split: cup, cut, hug - Write the groups. Has a u-e split: cube, tune, cute; No u-e split: cup, cut, hug
Check. Count the words: there are 6 in all, and none are left out. ✓
Watch out. Check every word is in one group only.
Method. We want the word that has the u-e pattern: a vowel, one consonant, then e at the end.
- Look at the end of each word. The e at the end is the first clue.cub: no e at the end, so no split e
cube: u, b, e makes u-e ✓
cup: no e at the end, so no split e - Look at the two letters before the e. The vowel and the consonant must be in the right places.Pattern for cube: u-e
- Write the answer. Only one word has the right pattern.cube
Check. Check cube once more: the letters are c - u - b - e. ✓
Watch out. A word that ends in e is not always a split e. Check the vowel and the consonant before the e.
Method. Think about what each word means.
- Read cub. A cub is a baby animal, such as a baby bear.cub = baby animal
- Read cube. A cube is a shape with six square faces.cube = six square faces
- Write the answer. cube
Check. Think of a dice. It is a cube, and it has six square faces. ✓
Watch out. The e changes the word and its meaning.
Method. Compare the two words, and think about what they mean.
- Look at cub. A cub is a baby animal.cub: baby animal
- Look at cube. A cube is a shape. It is a different word.cube: a shape
- Decide if she is right. Adding an e made a different word.No.
Check. The e at the end gives the u its name, and the words mean different things. ✓
Watch out. An e can change a word completely.
Key words. A split digraph: two vowel letters split by one consonant. The first vowel says its name.
Method. Find the e at the end, then the consonant and vowel in front of it.
- Find the e at the end. The last letter is the e.tune: last letter is e
- Find the consonant before the e. One consonant sits between the vowel and the e.consonant: n
- Find the vowel before the consonant. This vowel says its own name.vowel: u, so the pattern is u-e
Check. The vowel u says its name in tune. ✓
Watch out. The pattern is written with the vowel first: u-e.