Year 1 English: Split digraphs: i-e and o-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 digraphs: i-e and o-e
Now look at bike. The i says its name, like the letter i. Then comes one consonant, the k. The e at the end does not make a sound. In nose, the o says its name, like the letter o.
The e can change a word. kit has a short i. kite has an i that says its name. Read every letter to be sure.
Key ideas
- i-e: the i says its name, as in bike and kite.
- o-e: the o says its name, as in nose and home.
- One consonant sits between the vowel and the e.
- Adding an e can make a new word: hop and hope are different words.
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 bike.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.b - i - k - e
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.bike
Check. Count the letters in bike: 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 pin becomes pine.
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.pin: the i has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.pin + e = pine
- Check the vowel now. The i says its name in the new word.pine
Check. Read pine as one word. The i 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 o-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.hop: no e at the end, so no split e
hope: o, p, e makes o-e ✓
hot: 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 hope: o-e
- Write the answer. Only one word has the right pattern.hope
Check. Check hope once more: the letters are h - o - p - e. ✓
Watch out. A word that ends in e is not always a split e. Check the vowel and the consonant before the e.
Watch out
Watch out: the word the ends in e, but it is not a split e. The e follows the th, and there is no single vowel in front of it.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Put a finger on the vowel and say its name. Then slide your finger to the e at the end. Try kit and kite, then hop and hope.
Exercise 3B Split digraphs i-e and o-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 nose.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.n - o - s - e
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.nose
Check. Count the letters in nose: 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 kit becomes kite.
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.kit: the i has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.kit + e = kite
- Check the vowel now. The i says its name in the new word.kite
Check. Read kite as one word. The i 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 hop becomes hope.
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.hop: the o has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.hop + e = hope
- Check the vowel now. The o says its name in the new word.hope
Check. Read hope as one word. The o 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 not becomes note.
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.not: the o has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.not + e = note
- Check the vowel now. The o says its name in the new word.note
Check. Read note as one word. The o 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 pin becomes pine.
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.pin: the i has a short sound
- Add an e at the end. The e goes after the last letter. The e does not make a sound.pin + e = pine
- Check the vowel now. The i says its name in the new word.pine
Check. Read pine as one word. The i 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. 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.b?ke
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.bike: the gap is i
- Write the missing letters. i
Check. Put i into the gap and read bike 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.n?se
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.nose: the gap is o
- Write the missing letters. o
Check. Put o into the gap and read nose 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?me
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.home: the gap is o
- Write the missing letters. o
Check. Put o into the gap and read home again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. We want the word that has the i-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.sit: no e at the end, so no split e
bite: i, t, e makes i-e ✓
bin: 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 bite: i-e
- Write the answer. Only one word has the right pattern.bite
Check. Check bite once more: the letters are b - i - 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.
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 home.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.h - o - m - e
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.home
Check. Count the letters in home: there are 4. ✓
Watch out. Look at every letter. A word with a letter missing or in the wrong place is not right.
Method. Compare Sam’s word with the right word.
- Look at the letters Sam wrote. Sam wrote r, o and p.rop
- Compare with the right word. rope has one more letter, at the end.rope = r, o, p, e
- Find the missing letter. The missing letter is the e at the end.e
Check. Read rope with your finger: r, o, p, e. ✓
Watch out. Check the end of the word for an e that splits the vowel.
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.home, nose, hop, bone
- Find the word that does not match. home, nose and bone all have a split o-e. hop has no e at the end.hop does not match
- Write the answer. hop
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.kite, smile, rope, joke
- Put each word in the group that matches. Keep the groups apart.i-e: kite, smile
o-e: rope, joke - Write the groups. i-e: kite, smile; o-e: rope, joke
Check. Count the words: there are 4 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 i-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.lap: no e at the end, so no split e
mine: i, n, e makes i-e ✓
hat: 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 mine: i-e
- Write the answer. Only one word has the right pattern.mine
Check. Check mine once more: the letters are m - i - n - 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. We want the word that has the o-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.nest: no e at the end, so no split e
bone: o, n, e makes o-e ✓
bend: 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 bone: o-e
- Write the answer. Only one word has the right pattern.bone
Check. Check bone once more: the letters are b - o - n - 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 hop. hop has a short o, and no e at the end.hop: short o
- Look at hope. The e at the end makes the o say its name.hope: long o
- Decide if they are the same word. Different sounds and different letters mean different words.different words
Check. Read each word out loud. The o is different in each one. ✓
Watch out. One extra letter can make a new word.