Year 1 English: The letter o in tricky words
Part of the Year 1 English tricky words chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
The letter o in tricky words
The letter o can make many sounds. In to and do it makes the sound in moon. In go, no and so it makes the sound in boat, with no other letter to help. In love, come, some and today it makes a short “u” sound, as in fun. In one and once it makes a “w” sound first, then the “u” sound.
Look at each card. The red part is the tricky part.
Key ideas
- The o in to and do says the sound in moon.
- The o in go, no and so says the sound in boat.
- The o in love, come and some says the sound in fun.
- The o in one and once starts with a w sound.
Method. Find the tricky o, then say what sound it makes.
- Look at the word. Find the letter that does not follow the usual sound.to
- Say the sound it makes. The o says the sound in moon.the sound in moon
- Write the answer. o
Check. Read to in your head: the o is the tricky letter. ✓
Watch out. The o is tricky in to, but the t is not.
Method. Say the whole word, then find the letters that are missing.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.today
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 1 letter(s).1 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The first o makes the “uh” sound, as in “fun”, so we say “tuh-day”.o
Check. Put o back into the box and read the word: today. ✓
Watch out. Write the tricky letters exactly as they are in the word.
Method. Think about the sound the o makes, then look at the letters after it.
- Say go. The o says the sound in boat.go: oh
- Look at the letters after the o. Words like boat have oa, but go has only the letter o.go: o and nothing else
- Write the reason. The o says oh, but there is no second letter to show it.
Check. Say no and so too: the same. ✓
Watch out. Look at the whole word to find the odd part.
Watch out
Watch out: to and do have the sound in moon, but go, no and so have the sound in boat. Do not guess by the sound. Learn each word by heart.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Play a card game. Put the cards in two piles: moon and boat. Ask your child to read each word and say which pile it goes in. Then ask them to write the words on paper.
Exercise 4B The letter o
Method. Find the part of the word that does not follow the usual sound.
- Say the word slowly. Listen to each part of it.to
- Find the unusual letters. The o makes the “oo” sound, as in “moon”. It does not make the “oh” sound in “boat”.The tricky part is o
- Write the answer. o
Check. Read to again and point to o. ✓
Watch out. Do not try to sound out the tricky part. Learn it by heart.
Method. Say the whole word, then find the letters that are missing.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.today
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 1 letter(s).1 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The first o makes the “uh” sound, as in “fun”, so we say “tuh-day”.o
Check. Put o back into the box and read the word: today. ✓
Watch out. Write the tricky letters exactly as they are in the word.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.Can we ___ to the park now?
- Find the word that fits. Go means to move to a place.go
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.go
Check. Put go in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The o makes the “oh” sound, as in “boat”. Many words with this sound need another letter, such as oa in boat.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound.
- Say the end of so. The o says the sound in boat.so: oh, as in boat
- Look at no. The o in no also says the sound in boat.no: oh, as in boat
- Look at to. The o in to says the sound in moon, so it does not rhyme.to: oo, as in moon
- Write the answer. no
Check. So and no rhyme, because both end with the oh sound. ✓
Watch out. Rhyming words end the same. Look at the sound, not the first letter.
Method. Find the word that means the opposite of yes.
- Think of the opposite. Yes means I agree, so the opposite is the word for not agreeing.yes is the opposite of no
- Check the spelling. The o makes the “oh” sound, as in “boat”. There is no second letter to show the sound.n, o
- Write the answer. no
Check. Read no and yes together: they mean the opposite. ✓
Watch out. No has only two letters, n and o.
Method. Find the word that does not have the oh sound in boat.
- Say the sound in go, no and so. Each of these has the oh sound, as in boat.go, no, so: oh
- Say the sound in do. The o in do says the oo sound, as in moon.do: oo
- Write the odd one out. do
Check. Only do has the oo sound. The other three all have oh. ✓
Watch out. Look at the sound of the o, not the letters around it.
Method. Count the apples, then write the number as a word.
- Count the apples. Touch the apple once.1 apple
- Write the number as a word. The word for 1 is one.one = 1
- Check the tricky part. The o makes the “w” sound, as in “wet”, and then the “u” sound, as in “fun”.one
Check. Say one as a word: it starts with a w sound. ✓
Watch out. One does not start with an o sound. It starts with w.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.Dad saw a fox ___ in the garden.
- Find the word that fits. Once means one time.once
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.once
Check. Put once in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The o makes the “w” sound, as in “wet”, and then the “u” sound, as in “fun”. The c at the end says “s”.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.I ___ my dog very much.
- Find the word that fits. Love is a strong feeling of liking someone or something.love
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.love
Check. Put love in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The o makes the “u” sound, as in “fun”. The e at the end is quiet.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.Please ___ and play with us.
- Find the word that fits. Come means to move towards the person speaking.come
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.come
Check. Put come in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The o makes the “u” sound, as in “fun”. The e at the end is quiet.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.I have ___ stickers for you.
- Find the word that fits. Some means a few, not all of them.some
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.some
Check. Put some in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The o makes the “u” sound, as in “fun”. The e at the end is quiet.
Method. Think about the sound of each word and the letters after the o.
- Look at the three words. Each has the oh sound, as in boat.go, no, so
- Look for a helper letter. Many words with the oh sound have a second letter, such as oa in boat.boat: o and a
- Write the reason. The o says the sound in boat, but there is no other letter to help.
Check. Go, no and so have only one o. ✓
Watch out. This is why we learn these words by heart.