Year 1 English: What makes a word tricky?
Part of the Year 1 English tricky words chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
What makes a word tricky?
Most words sound the way they look. You can say each sound and write a letter for it. Cat is like this: c, a, t.
Some words have one part that does not follow the usual sound. These are tricky words. You cannot sound out the tricky part, so you learn it by heart. The tricky part is shown in red below.
Key ideas
- Most words can be sounded out, letter by letter.
- A tricky word has one part that does not follow the usual sound.
- Learn the tricky part by heart.
- Use the method: look, say, cover, write, check.
Method. Check each word for a part that does not follow the usual sound.
- Say the sounds in cat. Each letter makes its usual sound.c - a - t
- Check the rule. A word with no unusual part can be sounded out.c, a and t all follow the rule
- Write the answer. No. cat is not a tricky word.
Check. Sound out cat: c, a, t. It works all the way. ✓
Watch out. A short word can still be a word we sound out.
Method. Find the part of the word that does not follow the usual sound.
- Say the word slowly. Listen to each part of it.the
- Find the unusual letters. The e makes the “uh” sound, as in “fun”. It does not make the “eh” sound in “bed”.The tricky part is e
- Write the answer. e
Check. Read the again and point to e. ✓
Watch out. Do not try to sound out the tricky part. Learn it by heart.
Method. Think about the order of the steps.
- Find the first step. We look at the word first.look
- Find the middle steps. Say it, then cover it and write it from memory.say, cover, write
- Find the last step. Check your writing against the word.look, say, cover, write, check
Check. The steps in order are look, say, cover, write, check. ✓
Watch out. Do not skip the check. It shows the tricky part was learned.
Watch out
Watch out: a tricky word is not only a long word. Cat is short and can be sounded out. The is short but is tricky, because the e does not make the sound we expect.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Tricky words are called common exception words in schools. Show your child the word, cover it, and ask them to write it. Then look back together and check the tricky part. Five minutes a day is enough.
Exercise 4A Finding the tricky part
Method. Find the word with a part that does not follow the usual sound.
- Look at both words. Check each letter.the and cat
- Find the word with the tricky part. The e does not make the sound we expect.the has the tricky part
- Write the answer. the
Check. Say the other word, cat. Its letters make the sounds we expect. ✓
Watch out. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound rule.
Method. Find the word with a part that does not follow the usual sound.
- Look at both words. Check each letter.a and dog
- Find the word with the tricky part. The a makes the uh sound, as in fun, not the sound we expect.a has the tricky part
- Write the answer. a
Check. Say the other word, dog. Its letters make the sounds we expect. ✓
Watch out. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound rule.
Method. Find the word with a part that does not follow the usual sound.
- Look at both words. Check each letter.I and map
- Find the word with the tricky part. I is one capital letter, and its sound does not follow the usual rule.I has the tricky part
- Write the answer. I
Check. Say the other word, map. Its letters make the sounds we expect. ✓
Watch out. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound rule.
Method. Find the part of the word that does not follow the usual sound.
- Say the word slowly. Listen to each part of it.the
- Find the unusual letters. The e makes the “uh” sound, as in “fun”. It does not make the “eh” sound in “bed”.The tricky part is e
- Write the answer. e
Check. Read the again and point to e. ✓
Watch out. Do not try to sound out the tricky part. Learn it by heart.
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.Ali fed ___ cat.
- Find the word that fits. The word the goes before a noun, such as cat.the
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.the
Check. Put the in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The e makes the “uh” sound, as in “fun”. It does not make the “eh” sound in “bed”.
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.Noah has ___ red ball.
- Find the word that fits. A goes before a word that starts with a consonant sound, such as red.a
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.a
Check. Put a in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The a makes the “uh” sound, as in “fun”, as in “a dog”. It does not make the “ay” sound in “day”.
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.Today ___ am going to the park.
- Find the word that fits. I is the word we use to talk about ourselves.I
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.I
Check. Put I in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. I is one capital letter. It makes the “igh” sound, as in “sky”, and it always has a capital letter.
Method. Find the letter that needs a capital letter.
- Look at what Leo wrote. The word for talking about yourself is a single letter.i
- Find the mistake. The word I always has a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence.i should be I
- Write the correction. It needs a capital letter. The word is I.
Check. Read the sentence with I: Today I am going to the park. ✓
Watch out. A single letter word is still a word. It still needs its capital.
Method. Find the three letters, then put them in the order that spells a word.
- Look at the letters. We need a word with a t, an h and an e.e, h, t
- Put the letters in order. Start with the letter t, then h, then e.t, h, e
- Write the word. the
Check. Read the word: t-h-e. It is the word the. ✓
Watch out. Read the letters once you have put them in order.
Method. Say the method out loud, one step at a time.
- Look at the word. Look at the whole word first.look
- Say the word. Say it out loud, sound by sound where you can.say
- Cover the word, then write it. The next step is to cover the word and write it from memory.cover
Check. Then write it, and check it. ✓
Watch out. Cover the word before you write it, so you do not just copy it.