Year 1 English: Writing sentences from dictation
Part of the Year 1 English writing your own sentences and stories chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Writing sentences from dictation
Dictation means a grown-up reads a sentence aloud, and you write it down. Say each word slowly. Then think about the sounds in it. Use the letters you have learned for each sound. Sounds such as sh in ship need two letters. Tricky words, such as the, said and I, are written the way you learned them.
Look at how cat is written. Start the pencil at the top of each letter, and follow the arrow to the end.
Key ideas
- Say each word slowly, one sound at a time.
- Choose a letter, or two letters, for each sound.
- Tricky words are written the way you learned them.
- Start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.
Method. Say the sentence slowly, then write each word.
- Say each word. Listen to each sound in each word.The · cat · sat
- Write the letters. The is a tricky word. Cat uses c, a and t. Sat uses s, a and t.The, c-a-t, s-a-t
- Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.The cat sat.
Check. Read it back. It makes sense, with a capital letter and a full stop. ✓
Watch out. Write the tricky word the the way you learned it, not as it sounds.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.Sam · has · a · red · bag
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.Sam: s - a - m
has: tricky word, write it as you learned it
a: tricky word, write it as you learned it
red: r - e - d
bag: b - a - g - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.Sam has a red bag.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.I · see · the · ship
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.I: tricky word, write it as you learned it
see: s - ee
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
ship: sh - i - p - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.I see the ship.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Watch out
Watch out: write the tricky words the way you learned them. said sounds like sed, but it is spelled s-a-i-d. Also remember the capital letter for I, and the full stop at the end.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Read the sentence aloud, slowly, from the page. Cover the sentence, and let your child write it on paper. Then uncover it and check together, word by word. Ask: “What sound is at the start of ship?” Let your child name the letters. Practise on paper: write c-a-t, s-a-t and m-a-t, one under the other, and then join them up.
Exercise 11F Dictation with sounds and tricky words
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.The · dog · is · in · the · sun
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.The: tricky word, write it as you learned it
dog: d - o - g
is: tricky word, write it as you learned it
in: i - n
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
sun: s - u - n - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.The dog is in the sun.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.Ben · can · hop
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.Ben: b - e - n
can: c - a - n
hop: h - o - p - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.Ben can hop.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.She · has · a · cup
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.She: tricky word, write it as you learned it
has: tricky word, write it as you learned it
a: tricky word, write it as you learned it
cup: c - u - p - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.She has a cup.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.We · see · the · rain
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.We: tricky word, write it as you learned it
see: s - ee
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
rain: r - ai - n - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.We see the rain.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.Tom · and · Mum · go · to · the · shop
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.Tom: t - o - m
and: a - n - d
Mum: m - u - m
go: tricky word, write it as you learned it
to: tricky word, write it as you learned it
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
shop: sh - o - p - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.Tom and Mum go to the shop.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.Dad · put · the · bag · on · the · bed
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.Dad: d - a - d
put: tricky word, write it as you learned it
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
bag: b - a - g
on: o - n
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
bed: b - e - d - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.Dad put the bag on the bed.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Method. Put the letters for each sound together, in order, to make one word.
- Look at the sounds. The letters f, r, o and g are the sounds in the word.f - r - o - g
- Join the letters in order. Read the letters from left to right, one after another.f r o g
- Write the word. frog
Check. Read frog out loud. It is one word. ✓
Watch out. Read the letters from left to right. Do not change the order.
Method. Put the letters for each sound together to make one word.
- Look at the sounds. The sh is one sound, so use both letters together.sh - i - p
- Join the letters in order. Read them from left to right.sh i p
- Write the word. ship
Check. Read ship out loud. It has four letters but three sounds. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters s and h together. They make one sound.
Method. Find the tricky word that makes sense in the gap.
- Read the sentence. Someone says a word, so we need the word for speaking.Sam ___ “Hello.”
- Try the tricky word. Said is the word we use when someone speaks.Sam said “Hello.”
- Write the answer. said
Check. Read the sentence: Sam said Hello. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Said is a tricky word. Write it as s-a-i-d.
Key words. A tricky word does not follow the usual sound, so it is learned by sight.
Method. Say each word slowly, one sound at a time. Write the letters for each sound, then the whole sentence.
- Say each word slowly. Hear each sound, then choose the letter or letters for it.I · see · a · bee · in · the · tree
- Write the letters for each word. Some sounds need two letters, such as sh in ship. Tricky words are written as learned.I: tricky word, write it as you learned it
see: s - ee
a: tricky word, write it as you learned it
bee: b - ee
in: i - n
the: tricky word, write it as you learned it
tree: tr - ee - Write the whole sentence. Start with a capital letter, leave spaces, and end with a full stop.I see a bee in the tree.
Check. Read your sentence to the grown-up and check each word against the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check the tricky words first. Then check the capital letter at the start and the full stop at the end.
Method. Check the first letter and the last mark of the sentence.
- Read the sentence. Ben is a name, so it needs a capital letter.ben can hop.
- Fix the start and the end. Use a capital B for Ben, and add a full stop after hop.Ben can hop.
- Write the answer. Ben can hop.
Check. Read it aloud. It starts with a capital and ends with a full stop. ✓
Watch out. Names need a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence.