Year 1 English: Split digraphs and other spellings
Part of the Year 1 English phonics check practice chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Split digraphs and other spellings
A split digraph has two vowel letters with one consonant between them, and an e at the end. The first vowel says its name. Cake has a-e. Bike has i-e. Home has o-e. Cube has u-e. These has e-e.
The same sound can be written in other ways. The long a sound can be ay in day, ai in rain or a-e in cake. The sound in boy can be written oy.
Key ideas
- A split digraph has a vowel, one consonant, then e, as in cake.
- The first vowel says its name in a split digraph.
- The same sound can be written in different ways: ay, ai and a-e all make the long a sound.
- oy and ew are other spellings, as in boy and new.
Method. Look for a vowel, one consonant, and then an e at the end of the word.
- Look at the end of the word. Split words end with an e.cake ends with e
- Find the vowel before the consonant. The first vowel says its name.cake: a-e
- Write the answer. a-e
Check. Say the word with the vowel name: cake. ✓
Watch out. The e at the end is quiet. It helps the vowel say its name, but it is not a sound.
Method. Look at the letters in rain and day.
- Look at rain. The long a sound is written ai.rain: ai
- Look at day. The long a sound is written ay.day: ay
- Compare the two. They make the same sound, but the letters are different.ai and ay
- Write the answer. rain has ai
Check. rain and day have the same vowel sound, with different letters. ✓
Watch out. Learn the spelling as well as the sound.
Method. Look at the letters at the end of the word.
- Look at boy. The sound in boy is written oy.boy: oy
- Look at the other letters. The letters b and o and y are in the word.b - oy
- Write the answer. oy
Check. Sound boxes: b | oy. The oy box is one sound. ✓
Watch out. oy is two letters that make one sound.
Watch out
Watch out: ai and ay make the same sound, but they are spelled differently. Look at the letters, not just the sound.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Put cake, bake and bike on cards. Ask your child: “Which vowel says its name?” Then ask them to point to the e at the end.
Exercise 12E Split digraphs and other spellings
Method. Look for a vowel, one consonant, and then an e at the end of the word.
- Look at the end of the word. Split words end with an e.bike ends with e
- Find the vowel before the consonant. The first vowel says its name.bike: i-e
- Write the answer. i-e
Check. Say the word with the vowel name: bike. ✓
Watch out. The e at the end is quiet. It helps the vowel say its name, but it is not a sound.
Method. Look at the letters in day, dog and dip.
- Look at day. The long a sound is written ay.day: ay
- Look at dog and dip. They have o and i, not a long a sound.dog, dip: not a
- Write the answer. ay
Check. day has ay. dog and dip do not. ✓
Watch out. Look for the two letters that make the long a sound.
Method. Look for the word with oy.
- Look at toy. toy has the letters oy, like boy.toy: oy
- Look at tap and tin. Neither has the letters oy.tap, tin: no oy
- Write the answer. toy
Check. toy and boy both end with oy. ✓
Watch out. Look at the two letters that make the sound.
Method. Look at the vowel letters in bird and shirt.
- Look at bird. bird has ir, and the sound is like the ur in fur.bird: ir
- Look at shirt. shirt has ir, with the same sound.shirt: ir
- Look at shop. shop has o, a different sound.shop: o
- Write the answer. shirt
Check. bird and shirt both have ir. shop has o. ✓
Watch out. ir can make the same sound as ur.
Method. Find the letter at the end of jipe.
- Look at the end of jipe. The word ends with an e.jipe: ends with e
- Think about the vowel. The e at the end, with one consonant between, makes the i say its name.i ... p ... e
- Write the answer. The letter at the end is e, and it is quiet.e
Check. The i in jipe says its name, because of the e at the end. ✓
Watch out. The e is quiet, but it helps the vowel say its name.
Method. Look for a vowel, one consonant, and then an e at the end of the word.
- Look at the end of the word. Split words end with an e.cube ends with e
- Find the vowel before the consonant. The first vowel says its name.cube: u-e
- Write the answer. u-e
Check. Say the word with the vowel name: cube. ✓
Watch out. The e at the end is quiet. It helps the vowel say its name, but it is not a sound.
Method. Look for a vowel, one consonant, and then an e at the end of the word.
- Look at the end of the word. Split words end with an e.home ends with e
- Find the vowel before the consonant. The first vowel says its name.home: o-e
- Write the answer. o-e
Check. Say the word with the vowel name: home. ✓
Watch out. The e at the end is quiet. It helps the vowel say its name, but it is not a sound.
Method. Look for a vowel, one consonant, and then an e at the end of the word.
- Look at the end of the word. Split words end with an e.these ends with e
- Find the vowel before the consonant. The first vowel says its name.these: e-e
- Write the answer. e-e
Check. Say the word with the vowel name: these. ✓
Watch out. The e at the end is quiet. It helps the vowel say its name, but it is not a sound.
Method. Find the word with the same vowel sound as boat.
- Look at boat. The long o sound is written oa.boat: oa
- Look at goat. goat has the same letters, oa.goat: oa
- Look at get and got. They have e and o, not oa.get, got: not oa
- Write the answer. goat
Check. boat and goat both have oa. ✓
Watch out. Look at the two letters, not only the end of the word.
Method. Find the word with the same spelling as moon.
- Look at new. new has ew, and ew makes the sound in moon.new: ew
- Look at nap and nip. They have a and i, not ew.nap, nip: no ew
- Write the answer. new
Check. new has ew, like moon. ✓
Watch out. ew is another spelling of the long oo sound.
Method. Look at the pattern in cake and bake.
- Look at cake. cake has a, one consonant k, then e.cake: a-e
- Look at bake. bake has a, one consonant k, then e.bake: a-e
- Write the answer. Both words have the same split digraph.Yes. Both have a-e.
Check. cake and bake both have a vowel, one consonant, and an e at the end. ✓
Watch out. Look for the same pattern in both words.
Method. Think of one word for each spelling of the long a sound.
- Pick a word with ay. Look for the letters ay together.day
- Pick a word with ai. Look for the letters ai together.rain
- Pick a word with a-e. Look for a, one consonant, and an e at the end.cake
- Write the answer. Each word makes the long a sound, but the spelling is different.day, rain, cake
Check. day (ay), rain (ai), cake (a-e). Each one has the long a sound. ✓
Watch out. The sound is the same, but the spelling changes.