Year 1 — Spelling

Phonics spelling

Spell words by listening for each sound, and learn to spell some tricky words that don't sound the way they're spelled.

💡Understand

To spell a word, we say it slowly and listen for each sound, then write the letters for each sound we hear. Some words are tricky to spell because they don't sound how they're written — we just have to remember them.

“dog → d-o-g”

We say 'dog' slowly: 'd'... 'o'... 'g'. Each sound gets its own letter, so we write d-o-g.

🔍Spot it

Listen to the sounds. How is the word spelled?

Question 1

The word that sounds like 's-u-n'

💡 s-u-n blends together to spell 'sun'.

Question 2

The word that sounds like 't-o-p'

💡 t-o-p blends together to spell 'top'.

Question 3

Which is the correct tricky spelling for the word we say as 'sed'?

💡 'Said' is a tricky word — it doesn't spell out the way it sounds, so we remember it specially.

🧠Think about it

Why is it helpful to say a word slowly before spelling it?

✍️Try it

Say the word slowly. How is it spelled?

The word that sounds like 'h-a-t'

Question 1

How is this word spelled?

💡 Say each sound: 'h'... 'a'... 't'.

📝Practise

Choose the correct spelling for each word.

Question 1

The word that sounds like 'p-e-n'

Question 2

The word that sounds like 'b-u-s'

Question 3

The word that sounds like 'l-e-g'

Question 4

Spell the tricky word for the number that comes after 'one'. (Hint: it's spelled the tricky way, not 'too' or 'to'.)

💡 This word doesn't sound out the normal way — remember it specially.

Question 5

The word that sounds like 'r-e-d'

Question 6

The word that sounds like 'c-u-p'

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

I had a big cup of hot milk.

Question 1

How is the word 'cup' spelled?

💡 Find the word in the sentence and sound it out.

Question 2

Spell the word that describes the milk's temperature (opposite of cold).

💡 It's used right before the word 'milk'.

Question 3

Is 'I' spelled with a capital or small letter?

🏆Challenge

Can you spell a word that rhymes with 'top' by saying it slowly and listening for each sound?

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

The word that sounds like 'm-a-p'

Question 2

Why do we say a word slowly before spelling it?

Question 3

The word that sounds like 'n-e-t'