Year 1 common exception words: all 45, with practice
Common exception words are words children can't yet spell by sounding out, because part of the word doesn't follow the phonics they've learnt. Year 1 children learn to read and spell these. Here's the full list, then the same words in short sets to practise.
The curriculum lists these words "and/or others", depending on the phonics programme a school uses, so your child's school may use a slightly different list.
The 45 words
Set 1: play and worksheets- a
- are
- ask
- be
- by
- come
- do
- friend
- full
- go
- has
- he
- here
- his
- house
- I
- is
- love
- me
- my
- no
- of
- once
- one
- our
- pull
- push
- put
- said
- says
- school
- she
- so
- some
- the
- there
- they
- to
- today
- was
- we
- were
- where
- you
- your
Practise them in weekly sets
5 sets of about 9 words. Each set has its own page, to play it and download its worksheets.
Why are they called exception words?
Most words in Year 1 can be spelt by their sounds. These are the exceptions: in "said", the middle sounds like "e" but is spelt "ai"; in "the", the "e" doesn't sound like it does in "bed". Children learn the tricky part of each word, and the rest follows the rules they know.
Ways to help at home
Practise a few words at a time, and come back to them over the week.
Point out the tricky part of each word, then let your child write it from memory.
Spot the words in books and signs. Many of them, such as "the", "was" and "said", are on every page.
If your child is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
Year 1 is P2 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The lists here are from the curriculum in England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don't have a statutory list. If your child's school sends words home, you can make a game from those instead.
More spelling lists
Keep the list, and see how it's going
Spellnino has 26 calm games, chooses which ones to play, brings words back over the following days, and shows you how your child is getting on. It’s free for a month, then £1.99 a month per account.
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