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Year 1 English · Key Stage 1 · Spelling – English Appendix 1

Year 1 spelling: prefix un-, compound and exception words

This part of Year 1 spelling brings together three skills. Children learn to add the prefix un- to the front of a word without changing the word, as in unhappy. They learn to spell compound words, made by joining two words, such as football. And they learn the common exception words, everyday words like said, was and the that do not follow the phonics patterns they have been taught.

Prefix un-, compound and tricky words, explained

A prefix is a small group of letters added to the front of a word. The prefix un- usually means “not” or “the opposite of”, as in unhappy and unkind, or it can mean “to reverse an action”, as in unlock and untie. Year 1 spelling teaches one clear rule: the root word never changes when un- is added. So happy keeps its letters in unhappy, and lock keeps its ck in unlock. A few words start with un- without being built this way, such as under and uncle, so it is a pattern to spot, not a rule for every word that begins with un.

A compound word is made by joining two whole words into one, such as foot and ball, sun and set, play and ground or rain and bow. The spelling rule is that each part is spelt exactly as it would be on its own. That is why football has a double l and playground has the ay and ou spellings in full. Compound words are helpful for reading too, because a long word can be split into two short ones that are already familiar.

Common exception words are everyday words that cannot be spelt just by sounding them out using the phonics patterns taught so far. Often only part of the word is tricky: in said, the ai makes an e sound; in come, the o makes a u sound; in was, the a makes an o sound. The National Curriculum gives example lists, including words such as the, said, was, are, you, they, friend, school and house, but schools and phonics programmes choose and order them differently. A word that is tricky early on may become easy to sound out once more patterns have been taught, so your child’s list may not match a friend’s.

These words matter because they appear in almost every sentence a child writes. When they can spell them automatically, they have far more attention left for deciding what to say. Teachers usually identify the tricky part of each word, ask the children to say it and trace it, and then ask them to cover, write and check. A few minutes of practice on most days tends to help more than one long session.

Words your child will hear

Prefix
Letters added to the start of a word that change its meaning. The prefix un- often means not.
Root word
The basic word that a prefix is added to. In unhappy, the root word is happy.
Compound word
A word made by joining two words together, such as football or sunset.
Exception word
A word whose spelling does not follow the phonics patterns taught so far, such as said or was.
Opposite
A word meaning the reverse of another, such as happy and unhappy.
Syllable
A beat in a word. Football has two syllables and unhappy has three.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 1, pupils should be taught to:

  • Spell words by adding the prefix un–
  • Spell compound words
  • Spell common exception words

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: spelling three kinds of word

Your child needs to spell “unlock”, “football” and “said”. How can they work each one out?

  1. Unlock: split it into the prefix and the root, un and lock. Spell lock just as it is on its own, with the ck, and put un in front. Nothing in lock changes. The word means “to undo the lock”.
  2. Football: split it into two words, foot and ball. Spell each in turn. Foot has oo and ball keeps both of its l letters, so the compound has no letters dropped or added.
  3. Said: this is an exception word, so sounding it out as “sed” gives the wrong spelling. Find the tricky part, which is the ai in the middle, because it makes an e sound. Say it in a special spelling voice, “s-ai-d”, when writing it.
  4. Cover, write and check: look at each word, cover it, write it from memory and then check against the original. If any letters are wrong, circle the part and try again.

unlock (un + lock), football (foot + ball), said (the ai is the tricky part)

Common mistakes and how to help

Changing or dropping letters when adding un-, such as “unhapy” or “unlok”

Children hear the word as a whole and try to sound it out, rather than seeing the prefix and the root word as two separate parts.

What helps: Cover un- with a finger and check the rest of the word is exactly the root. Write the root first, then add un- in front.

Thinking that un- can be put on any word, such as “unbig” for small

A child who has learned that un- reverses meaning will quite reasonably try it elsewhere. This shows they understand the idea.

What helps: Say that it’s a clever guess and that some words have their own opposites, such as small, and some words, such as under and uncle, only start with un- by chance. Read unhappy, unkind and unlock together.

Spelling the second half of a compound word by sound, such as “playgrownd” or “footbawl”

Children sound out a long word as a single chunk and forget that it is made of two words they already know.

What helps: Say the two words separately and write each one on its own before joining them. Ask your child what the two small words are before they begin.

Spelling exception words as they sound, such as “sed”, “wos” or “cum”

Children are taught to trust sounds, and those words break the pattern in one place. Their attempt shows good phonics knowledge.

What helps: Say that most of the word is regular and point to the tricky part. Underline it in colour, trace it with a finger, and say the word in a spelling voice to help remember it.

How to help at home

  • Add un- to the front. Write words such as happy, kind, lock, tidy, well, do and tie on small cards, plus one or two such as big that do not work, with a card for un-. Put un- in front and read each new word aloud. Talk about what each one means and which are real words.
  • Compound word match. Write one half of a compound on each of a set of cards, such as sun, flower, tooth, brush, foot, ball, rain and bow. Lay them face up and ask your child to match pairs to make words, then write each full word out.
  • Spot the small words. Look around the house for compound words: bedroom, bathroom, toothbrush, doorbell, armchair. Ask your child to say the two small words inside each one, and write a label for the object.
  • Tricky-part highlighting. Choose three or four exception words at a time, for example said, was and friend. Write each large, circle the tricky part in a bright colour, then cover it and write it from memory. Add a new word each time one feels easy.
  • Words in real sentences. Ask your child to put each tricky word into a sentence you say aloud, such as “My friend said it was fun.” Write it down together and check every word. Using the words in a real sentence helps your child spell them when writing, not just in a list.

Related topics

Leads on to

More on spelling – English Appendix 1

Everything in Year 1 English

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