Year 1 English · Key Stage 1 · Writing – transcription (spelling)

Year 1 spelling: prefixes, suffixes and dictation

Once children can spell simple words, Year 1 teaches them to change those words by adding endings and beginnings. They add -s or -es to make plurals and verbs agree, add the prefix un-, and add -ing, -ed, -er and -est to words whose spelling doesn’t change. They also learn simple spelling rules and practise writing whole sentences from memory when a teacher reads them aloud, which is called dictation.

Prefixes, suffixes and dictation, explained

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word and a prefix goes at the start. Year 1 begins with -s and -es. Adding -s makes most nouns plural (one cat, two cats) and is used on verbs after he, she or it (she jumps). When the word ends in a sound such as s, sh, ch or x, saying the plural adds an extra beat, and then -es is added: bus becomes buses, wish becomes wishes, fox becomes foxes, and “he catches”. Children are taught to listen for the extra beat as the clue.

The prefix taught in Year 1 is un-, meaning “not” or “the opposite of”: happy and unhappy, or lock and unlock. A prefix is added without changing the root word at all, which makes it a good place to start. The endings -ing, -ed, -er and -est are taught for root words that need no change, such as help, helping, helped and helper, eat and eating, quick, quicker and quickest. Words that need a letter doubled or dropped come later, in Year 2. Remember that -er can mean a person who does something (helper) or a comparison (quicker).

Children also learn the simple spelling rules and guidance listed for Year 1 in the National Curriculum’s spelling appendix. For example, the sounds f, l, s, z and k straight after a single vowel letter in a short word are usually spelt ff, ll, ss, zz and ck (off, bell, miss, buzz, duck), with a few exceptions such as if, us, bus and yes. English words hardly ever end in the letter v, so an e is usually added (have, give, live). Schools decide the order in which they teach these, and the main message is that spelling has patterns, not only exceptions.

The last objective is writing from memory. In dictation, the teacher reads out a short sentence which uses sounds and tricky words the children have been taught. The class listens, repeats the sentence, holds it in mind and writes it down. This tests spelling in a real context and also builds the habit of using a capital letter and full stop. Reading is taught alongside spelling, so children also read back what they have written to check it makes sense.

Words your child will hear

Prefix: Letters added to the start of a word to change its meaning, such as un- in unlock.
Suffix: Letters added to the end of a word, such as -ing, -ed, -er or -est.
Root word: The word you start with before adding a prefix or suffix: “help” in “helping”.
Plural: More than one. The plural of “cat” is “cats”.
Verb: A word for an action or what someone does, such as jump, eat or help.
Adjective: A describing word, such as quick. Adding -er or -est compares: quicker, quickest.
Dictation: Writing a sentence from memory after someone reads it aloud.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 1, pupils should be taught to:

Add prefixes and suffixes using the spelling rule for adding –s or –es as the plural marker for nouns and the third person singular marker for verbs
Add the prefix un–
Add –ing, –ed, –er and –est where no change is needed in the spelling of root words
Apply simple spelling rules and guidance, as listed in English appendix 1
Write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher that include words using the GPCs and common exception words taught so far

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

Try it: writing a sentence from dictation

The teacher reads out: “Dad is helping us unpack the van.” How can your child write it from memory?

Listen to the whole sentence and say it back out loud. Then say it again while holding up a finger for each word. There are seven words: Dad, is, helping, us, unpack, the, van.
Write the first word with a capital letter, because it starts the sentence and is a name. Say “Dad” in sounds, d-a-d, and write it.
Spell the word with a suffix by building it in two parts. The root is “help” and the ending is “ing”, with no change to the root word.
```
help + ing = helping
```
Spell the word with a prefix the same way. The prefix is “un” and the root is “pack”, which ends in ck after a short vowel.
```
un + pack = unpack
```
Remember the tricky words “is” and “the”, and write “us” and “van” by sound. (“Us” is one of the few short words that ends in a single s.) Finish with a full stop, then reread the whole sentence, pointing at each word to check none are missing.

Dad is helping us unpack the van.

Common mistakes and how to help

Adding only -s when -es is needed, such as “wishs” or “foxs”

Most plurals only need an s, so children use it every time. Writing by sound doesn’t always show them that there is an extra beat.

What helps: Say the plural aloud and listen: “fox” becomes “fox-iz”. If you hear an extra beat, you need -es. Sort words into two piles, -s and -es, and say why.

Spelling -ed the way it sounds, such as “jumpt” or “walkt”

The ending sounds like t or d, so children who spell by sound choose those letters. They have not yet seen that -ed marks the past tense whatever it sounds like.

What helps: Show that the ending stays -ed: root plus ed. Say “jump” and “ed” as two parts when writing. Then say it aloud as it sounds, “jumpt”, to show that spelling and sound can differ.

Adding un- to any word, such as “unbig” or “unfast”

Once children know that un- reverses a word, they apply it widely. This is a sensible guess about how words work, but not every word can take un-.

What helps: Praise the idea, then check: “Have you ever heard that word?” Collect words that do take un-, like unlock, undo, untie and unhappy, and look for the pattern in the meaning.

Losing words, capital letters or full stops when writing a dictated sentence

Holding a whole sentence in memory while spelling each word is demanding for a six-year-old. Small words disappear first, and punctuation gets forgotten when the focus is on spelling.

What helps: Say the sentence together, count the words on fingers and whisper each word before writing it. Afterwards, point under each word to reread, and check the capital letter and full stop.

How to help at home

Word builder cards. Write root words on one set of cards (help, jump, quick, lock) and the endings and prefix on another (-ing, -ed, -er, -est, un-). Put them together and decide which make real words: “unlock” works, “unjump” doesn’t.
Listen for the extra beat. Say pairs such as “cat, cats” and “bus, buses”. Ask your child to clap the beats in each. When the plural has an extra beat, it needs -es.
Do and undo. Find real opposites around the house with un-: lock and unlock, pack and unpack, tie and untie, do and undo. Act them out, then write the words together.
A sentence a night. Read out one short sentence, such as “The dog is jumping in the grass.” Ask your child to repeat it, count the words and write it. Tick what is right and fix one thing together.
Write notes with a purpose. Ask your child to write a note for someone at home, such as “Mum is helping me.” Real messages make dictated sentence practice feel useful.

Leads on to

Year 2: Spelling sounds and homophones
Year 2: Apostrophes and suffixes