Year 1 English · Key Stage 1 · Reading – word reading

Year 1 reading: word endings, longer words and contractions

Once children can blend single-syllable words, Year 1 reading widens. They learn to read words with common endings (-s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er and -est), longer words with more than one syllable, and contractions such as I’m and we’ll. They also read books aloud that match their phonics, and reread them to become smoother and more confident.

Word endings, longer words and contractions, explained

A word ending is called a suffix. In Year 1 children meet -s and -es (cats, wishes), -ing (hunting), -ed (jumped), -er (taller) and -est (tallest). Teachers show children how to build on a root word they can already read: they cover the ending, read “hunt”, then uncover “-ing” and read “hunting”. Spotting the root first makes a long word look like two small pieces rather than one big, frightening one.

Some endings can be sounded in more than one way, which surprises children. The -ed in “jumped” sounds like t, in “played” it sounds like d, and in “hunted” it sounds like a separate syllable, id. The -es in “wishes” also adds a syllable, while the -s in “cats” is just a sound added to the end. Children are not expected to learn rules for these, only to try the options and choose the one that makes a real word.

Longer words are tackled by splitting them into syllables, each of which can be sounded out with the sounds the child already knows: rab-bit, sun-set, pic-nic, mag-net. Many schools clap or tap the beats first, or slide a finger under each chunk. Compound words such as “sunset” and “playground” are a gentle way in because each half is already a word the child can read.

Contractions are shortened forms where an apostrophe stands in for missing letters: I’m is “I am” with the a left out, and we’ll is “we will” with “wi” left out. Schools choose which contractions to teach, and I’m, I’ll and we’ll are common examples. Children are taught to read them and to understand what the apostrophe is doing, rather than skipping over it, which can turn “we’ll” into “well” or “I’ll” into “ill”.

Throughout Year 1, children read aloud from books that match the sounds they have been taught, so they don’t need to guess from pictures or the story. They are encouraged to reread these books, because the second and third reads are smoother, quicker and more expressive. This is how accuracy turns into fluency. Once Year 1 sounds are read accurately and quickly, children move on to the Year 2 word reading programme.

Words your child will hear

Suffix: A group of letters added to the end of a word, such as -ing or -ed.
Root word: The main word before any ending is added: “hunt” in “hunting”.
Syllable: A beat in a word. “Rabbit” has two beats: rab-bit.
Contraction: A shortened word where an apostrophe replaces missing letters, such as I’m for I am.
Apostrophe: The small mark (’) that shows where letters have been left out of a contraction.
Fluent: Reading smoothly and at a good pace, without stopping to sound out every word.
Reread: Read the same book again to get quicker, more accurate and more expressive.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 1, pupils should be taught to:

Read words containing taught GPCs and –s, –es, –ing, –ed, –er and –est endings
Read other words of more than one syllable that contain taught GPCs
Read words with contractions and understand that the apostrophe represents the omitted letter(s)
Read books aloud, accurately, that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge and that do not require them to use other strategies to work out words
Reread books consistent with their phonic knowledge to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading

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

Try it: reading a sentence with tricky-looking words

A decodable book has the sentence “We’ll be hunting at sunset.” How can your child work out the three longer-looking words?

Start with the contraction. Point to the apostrophe and say, “This shows some letters are missing.” Read the first part, “we”, then ask what two words “we’ll” could be short for. The answer is “we will”, with the letters “wi” gone.
```
we will  →  we’ll
```
Take “hunting”. Cover the ending and read the root word: “hunt”. Then uncover the ending and read the suffix: “ing”. Now put them together: “hunting”.
```
hunt + ing = hunting
```
Take “sunset”. Notice that it is two words joined together. Slide a finger under each chunk and read them separately, “sun” and “set”, then blend them into one word.
```
sun | set  →  sunset
```
Read the whole sentence again straight through, without stopping at the harder words. Then check it makes sense: someone is going hunting at sunset. A second read is where fluency starts to build.

“We’ll be hunting at sunset.” (we’ll = we will, hunting = hunt + ing, sunset = sun + set.)

Common mistakes and how to help

Leaving the ending off, reading “jumped” as “jump”

A child recognises the first part and their eye skips to the next word. The ending is small, so it is easy to miss, and the sentence may seem to make sense without it.

What helps: Point to the end of the word with a finger and ask “What’s the last bit?” Cover the ending, read the root, then slide the cover away and add it.

Always reading -ed as “ed”

A child sounds out “jumped” as “jump-ed”, because the letters e and d usually say those sounds. The real word sounds like “jumpt”.

What helps: Try the options aloud and ask which one sounds like a word we say. Reading “jump-ed” sounds odd, “jumpt” sounds right. This is also good practice in checking that a word makes sense.

Ignoring the apostrophe, so “we’ll” is read as “well” and “I’ll” as “ill”

The apostrophe is small and has no sound of its own, so children’s eyes slide past it. Without it, “we’ll” and “I’ll” look like other words they may know, and the sentence stops making sense.

What helps: Write the full words and the short form side by side, then cross out the letters that are missing and put in the apostrophe: I am, I’m. Reading it as the two full words checks the meaning: “We’ll go” means “We will go”.

Moving on to harder books too soon, or guessing long words from the picture

A fluent-sounding reader may be using guesses and the story rather than the letters. A rapid move to books with sounds they haven’t met leads to guessing and frustration.

What helps: Stay with books that your child can read accurately and ask for rereads. Rereading may seem repetitive to adults, but it is how reading becomes automatic. Ask about the story during and after to keep it enjoyable.

How to help at home

Cover the ending. When your child stumbles on a word with an ending, cover the suffix with a finger or a piece of paper. Ask them to read the root, then uncover the ending and read the whole word.
Syllable clapping. Clap the beats in names and everyday words: ba-na-na, pic-nic, to-ma-to, and the names of family members. Then ask your child to find the beats in a word they are about to read.
Contraction match-up. Write pairs of cards, I am and I’m, we will and we’ll. Mix them up and match the long and short forms. Ask which letters went missing and where the apostrophe sits.
Reread for a different audience. Once a book is read accurately, ask for a second read to a toy, a pet or a grandparent on a call, with a bit of expression. Repeating it with a purpose makes rereading fun.
Spot the endings out and about. On a walk or at the shops, look for words ending in -ing, -ed, -er and -est on signs and packets. Ask your child to say the root word, then the whole word.

Leads on to

Year 2: Longer words and suffixes
Year 2: Tricky words and fluent reading