English

Please click  on 'Common exception words' to see the list of words your child is expected to read and spell by the end of Year One.

Year 1 programme of study

Reading - word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

• apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words
• respond speedily with the correct sound to graphemes (letters or groups of letters) for all 40+ phonemes, including, where applicable, alternative sounds for graphemes
• read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words containing GPCs that have been taught
• read common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word
• 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 [for example, I’m, I’ll, we’ll], 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 these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading

 

Reading - comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

• develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
  • listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
  • being encouraged to link what they read or hear to their own experiences
  • becoming very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales, retelling them and considering their particular characteristics
  • recognising and joining in with predictable phrases
  • learning to appreciate rhymes and poems, and to recite some by heart
  • discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known
• understand both the books they can already read accurately and fluently and those they listen to by:
  • drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher
  • checking that the text makes sense to them as they read, and correcting inaccurate reading
  • discussing the significance of the title and events
  • making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
  • predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
• participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say
• explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them

 

Writing - transcription

Spelling - see English appendix 1

Pupils should be taught to:

• spell:
  • words containing each of the 40+ phonemes already taught
  • common exception words
  • the days of the week
• name the letters of the alphabet:
  • naming the letters of the alphabet in order
  • using letter names to distinguish between alternative spellings of the same sound
• 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
  • using the prefix un–
  • using –ing, –ed, –er and –est where no change is needed in the spelling of root words [for example, helping, helped, helper, eating, quicker, quickest]

• 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

 

Handwriting

Pupils should be taught to:

• sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly
• begin to form lower-case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place
• form capital letters
• form digits 0-9
• understand which letters belong to which handwriting ‘families’ (ie letters that are formed in similar ways) and to practise these
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Writing - composition

Pupils should be taught to:

• write sentences by:
  • saying out loud what they are going to write about
  • composing a sentence orally before writing it
  • sequencing sentences to form short narratives
  • re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense
• discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils
• read their writing aloud, clearly enough to be heard by their peers and the teacher

 

Writing - vocabulary, grammar and punctuation

Pupils should be taught to:

• develop their understanding of the concepts set out in English appendix 2 by:
  • leaving spaces between words
  • joining words and joining clauses using ‘and’
  • beginning to punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark
  • using a capital letter for names of people, places, the days of the week, and the personal pronoun ‘I’
  • learning the grammar for year 1 in English appendix 2
• use the grammatical terminology in English English appendix 2 in discussing their writing