Common Exception Words Handwriting Practice: Year 1 And Year 2

Practise The Common Exception Words

What Are Common Exception Words?

Common exception words are words whose spellings do not follow the phonics patterns children have been taught so far, so they are practised until they are automatic. The National Curriculum's spelling appendix describes them as words whose "exception words contain GPCs which have not yet been taught as widely applicable", and says most are used frequently in pupils' writing, so it is worth pupils learning the correct spelling.

The lists below are the Department for Education's examples, and the appendix adds "and/or others, according to the programme used". Your school's list may include more. See handwriting and the National Curriculum for how spelling and handwriting sit together.

What Are The Year 1 Common Exception Words?

The Year 1 list in the National Curriculum spelling appendix is:

the, a, do, to, today, of, said, says, are, were, was, is, his, has, I, you, your, they, be, he, me, she, we, no, go, so, by, my, here, there, where, love, come, some, one, once, ask, friend, school, put, push, pull, full, house, our

Many of these are among the first words children write, so correct formation matters from the start. A word like "the" has three letters from three different families, which makes it a good first practice word. See letter families.

What Are The Year 2 Common Exception Words?

The Year 2 list in the appendix is:

door, floor, poor, because, find, kind, mind, behind, child, children, wild, climb, most, only, both, old, cold, gold, hold, told, every, everybody, even, great, break, steak, pretty, beautiful, after, fast, last, past, father, class, grass, pass, plant, path, bath, hour, move, prove, improve, sure, sugar, eye, could, should, would, who, whole, any, many, clothes, busy, people, water, again, half, money, Mr, Mrs, parents, Christmas

The appendix notes that children is not an exception to what has been taught so far but is included. Year 2 is when joins begin, so this is a good list for practising them. Try old, cold, gold, hold and told together for the same join. See handwriting joins.

How Can Children Practise Common Exception Words In Handwriting?

Practise a few words at a time: watch, trace, copy, then write from memory.

1. Watch. Play the word and say the letters as they are written.
2. Trace. Trace it on a tablet, or on a sheet with start dots.
3. Copy. Copy it from the model, saying each letter.
4. Write from memory. Cover the model and write it, then check.

Five words a week is a workable number. Pick them from your school's list and paste them into the tool, and it makes a sheet and sets the words up in the repeater. The DfE writing framework says dictation is helpful for practising the transcription children are taught, so finish by saying the word and having the child write it.

Use sheets after the movement has been shown, and stay nearby while children write. See handwriting worksheets.

What About Years 3 To 6?

From Year 3, the National Curriculum lists statutory spelling words for Years 3 and 4 and for Years 5 and 6, 100 words in each list. They are practised the same way, in joined handwriting once joins are secure. See handwriting in KS2 for the expectations.