Year 1 English
Choose what you want to learn.
Explore English
Writing
Spell words and put your ideas on paper.
Speaking & listening
Listen, talk and share your ideas.
Choose a learning area to find its games.
For parents and teachers
Year 1 English learning
In Year 1, children learn to read and spell words using phonics, and start writing simple sentences of their own.
Practise familiar letter–sound correspondences with Word train, change one sound in Sound swap, or spot sh, ch, th and ng in Digraph detective. Each untimed game has spoken words and a free printable.
The groups use child-friendly names for the National Curriculum in England. Spoken-language requirements apply across Years 1–6. Each collection links to playable games with saved stars. The games offer selected practice, with learning notes and activities to try together explaining what each one covers. Handwriting and spoken-language collections include supporting games; physical writing and spoken performance need feedback from a grown-up.
Curriculum connections
Grouped by learning area, with the games that offer practice. Each game covers selected examples; use your school’s teaching sequence to choose suitable words and skills.
Writing
Spelling
Curriculum focus
Spell words containing each of the 40+ phonemes already taught
These games practise a small set of familiar correspondences, not all 40+ phonemes. Match words to the sequence taught at school; the audio says whole words, not isolated phonemes.
Practise with:
- Word train — Hear a word and build it with sound tiles.
- Sound swap — Change one sound to make a new word.
- Digraph detective — Find the missing sh, ch, th or ng tile.
Additional selected practice
These learning-area games support the skills described in their guides. They are practice connections, not a claim that every requirement is assessed.
Phonics & reading words
- Hear it, read it — Listen to a word, then find its written partner.
Handwriting
- Capital partners — Match small letters with their capital partners.
Sentences & stories
- Sentence shuffle — Move the word cards to build four little sentences.
Grammar & punctuation
- Full stop or question? — Give each sentence the right ending: a full stop or a question mark.
- Sentence repair — Match each little sentence to its capital letter and full stop.
Listening & responding
- Listen and find — Listen carefully and match the spoken word to its picture.
Explaining & retelling
- Tell it in order — Put the events in order, then tell the little story aloud.
Rhymes & performance
- Rhyme partners — Listen to the words and match their rhyming partners.
Spelling
- Plural pairs — Make more than one by choosing s or es.
- Un-word workshop — Add un to change a word’s meaning.
Reading comprehension
- Story detectives — Read clues and explore the park to find Mia’s missing hat.