Spelling
Year 1 · Writing
Listen to words and learn how to spell them.
Spelling with sounds and word patterns
Choose a game to practise sounds, plurals or the prefix un.
Word train
Hear a word. Build it with sound tiles.
Play Word trainSound swap
Change one sound to make a new word.
Play Sound swapDigraph detective
Find two letters that make one sound.
Play Digraph detectivePlural pairs
Make more than one by choosing s or es.
Play Plural pairsSaved stars · No timer
Un-word workshop
Add un to change a word’s meaning.
Play Un-word workshopSaved stars · No timer
Explore other writing skills →
Helping your child with spelling
Spelling with sounds in Year 1
Spelling begins with hearing a spoken word and working out how to represent its sounds in writing. A child may say the word slowly, identify the sound positions and choose the graphemes they have been taught. A grapheme can contain one letter or a group of letters, so the number of letters is not always the number of sounds.
Word train practises building familiar short words. Sound swap draws attention to a single changed sound and its spelling. Digraph detective treats sh, ch, th and ng as combined tiles in selected example words. These activities share a spelling focus but offer different ways to notice how a word is constructed.
Choosing a useful starting point
Begin with correspondences already taught at school. Read or listen to a word together before the child attempts it independently. Use the word-reveal help when needed and talk through the choices. A completed word is an opportunity to read it back and explain its spelling, not simply collect a score.
Normal six-word sessions save stars; supported attempts remain finishable, and the first-check score explains the help used. Listening again does not reduce the score. The free worksheets provide adult-led practice away from a screen, with dictation words and answers kept separate from the child’s tasks.
What this collection covers
The Year 1 transcription programme includes familiar phoneme spellings, common exception words, alphabet names, days of the week, prefixes, suffixes and simple dictated sentences. The three phonics games address selected familiar sound-to-spelling connections. Plural pairs adds regular plurals with s and es, while Un-word workshop explores the prefix un and its effect on meaning. They do not cover all 40+ phonemes or every requirement in the spelling appendix.
The voice is the approved static marin bank, with AI-generated British-English whole words and instructions. It is not a bank of isolated pure phonemes. Use the school’s pronunciation models when segmenting, and discuss differences between local accents naturally. Keep sessions short and return to the same idea in meaningful writing.
Curriculum connection
This collection offers selected practice connected to Year 1 writing and transcription. It does not cover the complete programme of study. Read the official English programme of study.
Questions families ask
Which spelling game should we try first?
Word train is a useful starting point for building familiar three-sound words with single-letter tiles. Move to Sound swap or Digraph detective when those correspondences have been taught.
Can these games replace the school’s phonics programme?
No. They offer selected practice alongside a systematic teaching sequence. Follow school guidance when choosing sounds, spellings and new words.
Are free printables available?
The three phonics games have printables with child tasks and a separate grown-up dictation or answer page. Plural pairs and Un-word workshop are screen games. Keep the phonics answer page out of the child’s view during practice.