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KS1 · Ages 5–6

Year 1 Spelling Words

Year 1 children learn common exception words as part of the National Curriculum - words that don't follow standard phonics rules and must be learned by heart, such as the, said, come, were, and there.

Regular short practice sessions - five minutes, three or four times a week - are far more effective than a long session the night before a test.

The full Year 1 word list

Common exception words · National Curriculum (England)

  • 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

Source: National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, Department for Education.

📥 Free printable paper-practice sheet

Download a clean, ready-to-print Year 1 sheet (10 words a page) built for look, cover, write, check. Your child writes each word, then you snap a photo in the spelling.live app - Paper practice reads the sheet, marks it, and brings tricky words back automatically.

🖨️ Open printable sheet (PDF)

Opens a print-ready page - choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog to keep a copy, or send it straight to your printer.

Practise the whole list on the app

Year 1 is built in as a ready-made list on spelling.live, so there's no typing. Your child hears each word, writes it by hand on screen, and gets instant, gentle feedback.

  1. Open your child's profile and tap Word Lists.
  2. Tap Browse Preset Lists and choose the KS1 tab.
  3. Add Year 1 - Common Words (or Tricky Words) and start practising.
📸

New: Paper practice

Prefer pen and paper? Let your child do the worksheet by hand, then snap a photo of the finished sheet. spelling.live reads the ticks and crosses, records which words were right, and feeds the misspelled ones back into practice automatically - and it can even check letter formation. The best of paper and screen, with AI-assisted marking.

Practise Year 1 spelling words now

Handwriting mode, word games, paper practice, and instant feedback - all aligned to the National Curriculum. Free to start.

Start practising free

More National Curriculum lists: Year 2 · Year 3 & 4 · Year 5 & 6 Read more: KS1 common exception words guide · Paper practice explained Browse all free spelling resources →