Common Exception Words (CEW), often referred to as ‘tricky words‘, are those that do not adhere to standard phonetic spelling rules. These words frequently appear in the English language, making it essential for children to recognise and spell them accurately.
The top 300 high-frequency words constitute approximately 65% of all printed material. Nearly half of these words are not phonetically decodable. About a quarter of the words children encounter cannot be deciphered using standard phonics alone. Therefore, instruction in these words is crucial to enhance reading and spelling proficiency.
Monster Phonics employs a unique colour-coding system to teach Common Exception Words. This method highlights the grapheme-phoneme correspondences, drawing attention to both the phonetic elements and the irregular parts of each word. This visual differentiation helps children in identifying and remembering these tricky words more effectively.
In Year 1, children are introduced to several Common Exception Words, here are a few examples:
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, and hour.
As children progress to Year 2, they encounter more complex Common Exception Words, such as:
door, floor, poor, because, find, kind, mind, behind, child, 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
To support your child’s learning of Common Exception Words, consider the following resources:
