Decoding unfamiliar words · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Cracking Tricky Words

English · Phonics & Word Reading · ages 7-9
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Say 'know' out loud. What do you hear at the very start?

    • an n sound
    • a k sound
    • a w sound

  2. Which word breaks the sound-it-out rules?

    • mat
    • ship
    • caught

  3. The word 'know' begins with a silent k.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. In the word 'knowledge', which letter is silent?

    knowledge
    • k
    • n
    • g

  5. Max has tried the hidden-word hunt and the word-family trick on a tricky word, and neither worked. He says, 'I will just skip every tricky word from now on.' What should he do instead?

    • Practice the odd spelling until he remembers it
    • He is right, skipping works just as well
    • Sound out every letter one more time

  6. Which smaller word helps you remember how to spell 'business'?

    • bus
    • busy
    • best

  7. How many sounds do you hear in 'daughter'?

    • 5
    • 7
    • 4

  8. How many sounds do you hear in 'caught'?

    • 2
    • 3
    • 6

  9. Zoe sees the word 'knee' in her book. It starts with kn, just like 'know'. What should she guess?

    • The k is silent, so knee sounds like nee
    • Say both letters, kuh-nee
    • The n is silent, so knee sounds like kee

  10. Leo meets the word 'naughty' for the first time. He spots augh inside it, like in 'caught'. How should he read the augh part?

    • Sound out each letter, a-u-g-h
    • Say it like the ow in cow
    • Give it the or sound, the way the team always does
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_14OR-MhGJ9-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Cracking Tricky Words W1-mt_14OR-MhGJ9-s1

  1. an n sound · You hear an n sound. The k is silent, so know begins with the sound n.
  2. caught · Caught uses the letters augh to make one or sound, so it does not sound the way it looks.
  3. True · Know starts with a silent k. You only hear the n sound, and knowledge keeps the same trick.
  4. k · The k at the start of knowledge is silent, just like in 'know'.
  5. Practice the odd spelling until he remembers it · When the other tricks fail, the plan's last step is to learn the tricky part by heart. Skipping the word means Max never learns to read it.
  6. busy · Business comes from busy + ness. Spotting 'busy' helps you remember the tricky i.
  7. 4 · Daughter has 4 sounds: d, or, t, er. The augh team makes just one of them.
  8. 3 · Caught has 3 sounds: c, or, t. The four letters of augh make just one sound.
  9. The k is silent, so knee sounds like nee · Knee starts with the same kn team as know. The k is silent, so knee sounds like nee.
  10. Give it the or sound, the way the team always does · Naughty uses the same augh team as caught, so its augh says or: n-or-ty.
Worksheet · LightMySky