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English · Key Stage 1 · The School
Words that break the rules
Most words can be sounded out. A few common ones cannot, because their spelling came from an older pronunciation or another language. The Year 1 and 2 statutory list includes: 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.
Why they are odd
Look closely and most have a reason. SAID and SAYS kept a spelling from when they were pronounced differently. ONE and ONCE come from an older sound. FRIEND holds a silent letter from its origins. Knowing there IS a reason helps more than being told they are simply irregular — the words are old, not random.
Learning one properly
Look at the word and say it. Cover it. Write it. Check it letter by letter — not by whether it looks right, because your eye forgives its own mistakes. Repeat only the ones you got wrong. Three words learned properly beats twenty copied out, and copying a word ten times teaches your hand rather than your memory.
Sounding it out gives 'be-cow-se', so this one is by sight. LOOK at 'because' and notice the shape: be + cause. SAY it. COVER it. WRITE it. CHECK it letter by letter — b-e-c-a-u-s-e. Wrong? Do not correct on top; cover and write the whole word again. Three correct covered attempts, then come back tomorrow and do one more. The gap of a day is what moves it into memory.