Introduction: The Word Rebels!

Welcome! Today, we are going to learn about a special group of words called common exception words. In Year 1, you learned some tricky words like the and said. Now that you are in Year 2, there are a few more "rule-breakers" to learn!

Don't worry if these seem tricky at first. Even the best readers and writers have to practice these because they don't follow the normal spelling rules we use every day. Think of them as "word rebels" that like to do their own thing!

What are Common Exception Words?

Most of the time, we can use our phonics (sounds) to segment a word and spell it. For example, in the word cat, we hear the sounds \(c - a - t\). It sounds exactly how it looks!

However, common exception words are different. They don't always sound the way they are spelled. We call them "exception" words because they are an exception to the rule. You might also hear your teacher call them tricky words or red words.

Year 2 Tricky Word Patterns

Even though these words are rule-breakers, some of them break the rules in the same way. This makes them much easier to group together and remember! Let’s look at some important examples from the Year 2 list.

1. The "door" Family

In these words, the oo doesn't make a "moo" sound like in moon or food. Instead, it sounds like or.

  • door
  • floor
  • poor

Memory Trick: Imagine a poor person standing on the floor by the door. They all rhyme, and they all have that double oo!

2. The "find" Family

Usually, the letter i makes a short "ih" sound (like in bin, sit, or him). But in these words, it makes a long "eye" sound.

  • find
  • kind

Did you know? Other words like mind, behind, and child also follow this sneaky pattern!

3. The "because" Challenge

The word because is one of the most useful words to learn in Year 2, but it has a lot of letters! It uses au to make an "o" sound, which can be very confusing.

Memory Trick for "because":

Many students use a "mnemonic" (a memory sentence) where the first letter of each word helps you spell because:

Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants.

How to Master These Words

Since we can't always sound these words out, we have to use different "brain tools" to remember them. Here are three great ways to practice:

  • Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check: Look at the word, say it out loud, cover it with your hand, write it from memory, and then check if you were right. If you made a mistake, try again!
  • Find the "Tricky Part": Look at a word like floor. Which part is the hardest to remember? Is it the oo? Draw a little circle around the tricky part to help your eyes notice it next time.
  • Use Letter Names: When you practice spelling these out loud, use the alphabet names of the letters (A, B, C) rather than their sounds (ah, buh, cuh). This helps your brain store the correct order of the letters.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mixing up "door" and "dor": Because the word sounds like it has an or in it, many people want to spell it dor. Always remember the "oo" family!

Forgetting the "e" on "because": It is very common to forget the e at the very end of because. Just remember the "Small Elephants" at the end of our memory sentence!

Quick Review Box

Common exception words: Words that don't follow the usual phonics rules.
Year 2 Examples: door, floor, poor, because, find, kind.
Why they matter: You will use these words every day in your writing, and they often appear in your spelling tests!

Note: This chapter covers the exception words for Year 2. If you want to see the words from last year, have a look at the chapter on Common exception words: Year 1. For words that sound the same but are spelled differently, check out Homophones and near-homophones.