Primary 1 English Practice Paper 3

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - English Primary 1

Answer Key and Marking Scheme

Version: 3 of 5

Total Marks: 40

Section A: Letter Sounds and Recognition (Questions 1–8)

Marks: 16

Question 1 (2 marks)

(a) monkey and mouse should be circled. (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The /m/ sound is made by pressing your lips together and humming. Both "monkey" (/mʌŋki/) and "mouse" (/maʊs/) start with this sound. "Snake" starts with /s/ and "sun" starts with /s/ — these are different sounds.

(b) m (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The letter 'm' makes the /m/ sound. Remember: the letter name is "em" but the sound is /m/. Don't confuse letter names with letter sounds.

Question 2 (2 marks)

(a) b should be circled. (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The letter 'b' makes the /b/ sound — your lips start together and then pop open. Don't confuse 'b' with 'd' — 'b' has the round part facing right (like a bat and ball: the ball is first).

(b) d should be circled. (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The letter 'd' makes the /d/ sound — your tongue taps the roof of your mouth. 'd' has the round part facing left. A helpful way to remember: 'b' and 'd' are like a bat and a dog — the bat (b) faces the ball first.

Question 3 (2 marks)

• 1 mark per correct sound
• Teaching note:
  • /f/ is a quiet sound made by blowing air through your teeth and lip. Put your hand in front of your mouth — you should feel air.
  • /v/ is a "noisy" version of /f/ — your voice box vibrates. Touch your throat to feel it buzzing.

Question 4 (2 marks)

cat and rat (2 marks — 1 mark for each correct word, both must rhyme)

• Teaching note: Words rhyme when they have the same ending sound. Cat (/kæt/) and rat (/ræt/) both end in /æt/. "Hat" also rhymes with these (/hæt/), but the question asks for the pair among the four given pictures. "Dog" (/dɒg/) does not rhyme — it has a different ending.

Question 5 (2 marks)

(a) e should be circled. (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The vowel in "pen" is the short /e/ sound — your mouth is slightly open and your tongue is in the middle. The letter 'e' makes this sound. Don't confuse with the letter name "ee" — here we need the sound inside the word.

(b) o should be circled. (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The vowel in "pot" is the short /ɒ/ sound (like the 'o' in "hot"). Your mouth opens round like a small 'o'. This is different from long /əʊ/ as in "go".

Question 6 (2 marks)

(a) stop (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Blend the sounds smoothly: /s/ — /t/ — /ɒ/ — /p/. Say them quickly together without gaps: "s-t-o-p" becomes "stop". This is a CVCC word (consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant).

(b) 4 (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Count the sounds (phonemes), not the letters. s-t-o-p has 4 sounds: /s/, /t/, /ɒ/, /p/. Each letter makes one sound here. Be careful — some letters together make one sound (like 'sh', 'ch', 'th').

Question 7 (2 marks)

(a) ship or sheep should be circled. (1 mark — accept either, or both if student circles both correctly)

• Teaching note: The /ʃ/ sound (spelled 'sh') is made by rounding your lips slightly and pushing air out. Both "ship" and "sheep" begin with this sound. "Thumb" begins with /θ/ (put tongue between teeth), and "chin" begins with /tʃ/.

(b) chin (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The /tʃ/ sound (spelled 'ch') is like a sneeze — your tongue touches the roof of your mouth and then releases with a burst of air. "Chin" begins with this sound, not /ʃ/ or /θ/.

Question 8 (2 marks)

(a) pat (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Arrange the letters in order: p-a-t. Sound them out: /p/ — /æ/ — /t/. Blend together: "pat". This is a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern, the basic building block of early reading.

(b) pat should be circled. (1 mark)

• Teaching note: "Pat" means to touch gently with your hand — the picture should show a hand patting. "Cat" is an animal and "hat" goes on your head. Match the meaning to the correct action picture.

Section B: Word Building and Spelling (Questions 9–14)

Marks: 12

Question 9 (2 marks)

Missing letter: e (1 mark)

Whole word: hen (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The word "hen" follows the CVC pattern: h-e-n. The middle sound is /e/ — your mouth is slightly open, tongue in the middle, not high or low. "Hen" is a female chicken. Don't write 'a' (han is not a word) or 'i' (hin is not a word).

Question 10 (2 marks)

New word: cap (1 mark)

Another word with /æ/ sound: cat, bat, hat, mat, sat, rat, fat, pat, map, tap, nap, lap, gap (accept any correct real word) (1 mark)

• Teaching note:
  • To change "cup" to "cap", change the vowel 'u' to 'a'. The consonants stay the same: c-a-p.
  • The /æ/ sound is the short 'a' sound — your mouth opens wide and your jaw drops. Common words with this sound are in the "-at", "-ap", "-an" families.

Question 11 (2 marks)

(a) run (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Change the beginning consonant from /s/ to /r/. Keep the rest the same: -un. Sound pattern: r-u-n. "Run" means to move fast on your feet.

(b) fun (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Change the beginning sound to /f/.Keep the rime (the ending part): -un. f-u-n. "Fun" means enjoyment.

Question 12 (2 marks)

Any two real words ending in "-at": cat, bat, hat, mat, sat, rat, fat, pat, vat (1 mark each, 2 marks total)

• Teaching note: Word families (also called rhyming families) help you read new words. If you know "cat", you can read "bat", "hat", "mat" by changing just the first sound. The "-at" rime stays the same. This builds reading fluency.

Question 13 (2 marks)

Word: cat (1 mark)

Yes / No: Yes should be circled (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Arrange the letters: c-a-t. Sound out: /k/ — /æ/ — /t/. "Cat" is a real animal — a small furry pet. All three letters are used in correct order.

Question 14 (2 marks)

(a) rug (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Sound out r-u-g: /r/ — /ʌ/ — /g/. Blend together. A "rug" is a small carpet on the floor. The short /ʌ/ vowel sound is like a quick "uh" — your mouth is relaxed and slightly open.

(b) Any rhyming word: bug, hug, jug, mug, pug, tug, dug (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Words rhyme when they share the same ending sounds from the vowel onward. "Rug" (/rʌg/) and "bug" (/bʌg/) both end in /ʌg/. The consonant at the beginning changes, but the rime "-ug" stays the same.

Section C: Reading and Applying Phonics (Questions 15–20)

Marks: 12

Question 15 (2 marks)

Missing letters: ag (1 mark)

Whole word: bag (1 mark)

• Teaching note: The sentence gives a clue: "The boy has a b___." The picture shows a bag. Sound pattern: b-a-g. The "b" and "g" are given; you need the middle vowel 'a' to make the word complete. This is another CVC word.

Question 16 (2 marks)

(a) hop should be circled (1 mark)

• Teaching note: "Hop" has the short /ɒ/ sound (like 'o' in "hot", "pot", "not"). Your lips make a small circle. "She" has /iː/, "can" has /æ/, "leg" has /e/. Only "hop" has the /ɒ/ vowel sound.

(b) 3 (1 mark)

• Teaching note: Count the sounds (phonemes) in "hop": /h/ — /ɒ/ — /p/. Three sounds, three letters — this is a simple CVC where each letter represents one sound. Note: "h" is pronounced even though it's at the start.

Question 17 (2 marks)

(a) Yes should be circled (1 mark)

• Teaching note: "Pig" (/pɪg/) and "wig" (/wɪg/) rhyme because they have the same ending: /ɪg/. The beginning consonants are different (/p/ and /w/), but everything from the vowel onward matches.

(b) /ɪg/ or ig (1 mark — accept "ig" as written answer)

• Teaching note: The shared part is called the "rime" — it's what stays the same in rhyming words. Here, the rime is "-ig". The vowel /ɪ/ is short, like a quick "ih" sound, and the final /g/ is a hard stop at the back of your throat.

Question 18 (2 marks)

(a) sun and bun (1 mark — accept in either order)

• Teaching note: Both words end in /ʌn/. They rhyme perfectly. "Run" also rhymes with these three. Finding rhymes helps develop phonemic awareness — the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words.

(b) bun (1 mark)

• Teaching note: "Sun", "fun", "bun", "run" all share the rime "-un" with the /ʌ/ vowel sound. In sentence 3, "yum" has a different vowel (/ʌ/ in the second syllable, but the word "sun" from sentence 2 is explicitly the match). The question asks which word in sentence 3 matches — "bun" is in sentence 3 and shares the middle sound with "sun".

Question 19 (2 marks)

(a) /s/ or s (1 mark)

• Teaching note: All four words begin with the /s/ sound: star (/stɑː/), stamp (/stæmp/), snake (/sneɪk/), spoon (/spuːn/). Even though the next letters differ, the very first sound is /s/. Hiss like a snake to make this sound — air passes through your teeth with no voice.

(b) Any correct word beginning with /s/: sun, sit, sock, sand, saw, seal, step, stump, skin, sky, sleep, slide, small, smell, smile, smoke, smooth, snake, snow, soap, soft, soil, some, song, soon, sorry, soup, sour, space, spade, speak, speed, spell, spend, spill, spin, spirit, spit, spoil, sport, spot, spray, spread, spring, spy, square, squeeze, squirrel, stable, stadium, staff, stage, stain, stairs, stall, stamp, stand, star, start, state, station, stay, steak, steal, steam, steel, steep, step, stick, stiff, still, sting, stir, stomach, stone, stop, store, storm, story, straight, strange, stream, street, strength, stretch, strict, strike, string, strong, student, study, stupid, style, subject, substance, succeed, success, such, sudden, suffer, sugar, suggest, suit, summer, sun, support, sure, surface, surprise, surround, survey, suspect, suspense, suspicion (1 mark)

Question 20 (2 marks)

(a) pen (1 mark)

• Teaching note: "Hen" (/hen/) and "pen" (/pen/) rhyme — they share the rime "-en" with the /e/ vowel sound. Look through the passage for words with this ending. Other rhymes would be "ten", "men", "den", "when".

(b) red and run (1 mark — both needed)

• Teaching note: The /r/ sound is made with your tongue curled back slightly. In the passage, "red" (/red/) and "run" (/rʌn/) both begin with this sound. "Draw" begins with /dr/ (a blend), "The" begins with /ð/, "Tim" with /t/, "has" with /h/, "big" with /b/, "can" with /k/, "hen" with /h/, "with" with /w/, and "says" with /s/. Only "red" and "run" start with /r/.

Summary of Marks

Common Errors to Watch For

This answer key accompanies a syllabus-aligned practice paper. It is not derived from official past-year examination papers.