Pretest and retest pairs — Year 2
Year group: 2
Source: DfE, English Appendix 1: Spelling (2013)
Purpose: Pretest/retest pairs for Y2 common exception words and spelling rules.
How to use pretest/retest
The evidence: A pretest-teach-retest cycle is one of the most effective learning routines in spelling research. Pupils who attempt a pretest before instruction show significantly better retention than those who only study and test.
(Source: Kornell, N. et al. (2009). Unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance subsequent learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.)
The routine:
- Monday pretest — pupils attempt all words without having studied them. Mark together immediately. Each pupil identifies their own errors.
- Tuesday–Thursday teaching — focus instruction on the specific patterns in the week's words.
- Friday retest — same words in a different order. Pupils compare Monday and Friday scores.
- The gap — words from this week reappear in a test 3 weeks later to check long-term retention.
Set 1: Y2 exception words — Group A
Focus: door, floor, poor, because, find, kind, mind, behind, child, children, wild, climb
Monday pretest:
door · floor · poor · because · find · kind · mind · behind · child · children · wild · climb
Friday retest:
climb · wild · children · child · behind · mind · kind · find · because · poor · floor · door
Set 2: Y2 exception words — Group B
Focus: most, only, both, old, cold, gold, hold, told, every, everybody, even, great, break, steak
Monday pretest:
most · only · both · old · cold · gold · hold · told · every · everybody · even · great · break · steak
Friday retest:
steak · break · great · even · everybody · every · told · hold · gold · cold · old · both · only · most
Set 3: Y2 exception words — Group C
Focus: pretty, beautiful, after, fast, last, past, father, class, grass, pass, plant, path, bath
Monday pretest:
pretty · beautiful · after · fast · last · past · father · class · grass · pass · plant · path · bath
Friday retest:
bath · path · plant · pass · grass · class · father · past · last · fast · after · beautiful · pretty
Set 4: Y2 exception words — Group D
Focus: hour, move, prove, improve, sure, sugar, eye, could, should, would, who, whole
Monday pretest:
hour · move · prove · improve · sure · sugar · eye · could · should · would · who · whole
Friday retest:
whole · who · would · should · could · eye · sugar · sure · improve · prove · move · hour
Set 5: Y2 exception words — Group E
Focus: any, many, clothes, busy, people, water, again, half, money, Mr, Mrs, parents, Christmas
Monday pretest:
any · many · clothes · busy · people · water · again · half · money · parents · Christmas
Friday retest:
Christmas · parents · money · half · again · water · people · busy · clothes · many · any
End-of-Year 2 check — full Y2 common exception words
Use at end of Year 2 to assess full statutory common exception words list.
Test words:
door · floor · poor · because · find · kind · mind · behind · child · children · 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 · money · Mr · Mrs · parents · Christmas
Rule pattern pretest/retest
Set R1: Soft c and g (ce, ci, cy, ge, gi, gy)
Monday pretest:
circle · city · cent · pencil · fancy · gentle · giant · gym · cage · rice · grace · giraffe
Friday retest:
giraffe · grace · rice · cage · gym · giant · gentle · fancy · pencil · cent · city · circle
Set R2: Adding suffixes — doubling, drop e, y → i
Monday pretest (pupils write the full word):
run + ing → ? · make + ing → ? · happy + ness → ? · begin + ing → ? · shine + ing → ? · carry + ed → ?
Friday retest:
carry + ed → ? · shine + ing → ? · begin + ing → ? · happy + ness → ? · make + ing → ? · run + ing → ?
Set R3: Homophones
Monday pretest (pupils write the correct spelling for the definition given):
- A location: t _ _ _ e (there)
- Belonging to them: t _ _ _ r (their)
- They are: t _ _ _ ' _ e (they're)
- In this place: h _ _ e (here)
- To listen: h _ _ r (hear)
- Not at school: h _ _ e (home / hole — dictate a sentence)
- The entire thing: w _ _ _ e (whole)
- The number after 1: t _ o (two)
Friday retest: Same definitions, different order.
Error analysis record
After each retest, note words that 3 or more pupils misspelled.
| Word | Common error written | Pattern to reteach | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
Long-gap retest (3 weeks after initial teaching)
Pick 8 words from any set taught 3 weeks ago. Test without warning.
(Source: Cepeda, N.J. et al. (2006). Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks. Psychological Bulletin.)
Source: DfE English Appendix 1: Spelling (2013). Pretest-retest methodology: Kornell et al. (2009); Cepeda et al. (2006). All word lists verified against statutory Appendix 1 document.