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Word Patterns (Categories, Odd One Out)

Look closely at words and spot patterns in how they are built. Sort them into groups and choose which one is the odd one out.

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Fascinating Fact:

Word patterns by ending help too: singing, jumping, reading match; sleep is the odd one out.

In KS1 English, children learn to group words by how they look and sound. They spot patterns such as endings, sort words into categories, and find the odd one out in each set.

Key Terms

Word pattern: A helpful rule about how words look or sound, such as words that all end with -ing.
Category: A group of words that share something in common, like all being animals or all ending the same way.
Odd one out: The word that does not fit the pattern or category used for the other words.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are word patterns in KS1 English?

In KS1 English, word patterns are simple rules children spot in words, such as the same ending, beginning sound or spelling chunk, which helps them read and spell new words.

How do you find the odd one out in a group of words?

To find the odd one out, children first look for what most of the words share, such as the same ending or meaning, and then choose the word that does not match that pattern.

Why are word categories and odd one out games useful in KS1?

Word categories and odd one out games help KS1 children notice patterns, grow their vocabulary, and think carefully about how words are alike or different when they read and write.

Try These Related Quizzes

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1 .

'Mice, monkeys, marmalade.' Which answer can join this group?

apes

matches

squirrels

sloths

The pattern between the words is that they all begin with 'm'. If they didn't all begin with 'm', then the other three answers could go in a category for animals that climb trees.

2 .

'Red, yellow, pink, blue.' Which answer could join this group?

dog

purple

house

chair

These are all colours. We could organise colours further, by writing just the prime colours: red, blue and yellow.

3 .

'Shark, whale, salmon.' Which answer can join this group?

donkeys

tortoise

snails

jellyfish

This is a group of sea creatures. Tortoises are different to turtles because tortoises live on land whereas turtles spend most of their life in the sea.

4 .

'Octopus, octagonal, spiders.' Which word could join this group?

October

worm

octave

fly

If the word 'spider' wasn't in the list, we could say it was words beginning with 'oct'. However, it is a group made of words that involve the number 8. Octopuses have 8 legs, octagons have 8 sides, spiders have 8 legs and an octave is a series of 8 musical notes.

5 .

'Angry, furious, annoyed.' Which answer can join this group?

happy

displeased

friendly

fast

This group shows words that mean the same thing, they are synonyms. Each word tells us that the character is an angry person.

6 .

'Slippery, shower, soap.' Which word could join this group?

conditioner

shampoo

water

clean

These are all words to do with having a shower but the words in the question have another pattern: they all begin with the letter 's'.

7 .

'Egypt, Italy, England.' Which answer can join this group?

London

Paris

Madrid

Spain

This is a group of countries. The other answers are all capital cities; London is the capital of England, Paris is the capital of France and Madrid is the capital of Spain.

8 .

'Cabbage, broccoli, carrots.' Which word can join this group?

potatoes

apples

plums

grapes

These are all vegetables. The other answers could be grouped as fruits. Or all of these answers can be in a group called food.

9 .

'Amazon, banana, China.' Which word belongs in this group?

carrots

crown

donkey

red

These words are in alphabetical order. The first letter of each word starts with A, then B, then C, then D etc.

10 .

'Pigs, cows, sheep.' Which answer could join this list?

sharks

ants

chickens

birds

These are all farmyard animals. Naturally there will be ants and birds in a farm but they aren't considered as animals that are kept purely in a farm as they are everywhere and are free to leave.

Author: Finola Waller (MEd, Primary School Teacher & KS1 English Quiz Writer)