Year 3 · English · Literacy
Compound words
Reading and spelling words made by joining two smaller words, such as 'sunhat', 'backpack' and 'rainbow'.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to UK year groups by age (Year 1 is the year a child turns 6 in England). They are not mapped to the National Curriculum in England or the curricula of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, so check them against your own plans.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Recognise compound words as two smaller words joined together.
- Read compound words by finding the two smaller words inside them.
- Spell compound words by spelling each smaller word and joining them.
Success looks like
- I can find the two words in a compound word.
- I can join two words to make a compound word.
- I can use the two smaller words to work out what a compound word means.
The big idea
A compound word is made when two smaller words join together to make a new word. 'Sun' + 'hat' makes sunhat. 'Back' + 'pack' makes backpack. 'Rain' + 'bow' makes rainbow.
Compound words are great news for readers. When a long word looks hard, look for two smaller words you already know inside it. 'Toothbrush' looks long, but it is just 'tooth' and 'brush'.
They help spellers too. To spell a compound word, spell the first small word, then spell the second small word straight after it, with no space: foot + ball = football.
The two small words often give a clue to the meaning:
- A bedroom is a room with a bed.
- A cupcake is a cake the size of a cup.
- A toothbrush is a brush for your teeth.
Not every compound word means exactly what its parts say. A butterfly is not a fly made of butter! But most of the time the parts give a helpful clue. Also watch out for words that only look as if they contain two words. 'Carpet' has 'car' and 'pet' in it, but a carpet is not a pet car.
Worked examples
Reading a compound word
Read the word 'playground'.
- Look for a small word at the start: 'play'.
- Look at what is left: 'ground'.
- Read both parts together: 'playground'.
- Think about the meaning: ground where you play.
Answer: play + ground = playground, a place for playing.
Spelling a compound word
Spell 'snowman'.
- Say the word and split it: snow + man.
- Spell 'snow': s-n-o-w.
- Spell 'man': m-a-n.
- Join them with no space: snowman.
Answer: snowman
Is it a compound word?
Is 'rabbit' a compound word?
- Look for two real words that together make the meaning.
- 'rab' is not a word, so 'rabbit' cannot be split into two real words.
Answer: No. 'Rabbit' is not a compound word.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Which of these is a compound word?
rainbow — 'Rainbow' is made of 'rain' and 'bow'.
Which two words make 'toothbrush'?
tooth + brush — 'Tooth' and 'brush' join to make 'toothbrush'.
sun + flower = ?
sunflower — Spell 'sun', then 'flower', with no space: sunflower.
Which pair joins to make a real compound word?
cup + cake — 'Cup' + 'cake' makes 'cupcake'.
What is a 'bedroom'?
a room with a bed in it — The two parts give the clue: a room with a bed.
Join the words: foot + ball. Type the compound word.
football — foot + ball = football.
Join the words: back + pack. Type the compound word.
backpack — back + pack = backpack.
'Snowman' is made of 'snow' and which other word? Type it.
man — snow + man = snowman.
Watch out for
- Putting a space in the middle ('foot ball'). Compound words in this lesson are written as one word.
- Thinking any word containing two smaller words is a compound ('carpet' = car + pet). The two parts should help with the meaning.
- Thinking compound words are hard because they are long. Show your child how to cover one half to find the small word.
Tips for parents
- Go on a compound word hunt around the house: bedroom, toothbrush, cupboard, doorbell.
- Cover half the word with your finger to help your child find the first small word.
- Talk about funny compound words whose meaning is surprising, like 'butterfly' and 'pineapple'.
Go further
- Draw a 'compound word sum' picture, such as a picture of a sun + a picture of a hat = a picture of a sunhat.
- Invent new compound words (a 'shoecar' or a 'rainhat') and draw what they might be.
- Play memory with word halves: turn over two cards and keep them if they make a compound word.
About 25 minutes
You'll need
- Word cards cut in half: sun|hat, back|pack, rain|bow, foot|ball, tooth|brush, cup|cake, bed|room, snow|man
- Scissors and paper
- Coloured pencils
Key words
- compound word
- A word made by joining two smaller words, such as 'sun' + 'hat' = 'sunhat'.
- word part
- One of the smaller words inside a compound word.
- meaning
- What a word tells us about.
- syllable
- A beat in a word. Many compound words have one syllable for each small word.
Still tricky?
For parents
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