Class 1 is the last year in which a parent or teacher stays next to the child during the CREST Spell Bee (Summer), so the Spell Bee book for Class 1 is written to be used together. You can read its first chapter free on this page, then buy the whole workbook, either a colour PDF or a black and white printed book, through the Olympiad books page.
What is in the free first chapter?
The opening chapter, Spell-o-Spell, starts with four worked examples and then gives 160 practice questions. Some show four spellings of one word and ask for the right one; others mix four different words and ask which one is spelt wrongly. The examples explain the rule as well as the answer: tiger begins with an open syllable, the ai in snail is a vowel digraph, and the magic e at the end of nice makes the i say its long sound. Many of the words come straight off the Class 1 list, such as zebra, camel, turtle and eagle. One question puts color next to colour, a good moment to explain that CREST marks British spellings.
Chapters in the book:
Spell-o-Spell
Word Connection
Mingle-Mangle
Picture Speak
Word Cookie
Word Chain
Previous Year Paper
Answer Key
How does the book match the Class 1 paper?
The exam has 40 questions in 60 minutes, spread over the same six sections the chapters are named after. Word Cookie, where children catch a single wrong letter, is the biggest with 12 questions, so that chapter deserves a little extra time. The adult can tell your child what a question is asking, but the final choice must be your child's. Practise that way at home too: read the question aloud, then wait.
The last practice item is a previous year paper from CREST; the preface says to attempt it in one hour after the syllabus is complete. Answers for every chapter are at the back.
