How it works
By ear, they comes out as thay. This they sight word worksheet has the child trace it, circle it among the, then, that and them, and finish ___ are my friends.
Read the full guide
An e-y that says a
They is two letter teams: t-h for the buzzing sound that starts "the" and "this", and e-y for the name of the letter a. Few words end that way. Wiktionary's rhyme list gives hey, prey and obey, against the long run of day, play and say. A child who writes thay has followed the odds. The better hook is the spelling itself: write "the", add a y.
Teach they with are and were
They stands in for two or more names, so it travels with are, were and have. "They is" and "they was" are the slips to listen for. Wiktionary traces they to Old Norse, borrowed in the 1200s after the older English word had grown too close to he.
- Write "the" on the board, then add a y in another color. Do the same for "them" and "then".
- Say "Sam and Mia can run", about two made-up children. Swap the names for They and write the new line.
- The y has the only tail. In a row of three theys, three tails should hang under the base line.
Questions and answers
Why does my student spell they as thay?
A-y is how that sound is usually written at the end of a word: day, play, say. They sits in a small e-y group with hey and obey. Write the gap row "the_ th_y t_ey" on the board. The second gap tempts an a.
How do I stop they being read as the or then?
Point to the ending. The, they, them and then all start t-h-e. Two rows in the full list near the bottom of this page drill this: "they the they then" and "them they that they". Write each on the board and ask for 2 circles.
Can the sight word they be sounded out?
Only by a child who knows two teams: th, and the rare e-y that says a. Most learn it whole, as "the" plus y. On the board, the row "th_y h_y ob_y" asks for the e three times. Only sentences can go on the sheet.