How it works
The sight word went sounds out letter by letter, yet it shares no letter with go, whose past it is. This sheet has the child trace it, circle it among want, when, wet and were, and finish She ___ home.
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Easy to read, odd to learn
Went reads one sound to a letter: w, short e, n, t. What is odd is its job. Wiktionary gives went as the past of go, taken over long ago from another verb, wend. So a child who can spell go gets no help here, and the two are learned as a pair.
One vowel from want
Want and went differ in the second letter alone, and when has an h and no t. All three are in the find grid. The row went want went has the child say each vowel aloud before circling.
- Say a sentence with go and have the child say it again for yesterday, with went.
- Write went, rub out the e and write a: now it says want. Change it back.
- Dictate We go. We went. and check both periods.
Questions and answers
Can the sight word went be sounded out?
Yes. Each of the four letters says its usual sound, and the word rhymes with sent and tent. It is practiced by sight because it is mixed up with want and when, and because nothing in go hints at it.
Why does my student write goed or wint?
Goed follows the rule the child knows, adding e-d for the past. Went breaks that rule, so it has to be learned. Wint is spelled by ear: Wiktionary notes that some American accents say the e of went like a short i.
How do I teach went and want apart?
By the vowel. Went has the e of wet and ten. Want has an a that says the o of on. Put a finger on the second letter and say its sound before reading the word.