Grades 1–5 · a map for parents

Spelling by Grade: What to Practice

The patterns each grade usually covers, and the sheet or game to reach for.

1st grade (ages 6–7)

Short a · Short e and i · Short o and u · sh, ch and th · Beginning blends · -ck, -ll, -ss · Silent e (a_e, i_e) · Tricky heart words

Example words: hat, red, dog, shop, frog, duck, make, said. Use the 1st grade lists and game, then a spelling test.

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2nd grade (ages 7–8)

Long a: ai and ay · Long e: ee and ea · Long o: oa and ow · Long i: igh and y · ar and or · er, ir and ur · Adding -ed and -ing · Compound words

Example words: tail, feet, coat, light, star, fern, played, rainbow. Use the 2nd grade lists and game, then a spelling test.

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3rd grade (ages 8–9)

ou and ow (as in cloud, cow) · oi and oy · Soft c and soft g · Plurals: -s, -es, -ies · Prefixes un-, re-, dis- · Suffixes -ful, -less, -ly, -ness · Homophones · Silent letters: kn, wr, mb

Example words: shout, point, circle, wishes, unlock, helpful, there, knife. Use the 3rd grade lists and game, then a spelling test.

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4th grade (ages 9–10)

-tion and -sion · Consonant + -le · Irregular past tense · Contractions · Double consonants in the middle · ie and ei · Tricky -ough and -augh · -ture and -ous

Example words: station, apple, brought, won't, happen, field, through, nature. Use the 4th grade lists and game, then a spelling test.

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5th grade (ages 10–11)

-able and -ible · -ance and -ence · Greek roots: graph, phon, tele, auto · Latin roots: port, rupt, struct, spect · Hidden vowels · Commonly misspelled words · -cian, -tian, -ssion · Silent letters, harder

Example words: valuable, distance, autograph, export, different, because, magician, castle. Use the 5th grade lists and game, then a spelling test.

Take the cove with you

The Spellcove app has everything you can play here, plus the parts that need a real app: every word read aloud so kids can practice alone, offline play for car rides, a parent view of which words have stuck, and the full treasure collection.

Coming soon on theApp Store