Spelling Patterns to Be Learned at Specific Grade Levels*
SPELLING SKILL
EXAMPLE WORDS
Second graders are typically moving from the phonetic to the transitional level of spelling, so focus their learning on:
short vowel patterns
bat, hen, sit, mom, tub, mash
long vowel patterns
tape, pail, stay, deep, lean, bike, fry, hope, coat, snow, bone
consonant blends (two letter)
plurals formed by adding s and es
ed and ing endings
compound words
treat, bland, brown, spy, frost
hips, hikes, passes
stayed, stopped, hunted, taking, playing, biking, running
outside, basketball, snowshoe
Third graders are typically at the transitional level of spelling and moving into the conventional level, so focus their learning on:
short vowel patterns
long vowel patterns (straightforward and unusual)
vowel combinations (diphthongs)
r-controlled vowels
consonant blends (three letter)
hard and soft consonant sounds (g/j and c/s)
tramp, stock, shop, zest
rain, pony, bow, tight, grew, mule
straw, walk, soil
bird, pear, mare, dear
scrape, itch, street, three
garage, circle
plurals formed by adding s and es
begs, pages, pushes, torches
contractions and compound words
isn’t, aren’t, football, grandfather
prefixes
uneasy, preheat, reuse
Fourth graders are continuing to move from the transitional level of spelling to the conventional level, so focus their learning on:
long vowels (unusual combinations)
news, troop
contractions (unusual combinations)
o’clock, won’t, can’t
compound words (tricky)
special combinations (squ, dge, tch, en, in)
possessives and plural possessives
word endings (-er, -or, -le)
suffixes (-ness, -ment, -ful)
homographs (same spelling for different words)
homophones (same sound, different spellings)
changing y to i
everyday, alright, t-shirt
squeak, edge, kitchen, pumpkin
sister’s, boys’
brother, traitor, battle,
happiness, movement, colorful
present the award/birthday present
there/their, here/hear
families, hungriest
SPELLING SKILL
EXAMPLE WORDS
Fifth graders are typically at the conventional stage of spelling, so focus their learning on:
vowel combinations such as silent e, ei, and ie
possessives and plurals, changing y to i
compound words
unexpected spellings
commonly misspelled words
prefixes (bi-, tri-, ir-, mid-)
suffixes (-ist, -ous, -er)
words with parts (pre-, per-, -cian, -tion)
words from other languages
easily confused words
breathe, sleigh, chief
children’s, fairies
twenty-five, post office, misspelling
passion, fashion
sentence, Christmas, thought
irregular, triangle, bicycle, midstream
dentist, industrious, teacher
prepare, direction, perform, musician
inferno, glitch, pronto, rodeo
broccoli, vacuum, business
Sixth graders are typically at the conventional stage of spelling, so focus their learning on:
complex prefixes and suffixes (ac, ad, ance, ence)
root words (port, tract)
accompany, adversary, avoidance, presence
transport, contract
words from other languages
enchilada, moustache, armadillo
commonly misspelled words
grammar, knowledgeable
*This list begins at second grade, because this is the age recommended for beginning formal spelling instruction. Most children have
had a variety of experiences with hearing sounds and seeing orthographic patterns by this point.
Adapted from Gentry, J. R. (1997). My kid can’t spell! Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.