1st grade spelling words
A 1st grade spelling list is a year of short words grouped by pattern: short vowel words first, then blends, digraphs, silent e and the common vowel teams. This page prints all 36 weeks, ten words each, so the whole year is on one list.
Free printable PDF, 1st grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
The table below is the sheet as it prints with these options: By week.
| Week | Words |
|---|---|
| 1 | cat, hat, sat, man, can, pan, ran, mat, fan, van |
| 2 | cap, map, nap, tap, bag, rag, wag, cat, man, zap |
| 3 | get, let, net, wet, hen, pen, ten, cap, bag, jet |
| 4 | big, dig, pig, wig, fin, pin, win, get, hen, twig |
| 5 | dot, got, hot, not, hop, mop, top, big, pin, pot |
| 6 | bug, dug, hug, rug, fun, run, sun, hot, top, mug |
| 7 | bed, red, leg, lip, job, cup, bus, bug, run, yes |
| 8 | she, ship, shop, shut, fish, dish, wish, bed, cup, shell |
| 9 | chat, chin, chip, chop, much, rich, such, ship, fish, chick |
| 10 | the, that, them, then, this, with, math, chin, much, thin |
| 11 | when, which, whip, whiz, white, while, why, them, with, whale |
| 12 | black, clap, flag, glad, plan, slip, blob, when, why, club |
| 13 | brag, crab, drip, frog, grab, trip, drum, clap, flag, brick |
| 14 | skip, smell, snap, spin, stop, swim, spot, crab, grab, sled |
| 15 | and, hand, land, jump, lamp, fast, best, skip, stop, sand |
| 16 | stand, plant, swing, print, crisp, blast, grasp, jump, fast, scrub |
| 17 | all, ball, call, fall, tall, bell, tell, hand, best, wall |
| 18 | back, pack, kick, lick, rock, sock, duck, ball, bell, neck |
| 19 | off, puff, miss, kiss, will, doll, buzz, back, duck, hill |
| 20 | make, take, cake, late, gate, name, game, kick, will, cave |
| 21 | like, bike, ride, time, five, nine, kite, make, name, dime |
| 22 | home, bone, nose, rope, note, cube, cute, like, time, mule |
| 23 | gave, save, wave, line, mine, hope, rose, home, cute, tune |
| 24 | see, bee, free, tree, feet, seed, week, gave, line, green |
| 25 | eat, sea, tea, read, team, mean, leaf, see, tree, beach |
| 26 | rain, mail, tail, wait, day, play, say, eat, read, way |
| 27 | boat, coat, road, soap, low, row, snow, rain, play, grow |
| 28 | my, by, fly, try, sky, cry, dry, boat, snow, shy |
| 29 | car, far, jar, arm, art, barn, farm, fly, try, star |
| 30 | or, for, corn, fort, born, horn, short, car, farm, storm |
| 31 | her, fern, herd, over, under, after, water, corn, born, sister |
| 32 | too, zoo, moon, soon, food, book, look, her, after, room |
| 33 | going, doing, seeing, playing, eating, reading, jumping, moon, book, singing |
| 34 | cats, dogs, hats, pigs, hens, cups, bugs, going, playing, frogs |
| 35 | said, was, have, come, some, what, were, cats, dogs, does |
| 36 | little, funny, water, under, after, plant, green, said, have, yellow |
How the year is built
The lists follow the order most 1st grade phonics programmes use. The first weeks are three-letter short vowel words, one vowel at a time; then consonant blends and digraphs; then the silent e words that turn "cap" into "cape"; then the vowel teams, ai and ay, ee and ea, oa and ow. A few high-frequency words that do not follow a pattern are spread through the year so they are learned in small doses.
Ten words a week is the standard 1st grade load. The weekly worksheet page prints one week as a look, say, cover, write, check sheet; this page is the list itself, for the fridge or the front of the spelling folder.
Using the list at home
Read the week's ten words aloud on Monday and have the child sort them by the pattern they share, which is the point of the grouping. Dictate them on Wednesday and Friday. A child who spells the week's words correctly on Friday but not the following month has learned the test, not the pattern, so revisit a past week every so often by choosing it on the worksheet page.
Common questions
- Is this the list my child's school uses?
- Probably not word for word; every school and programme has its own. The patterns and the order are the common ones, so the lists line up with most 1st grade curricula week by week.
- How do I print one week's worksheet?
- The 1st grade spelling words worksheet page has a card for each week; press the week and the sheet prints with its answer key.