Kindergarten spelling words
A kindergarten spelling list is a year of short words: three-letter word families first, one short vowel at a time, then common sight words, sh, ch and th, and a few blends. This page prints all 36 weeks on one list.
Free printable PDF, Kindergarten.
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 | at, cat, hat, mat, sat, a |
| 2 | an, can, man, fan, pan, I |
| 3 | cap, map, nap, tap, lap, the |
| 4 | bag, tag, rag, dad, sad, see |
| 5 | am, ham, jam, yam, ram, we |
| 6 | cat, man, map, bag, jam, go |
| 7 | it, sit, hit, bit, fit, to |
| 8 | big, dig, pig, wig, fig, me |
| 9 | in, pin, fin, win, tin, my |
| 10 | dip, hip, lip, sip, zip, is |
| 11 | sit, pig, win, lip, six, and |
| 12 | hat, hit, pan, pin, bag, big |
| 13 | hot, pot, dot, not, got, he |
| 14 | hop, mop, top, dog, log, she |
| 15 | box, fox, hot, top, dog, no |
| 16 | get, wet, net, hen, ten, you |
| 17 | bed, red, fed, leg, beg, look |
| 18 | pen, jet, yes, bed, ten, was |
| 19 | bug, hug, mug, rug, jug, said |
| 20 | run, sun, fun, cut, nut, are |
| 21 | up, cup, pup, tub, cub, for |
| 22 | but, bus, mud, sun, hug, do |
| 23 | cat, pig, dog, bed, sun, like |
| 24 | come, here, play, have, they, want |
| 25 | ship, shop, shed, fish, dish, wish |
| 26 | chin, chip, chop, chat, much, rich |
| 27 | this, that, then, them, with, bath |
| 28 | what, where, there, out, saw, two |
| 29 | back, sack, duck, sock, kick, rock |
| 30 | flag, clap, sled, slip, plan, flip |
| 31 | stop, step, spin, snap, swim, skip |
| 32 | frog, crab, drum, trip, grin, trap |
| 33 | hand, sand, jump, bump, nest, best |
| 34 | bell, hill, will, doll, off, mess |
| 35 | the, said, was, you, they, what |
| 36 | map, win, box, wet, fun, ship |
How the year is built
The fall weeks are word families: -at, -an and -ap, then the short i, o, e and u families, with a review week after each vowel. Most of these weeks also carry one sight word, like the, see or said, that a child learns by sight rather than by sounding out. In the spring the lists move to sh, ch and th words, -ck words, and simple blends like stop, frog and flag.
Six words a week is enough for kindergarten. The weekly worksheet page prints one week as a look, say, cover, write and check sheet. This page is the whole list, for the fridge or the front of a folder.
Using the list at home
On Monday, read the week's words together and ask what they have in common. In a family week the answer is the ending, so spelling one word teaches the rest. Say each word slowly and let your child write a letter for each sound. Dictate the list again later in the week, and if a word is still hard, it will come back in a review week.
Common questions
- Do kindergartners have spelling words?
- Many classes start weekly words partway through the year, once children know most letter sounds. The lists here are short and start with three-letter words, so they work from the fall, but it is fine to begin at week 1 in January.
- How do I print one week's worksheet?
- The kindergarten spelling words worksheet page has a card for each week. Press the week and the sheet prints with its answer key.