Change the numbers, layout and number of problems, then download a new PDF with its answer key.
These free 1st grade spelling words come in 6 weekly lists of 10 words, five short vowel lists and one list of sight words. Each list has its own practice packet with rainbow writing, ABC order, missing letters, word scrambles, word shapes, sentences, word pyramids and a practice test, with an answer key. Choose a list and print the PDF.
1st grade spelling words to print (PDF)
These four pages show what the generator prints for the 1st grade spelling words: a practice packet for the short a list, a missing letters page for the short e list, a word scramble for the short o list and a practice test for the sight word list. Click a picture for the PDF, or use the generator above to choose another list or type your own words.
Practice packetShort a, 15 pages.PDFMissing lettersShort e words.PDFWord scrambleShort o words.PDFPractice testSight words.PDF
The 6 lists of 1st grade spelling words
Each list has ten words built around one spelling pattern, so children learn the pattern and not just the words. This 1st grade spelling list shows all 60 of the 1st grade spelling words:
List
Pattern
The 10 words
Average letters
1
Short a
cat, map, bag, hat, can, sad, van, jam, fan, ran
3.0
2
Short e
bed, pen, red, ten, wet, leg, hen, net, jet, web
3.0
3
Short i
pig, sit, fin, win, lip, big, dig, kit, mix, hid
3.0
4
Short o
dog, hot, mop, top, box, log, pot, fox, job, rod
3.0
5
Short u
sun, cup, bug, rug, hut, fun, mud, bus, nut, tub
3.0
6
Sight words
the, and, was, said, you, have, they, what, come, some
3.6
The 1st grade spelling words are between 3 and 4 letters long. The average word has 3.1 letters, and this table shows how the lengths divide:
Letters in the word
Words (out of 60)
Share of all the words
3
54
90%
4
6
10%
1st grade spelling list: word families in the five short vowel lists
The short vowel lists are built from word families, which are words that share an ending. When a child learns that cat and hat rhyme and share the ending -at, spelling a new word such as mat gets easier. These are the families in the five lists:
Once a child can spell the words in a family, ask for more of them. “What else rhymes with pig?” is a good question for a car journey.
Sight words in the 1st grade spelling list
The sixth list is made of ten sight words, which are common words that cannot be sounded out well. They all come from the Dolch lists, five from pre-primer, four from primer and one from first grade. These are the ten words and the tricky part of each:
The “write sentences” page asks children to use each word in a sentence. Here are five model sentences that use the 1st grade spelling words from the short vowel lists, with the list words in bold:
short a: The fat cat sat on a map.
short e: The redhen sat in the wetnet.
short i: The pig can dig and the bigpig can sit.
short o: The dog sat on a log in the hot sun.
short u: The bug sat in the mud under a rug.
1st grade spelling worksheets: what is in each packet
The practice packet for one list has nine activities. It prints 10 pages, and 5 more pages with the answer keys, so 15 pages in all. Each activity trains a different part of spelling:
Activity
What the child does
Skill it builds
Rainbow write
Write each word in three colors, one on top of another
Letter formation and the look of the word
Look, say, cover, write, check
Look at the word, say it, cover it, write it from memory and check
Visual memory
ABC order
Put the words in alphabetical order
Alphabet skills and attention to first letters
Missing letters
Fill in the letters that are left out of each word
Attention to every letter
Word scramble
Unscramble the letters to make each word, with a word bank
Letter order
Word shape boxes
Write each word in the boxes that match its shape: tall, short and tail letters
Word shape and letter height
Write sentences
Write a sentence with each word
Meaning and use
Practice test
Listen and write the words, or copy them from a list the child reads
Recall under test conditions
Word pyramids
Build each word one letter at a time, from one letter to the whole word
Letter order and spelling aloud
You can print the whole packet, or just one activity, such as the practice test for a Friday quiz on the 1st grade spelling words. The answer keys cover the ABC order, missing letters, scramble, word shape and test pages.
Spelling practice 1st grade: a week with one list
Short daily sessions work better than a single long one. This plan uses two pages a day and takes about ten minutes:
Day
Worksheets
Time
Monday
Rainbow write and ABC order
10 minutes
Tuesday
Look, say, cover, write, check, and word shape boxes
10 minutes
Wednesday
Missing letters and word scramble
10 minutes
Thursday
Write sentences and word pyramids
10 to 15 minutes
Friday
Practice test, then check with the answer key
10 minutes
If you want to learn more about how spelling is taught, Wikipedia’s phonics article describes the method that links sounds to letters.
Weekly spelling words: how many and how fast?
Ten words a week is a common number for 1st grade spelling words, and it works well when the words share a pattern, because the child learns the pattern once and uses it ten times. If your school gives five or eight words, choose the first words of a list, or type your own list into the generator. Move on to the next list when the child scores 8 out of 10 or better on the practice test. This is how to read the test score:
Words right out of 10
Score
What to do next
10
100%
Move on to the next list
9
90%
Practice the missed word, then move on
8
80%
Many teachers count this as mastery; review the 2 words
7
70%
Repeat two of the activities with the whole list
6 or fewer
60% or less
Repeat the packet over another week
The Common Core asks first graders to use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words (L.1.2.D), and to spell untaught words phonetically (L.1.2.E). The five short vowel lists teach the patterns, and the sight word list covers the irregular words.
How to use the 1st grade spelling worksheets
Introduce the pattern first. Read the list of 1st grade spelling words aloud with the child, and ask what the words have in common.
Do the activities in order. The packet moves from copying to remembering, and then to using the words.
Use real words. Ask the child to find the 1st grade spelling words in a book, and to use two of them in a story.
Test on Friday. Read the words aloud, one at a time, and use each in a sentence. Check with the key.
Keep the missed words. Add them to next week’s practice.
Printing tip
Print at 100% or “Actual size” and turn off “Fit to page”, so every measurement on the sheet is exact. Choose Letter or A4 paper in the generator before you download the PDF.
Try two pages a day: Monday rainbow writing and ABC order, Tuesday look-say-cover-write-check, Wednesday missing letters and scrambles, Thursday sentences and pyramids, Friday the practice test.
Can I use our school spelling list instead?
Yes. Open the generator, type your own words and print the same activities. You can use up to 20 words.
How many spelling words should a 1st grade student learn each week?
Most classes use five to ten words a week. These lists have ten, and you can type a shorter list of your own.
Do the packets have answer keys?
Yes. The packet has answer key pages for the ABC order, missing letters, word scramble, word shape and test pages.
Are these 1st grade spelling words free?
Yes. They are free to print for home and classroom use, with no sign-up.
