Ways to use this list
- Classroom spelling bee: the teacher spins with the screen turned away, reads the word, uses it in a sentence, and the speller has 30 seconds.
- Quick test at home: press your child's grade, spin ten words and write them in a notebook; any word spelt wrong goes on next week's list.
- Board relay: two teams line up at the board and each player writes one letter of the spun word in turn; the first team to finish it correctly wins.
- Look, say, cover, write, check: spin a word, look at it, say it, cover the screen, write it from memory, then uncover it and check.
- Tricky word talk for older pupils: press Spelling bee and discuss why words like silhouette or questionnaire catch people out.
Press Pull the lever, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a wheel, duck race, hat and more.
The full list (120 entries)
- and – grade 1
- can – grade 1
- dog – grade 1
- fish – grade 1
- frog – grade 1
- hat – grade 1
- jump – grade 1
- milk – grade 1
- nest – grade 1
- play – grade 1
- red – grade 1
- see – grade 1
- ship – grade 1
- stop – grade 1
- sun – grade 1
- ten – grade 1
- then – grade 1
- this – grade 1
- went – grade 1
- with – grade 1
- again – grade 2
- animal – grade 2
- because – grade 2
- before – grade 2
- cake – grade 2
- could – grade 2
- every – grade 2
- light – grade 2
- little – grade 2
- night – grade 2
- other – grade 2
- people – grade 2
- rain – grade 2
- school – grade 2
- sleep – grade 2
- snow – grade 2
- three – grade 2
- under – grade 2
- water – grade 2
- where – grade 2
- answer – grade 3
- believe – grade 3
- bought – grade 3
- caught – grade 3
- different – grade 3
- enough – grade 3
- friend – grade 3
- guess – grade 3
- heard – grade 3
- laugh – grade 3
- minute – grade 3
- often – grade 3
- piece – grade 3
- really – grade 3
- sentence – grade 3
- special – grade 3
- surprise – grade 3
- through – grade 3
- until – grade 3
- Wednesday – grade 3
- already – grade 4
- beautiful – grade 4
- breathe – grade 4
- certain – grade 4
- describe – grade 4
- during – grade 4
- finally – grade 4
- imagine – grade 4
- island – grade 4
- knowledge – grade 4
- library – grade 4
- measure – grade 4
- ocean – grade 4
- probably – grade 4
- quiet – grade 4
- receive – grade 4
- science – grade 4
- straight – grade 4
- thought – grade 4
- whether – grade 4
- accident – grade 5
- achieve – grade 5
- ceiling – grade 5
- definitely – grade 5
- disappear – grade 5
- especially – grade 5
- experience – grade 5
- foreign – grade 5
- immediately – grade 5
- interrupt – grade 5
- necessary – grade 5
- occasion – grade 5
- opposite – grade 5
- parallel – grade 5
- recommend – grade 5
- rhythm – grade 5
- schedule – grade 5
- separate – grade 5
- temperature – grade 5
- vegetable – grade 5
- accommodate – spelling bee
- bouquet – spelling bee
- camouflage – spelling bee
- chrysanthemum – spelling bee
- conscientious – spelling bee
- embarrass – spelling bee
- fluorescent – spelling bee
- handkerchief – spelling bee
- liaison – spelling bee
- millennium – spelling bee
- mischievous – spelling bee
- occurrence – spelling bee
- onomatopoeia – spelling bee
- pharaoh – spelling bee
- playwright – spelling bee
- privilege – spelling bee
- questionnaire – spelling bee
- silhouette – spelling bee
- unnecessary – spelling bee
- xylophone – spelling bee
Questions people ask
Where do the spelling grade levels come from?
There is no single official list, so these are typical of what US schools teach in each grade, from short phonics words in grade 1 to tricky everyday words in grade 5. Grade 1 is roughly Year 2 in England; paste your school's own list if it differs.
Are these words spelled the same in British and American English?
Yes. Words with two spellings, like colour and color, were left out on purpose, so every word here is correct on both sides of the Atlantic.
How do I run a fair spelling bee with it?
Put the spellers' names on the classroom picker to choose who goes next, and spin this list for each word. With Remove the winner on, no word is used twice in the same round.
What makes the spelling bee words so hard?
Most break the usual patterns: silent letters (handkerchief, playwright), doubled letters (accommodate, millennium), or spellings borrowed from French and Greek (silhouette, onomatopoeia). Knowing where a word comes from is the best clue.