First grade spelling words are an important foundation for students as they advance in their reading and writing skills. Whether you are a teacher, caregiver, or parent, there are many fun and effective ways to teach spelling words to grade 1 students.
Table of Contents
- What Words Should First Graders Be Able To Spell?
- Best 1st Grade Spelling Activities & Resources
- What Vocabulary Words Should 1st Graders Know?
- Check Out These Additional 1st Grade Resources
What Words Should First Graders Be Able To Spell?
Some spelling words can be challenging for younger students, so spending enough classroom time on these is important.
In first grade, students are primarily focusing on spelling sight words. To practice spelling in the class, you can play fun activities where children can work together in teams to spell the objects around them.
52 Primer Dolch Words Students Learn To Spell In First Grade
he
was
that
she
on
they
but
this
will
yes
went
are
now
no
came
ride
into
good
at
with
all
there
out
be
have
want
too
pretty
four
saw
well
ran
brown
eat
who
new
am
do
did
what
so
get
like
must
black
white
soon
our
ate
say
under
please
50 Important Spelling Words for 1st Graders
- after
- again
- any
- ask
- could
- every
- fly
- from
- give
- going
- had
- has
- her
- him
- his
- how
- just
- know
- let
- live
- may
- once
- open
- over
- round
- some
- stop
- take
- thank
- think
- walk
- were
- when
- plan
- brag
- land
- sand
- band
- hand
- sled
- pet
- jet
- smell
- nest
- rest
- hill
- spill
- job
- fog
- club
- hug
- shark
- moon
- sheep
- wing
Since we know students need lots of practice when learning how to spell new words, it’s important to have worksheets and other fun spelling activities on hand to support your lessons. In partnership with Teach Simple, whose marketplace is full of educational materials created by actual teachers (plus 50% of all revenues go to them), I’ve put together some of these resources you can use to give students some extra help. Have a look!
Best 1st Grade Spelling Activities & Resources
Whether you are working with children doing center work or station work, for morning work or homework for your class, or if you set your students up in groups or in partners, you can implement these activities to boost learning and fun!
- Learn To Read and Spell Sight Words By Teach Me This
This digital bundle includes 6 different activities to teach the sight words for this lesson, such as writing the words, letter tiles, typing the words, matching the words, close reading, and sentences.
- Spelling Short Vowel Words CVC Words Activity By Have Fun Teaching
This short vowel words activity is for CVC words and has lots of bright colors and fun images to engage students’ attention. Vowels and consonants are on different color cards to help students learn the difference too.
- Words Ending In -ge / -dge Worksheets By Inspire And Educate By Krazikas
This resource includes a set of 15 differentiated worksheets about words ending in “-ge” or “-dge.” Tasks include inserting the correct -ge /-dge word into sentences, anagrams, spelling worksheets, using ge/dge words in sentences, word searches, and sorting words into categories.
- Word Wall Words By First In Line
This resource is a set of words to accompany your word wall. It will introduce six new words each week for children to read and spell correctly. At the end of first grade, students will be able to spell over 200 words! It includes 1 PDF with 40 ready-to-print pages.
- Printable Rhyming Activities: Puzzles And Go Fish By Kindergarten Cafe
This is an 11-page resource that comes with 2 rhyming activities. Students will complete matching puzzles and play Go FIsh to learn the spelling patterns in rhyming words.
- Endings, Spelling, Contractions, Synonyms, And Compounds Printable Workbook By Twin Sisters Digital Media
There’s a worksheet to cover all types of words and spellings in this printable workbook. From “-ed” endings to compound words and contractions, students will begin to understand different forms of words and increase their spelling knowledge at the same time.
- Sight Word Unscramble And Match By Sunshine And Lollipops
This fun scramble sight-word activity will make working with sight words a bit more fun and will take a little more brain power to find and match the words. It contains 24 worksheets using the first 100 most commonly used words, directions, samples, a cover to make a booklet, and added CVC and color words in 1 PDF file.
- Spelling Sorts To Reinforce Spelling Patterns By Sunshine and Lollipops
Give your students sorts that are aligned with Common Core Reading Foundational Standards and that cover many of the literacy standards in this strand for grades 1-3, but can be differentiated for different spellers and their levels.
There are over 60 pages of spelling sorts focused on CVC and CVCe, beginning digraphs “ch” and “sh,” ending digraphs, long vowel patterns, diphthongs, sounds of y, silent letters kn, gn, ph, wr, soft and hard c, soft and hard g, and more.
- Color Words Interactive Foldable Booklet By Knowledge Box Central
This fun booklet will help students recognize colors and their written words, and it will help teach them the spelling of the basic primary colors. It will also test their memory of each color and its color word. This 10 page ebook is a downloadable PDF file. Just follow the instructions, cut, fold, glue, and create!
What Vocabulary Words Should 1st Graders Know?
While students are busy studying spelling words for grade 1, there will also be a number of words that they know but can’t spell. Students constantly acquire news words through reading and listening. That’s why first grade spelling words and vocabulary words are a bit different.
Here is a short sample list of the kinds vocab words for 1st graders should know by the end of the year:
- prefer
- comfortable
- problem
- calm
- consequences
- instead
- proud
- curve
- decide
- leader
- discover
- repeat
- rhyme
- searching
- fascinating
- gigantic
- positive
When you compare these lists, you can see that vocab words are a bit more complex, use plural forms or different word tenses, and have more syllables. The more students practice the four pillars of vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, the more comfortable they will be with these words—adding them to their list of 1st grade spelling words one day!
Check Out These Additional 1st Grade Resources
About the Auther
Jen Skolsky has a background in English, Psychology, and Creative Writing. She has taught for many years in international education, including ESL for all ages, middle school literature, speech and debate; high school AP Psychology, AP Language, AP Literature; university level Academic Writing, and Chinese Medicine Theory. She now works in marketing and book publishing.
