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. 

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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! 

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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. 

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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. 

  1. 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.

  1. 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!

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.