Skip to main content
Model Teaching
Courses

Spelling patterns by grade

70 spelling patterns, ranked in teaching order from easiest (1) to hardest (70). Each has its word list, a practice test and a printable test packet.

Grade 1

Patterns 1 to 18

  1. 1Short a (CVC)A single a between two consonants usually says /a/ as in cat.
  2. 2Short i (CVC)A single i between two consonants usually says /i/ as in pig.
  3. 3Short o (CVC)A single o between two consonants usually says /o/ as in hot.
  4. 4Short u (CVC)A single u between two consonants usually says /u/ as in sun.
  5. 5Short e (CVC)A single e between two consonants usually says /e/ as in bed.
  6. 6Digraph shs and h together make one sound: /sh/.
  7. 7Digraph chc and h together make one sound: /ch/.
  8. 8Digraph tht and h together make /th/, as in thin or this.
  9. 9Digraph whw and h together at the start of a word say /w/.
  10. 10Ending -ckAfter a short vowel, /k/ at the end of a one-syllable word is spelled ck.
  11. 11Beginning blendsTwo consonants at the start, each keeping its own sound: st, bl, tr.
  12. 12Ending blendsTwo consonants at the end, each keeping its own sound: nd, st, mp.
  13. 13-ng and -nkThese endings go together, so say each one as a whole: ang, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, unk.
  14. 14Double f, l, s, zAfter a short vowel, f, l, s, and z at the end of a one-syllable word are usually doubled.
  15. 15Silent e (a_e)A silent e at the end makes the a say its long sound, as in cake.
  16. 16Silent e (i_e)A silent e at the end makes the i say its name, as in bike.
  17. 17Silent e (o_e)A silent e at the end makes the o say its name, as in home.
  18. 18Silent e (u_e)A silent e at the end makes the u say its long sound: /yoo/ or /oo/, as in cute or rule.

Grade 2

Patterns 19 to 41

  1. 19Long a (ai)ai spells long a, usually in the middle of a word.
  2. 20Long a (ay)ay spells long a, usually at the end of a word.
  3. 21Long e (ee)ee spells long e.
  4. 22Long e (ea)ea often spells long e.
  5. 23Long o (oa)oa spells long o, usually in the middle of a word.
  6. 24Long o (ow)ow can spell long o, as in snow, often at the end of a word. A different ow says /ow/ as in cow.
  7. 25Long i (igh)igh spells long i; the g and h are silent.
  8. 26Long i (y)At the end of a one-syllable word, y often spells long i.
  9. 27Long e (y, as in happy)At the end of a two-syllable word, y usually spells long e.
  10. 28r-controlled arar says /ar/ as in car.
  11. 29r-controlled oror says /or/ as in corn.
  12. 30r-controlled er, ir, urer, ir, and ur all spell the same sound, as in her, bird, and fur.
  13. 31oo as in moonoo can say the long /oo/ sound, as in moon.
  14. 32oo as in bookoo can say the short /oo/ sound, as in book.
  15. 33ou and ow (out, cow)ou and ow can both spell /ow/, as in out and cow.
  16. 34oi and oyoi (in the middle) and oy (at the end) spell /oy/.
  17. 35aw and auaw and au spell the /aw/ sound, as in saw and haul.
  18. 36Soft cc followed by e, i, or y usually says /s/, as in city and race.
  19. 37Soft gg followed by e, i, or y often says /j/.
  20. 38Ending -tchAfter a short vowel, /ch/ at the end is usually spelled tch, as in match. A few words are exceptions: much, such, which, rich.
  21. 39Ending -dgeAfter a short vowel, /j/ at the end is usually spelled dge.
  22. 40Silent k and w (kn, wr)In kn the k is silent; in wr the w is silent.
  23. 41Adding -esAdd -es to words ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh. You can hear an extra beat: fox-es, lunch-es, kiss-es.

Grade 3

Patterns 42 to 54

  1. 42Doubling ruleFor a one-syllable word with a short vowel and one ending consonant, double the consonant before adding -ing, -ed, or -er, as in hop and hopping.
  2. 43Drop the silent eDrop the silent e before adding -ing or -ed, as in bake and baking, or hope and hoped.
  3. 44Change y to iIf a word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i before adding -es or -ed: cry, cries, cried.
  4. 45Two closed syllables (VC/CV)Split between two consonants; each syllable has a short vowel: rab-bit, nap-kin.
  5. 46Open syllable (V/CV)A syllable ending in a vowel usually has a long vowel: pa-per, ti-ger.
  6. 47Consonant + leA final syllable can be a consonant + le, as in ta-ble and can-dle.
  7. 48Compound wordsTwo smaller words joined into one; spell each part.
  8. 49ContractionsAn apostrophe takes the place of missing letters.
  9. 50air, are, ear (bear)This sound can be spelled three ways, as in chair, care, and bear.
  10. 51ew and ueew and ue can spell the /oo/ sound or the /yoo/ sound, as in new, blue, few and value.
  11. 52ph says /f/p and h together can say /f/.
  12. 53Prefixes un-, re-, dis-A prefix goes in front of a base word and changes its meaning: un- means not, re- means again, dis- means the opposite of.
  13. 54Suffixes -ful, -less, -ly, -nessA suffix goes at the end of a base word, and the base often stays the same. The ending -ful has only one l, as in careful and useful.

Grade 4

Patterns 55 to 63

  1. 55-tionThe ending /shun/ is most often spelled -tion.
  2. 56-sion-sion can spell /shun/ or /zhun/, as in mission and vision.
  3. 57-tureThe ending /cher/ is usually spelled -ture.
  4. 58-or and -ar endingsAn unstressed /er/ ending can be spelled -or or -ar, as in doctor and dollar.
  5. 59ie and eii before e, except after c, or when it says /ay/ as in neighbor and weigh. A few words break the rule and must be learned, as in either, neither and seize.
  6. 60Silent letters (mb, gn)In mb the b is silent; in gn the g is silent.
  7. 61ch says /k/In some words from Greek, ch says /k/, as in school and chorus.
  8. 62-ous-ous at the end of a word means full of.
  9. 63-al endingAn unstressed /ul/ ending can be spelled -al, as in animal and final.

Grade 5

Patterns 64 to 70

  1. 64-able and -ible-able is added to many whole base words; -ible usually follows a word part.
  2. 65-ance/-ant and -ence/-entThese endings sound alike; the spelling must be learned with each word.
  3. 66-ive-ive often turns a word into a describing word, as in active and creative.
  4. 67-ageUnstressed -age says /ij/, as in village and message.
  5. 68-cial and -tial-cial and -tial both say /shul/, as in special and partial.
  6. 69-sure (measure)-sure can say /zher/ as in measure or /sher/ as in pressure.
  7. 70y as short i (gym, myth)In some words from Greek, y in the middle says short i, as in gym and myth.

Word list uses the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (Carnegie Mellon University). View full license