# Year 1 Spelling Words: 100 Words by Spelling Pattern > Year 1 spelling words grouped by pattern: blends, digraphs, silent e, -ed and -ing families, high-frequency words, matched to the Australian Curriculum. ## Year 1 spelling words, grouped by pattern There is no official Year 1 spelling list in Australia. The Australian Curriculum describes what Year 1 students learn about spelling, and schools choose the words. These 100 words fit the Year 1 patterns: consonant blends at the start and end of words, digraphs like sh, ch, th and ck, long vowels with a silent e, word families built with -s, -ed and -ing, and the high-frequency words Year 1 writers use every day. In Year 1, spelling and phonics are the same lesson. Students spell by saying a word slowly, hearing each sound and writing the letters for it. The groups below follow that order, from sounds students can hear easily to the words that need a little memory too. **[Make a printable Year 1 spelling list →](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=1)** Tick the patterns you want, add your own words, and print a practice sheet or a list to send home. ## Year 1 Spelling Resources by Australian Teachers _(Dynamic listing feed — browse at the page URL for live results.)_ ## What Year 1 Spelling Covers in the Australian Curriculum In the [Australian Curriculum (version 9) for Year 1 English](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/english/year-1), spelling sits in the Literacy strand under Phonic and word knowledge. In plain words, Year 1 students learn: - to use short vowels, common long vowels, consonant blends and digraphs to write words like man, time, wish and rest - to spell one- and two-syllable words with common letter patterns - to read and write an increasing number of high-frequency words, like one, have and pretty - to build word families from common word parts: play, plays, playing, played The content descriptions behind this page, in plain words (the curriculum link above has the exact wording): - **AC9E1LY11**: use short vowels, common long vowels, consonant blends and digraphs to write words - **AC9E1LY13**: spell one- and two-syllable words with common letter patterns - **AC9E1LY14**: read and write an increasing number of high-frequency words - **AC9E1LY15**: use grammatical morphemes to build word families (play, plays, playing, played) Year 1 students also learn that a letter can make more than one sound, and that every syllable has a vowel sound. Both help when they spell two-syllable words like rabbit and picnic one syllable at a time. ## 100 Year 1 Spelling Words by Pattern Each group starts with its rule in one line, then the words. Teach the sound and its spelling first, then practise the words. ### Blends at the start (12 words) Two consonants, two sounds, said quickly together: s-t-o-p. stop, step, swim, frog, drum, clap, flag, plan, slip, grab, trip, snap ### Blends at the end (10 words) Listen for both sounds at the end: be-s-t, ha-n-d. best, rest, fist, hand, sand, jump, lamp, milk, tent, belt ### sh, ch, th, wh, ng and ck (14 words) Two letters that make one sound. ck comes straight after a short vowel. shed, shut, wish, chat, chop, lunch, thin, moth, when, which, ring, sing, kick, neck ### Long vowels with a silent e (14 words) The e on the end is silent and makes the vowel say its name: cap, cape. cake, make, game, name, time, bike, hide, five, home, bone, rope, note, cute, tube ### Long e with ee, long a with ay (8 words) ee is a common spelling of long e inside a short word. ay usually comes at the end. tree, feet, sleep, green, play, day, way, stay ### Word families with -s, -ed and -ing (12 words) Keep the base word and add the ending. -ed can sound like t (jumped) but is still spelt ed. plays, played, playing, jumps, jumped, jumping, helps, helped, helping, looks, looked, looking ### Two-syllable words (8 words) Clap the word, then spell one syllable at a time: rab-bit. rabbit, picnic, sunset, insect, kitten, muffin, pocket, chicken ### High-frequency words (22 words) Most of each word is regular. Find the tricky part (the o in come, the ere in were) and practise that. one, have, they, were, there, what, come, some, put, pull, full, who, your, little, pretty, very, saw, here, of, two, once, want **[Turn these words into a printable list →](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=1)** ## Digraph and Blend Activities for Year 1 _(Dynamic listing feed — browse at the page URL for live results.)_ ## How to Run a Weekly Year 1 Spelling List A Year 1 list should be short and follow the phonics you are teaching that week. This is the routine I would use: 1. **Start with sounds.** Say a word, and have students tap or count its sounds on their fingers before they write anything. Frog has four sounds: f-r-o-g. 2. **Pick 5 to 8 words** that share the week's pattern, plus one or two high-frequency words. 3. **Practise daily.** Say the word, say each sound as you write its letter, then read it back. Once students are confident, a simple look, say, cover, write, check sheet works well. 4. **Dictate a sentence.** At the end of the week, read a short sentence that uses the week's words and have students write it. It shows whether they can spell the words in real writing, not just in a list. Send the list home with a note to practise saying the sounds, not spelling the letter names. The [spelling list maker](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=1) prints a plain list for home. For decodable books that practise the same sounds, see [decodable readers](/teacher-guides/decodable-readers), and for games, [phonics activities](/teacher-guides/phonics-activities). ## Spelling Words for Other Year Levels Use Foundation words for students still learning single letter sounds, and Year 2 for students ready for vowel teams. - [Foundation spelling words](/teacher-guides/foundation-spelling-words) - [Year 2 spelling words](/teacher-guides/year-2-spelling-words) - [Year 3 spelling words](/teacher-guides/year-3-spelling-words) - [Year 4 spelling words](/teacher-guides/year-4-spelling-words) - [Year 5 spelling words](/teacher-guides/year-5-spelling-words) - [Year 6 spelling words](/teacher-guides/year-6-spelling-words) Or start at the [spelling words by year](/teacher-guides/spelling-words-by-year) guide. For high-frequency word lists such as the [Oxford Wordlist](https://www.oup.com.au/primary/oxford-wordlist), see the [sight words list](/teacher-guides/sight-words-list) guide. ## Year 1 Spelling Words: Frequently Asked Questions ### Is there an official Year 1 spelling list in Australia? No. The Australian Curriculum describes the spelling knowledge Year 1 students should learn, such as blends, digraphs, common long vowels and high-frequency words, but it does not list words. The 100 words on this page fit those Year 1 patterns. ### How many spelling words should a Year 1 student learn each week? Many Year 1 teachers use 5 to 8 words a week that share one phonics pattern, plus one or two high-frequency words. Short lists that match what is being taught in phonics work better than long ones. ### What is the difference between a blend and a digraph? In a blend, you can hear each letter: s-t in stop is two sounds said quickly. In a digraph, two letters make one new sound: sh in ship is one sound. Year 1 students learn to spell both. ### Should Year 1 students learn spelling words by heart? Mostly no. Year 1 words should be spelt by hearing the sounds and writing the letters for them. Only the irregular part of a high-frequency word, such as the o in come, needs to be learnt by heart. ### How do I make a printable Year 1 spelling list? Open the [free spelling list maker](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=1), tick the patterns or words you want, add your own words and press Print. You get a practice sheet or a plain word list on A4. ### Where can I find free Year 1 spelling resources? Australian teachers share free spelling and phonics resources on TeachBuySell. [Browse free spelling resources](/s?keywords=spelling&price=0%2C0) and filter by Year 1. --- Source: https://teachbuysell.com.au/teacher-guides/year-1-spelling-words Marketplace: https://teachbuysell.com.au