# Year 2 Spelling Words: 100 Words by Spelling Pattern > Year 2 spelling words grouped by pattern: vowel teams, silent letters, compound words, prefixes and tricky words, matched to the Australian Curriculum. ## Year 2 spelling words, grouped by pattern There is no official Year 2 spelling list in Australia. The Australian Curriculum describes what Year 2 students learn about spelling, and schools choose the words. These 100 words fit the Year 2 patterns: vowel patterns like ai, ee and igh, three-letter clusters, silent letters, compound words, the first prefixes and suffixes, and the common words that do not spell the way they sound. Year 2 is where students learn that one sound can be spelt several ways. Long a can be ai or ay, long e can be ee or ea. Grouping words by the spelling, not just the sound, is what lets students choose the right one. **[Make a printable Year 2 spelling list →](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=2)** Tick the patterns you want, add your own words, and print a look, say, cover, write, check sheet or a list to send home. ## Year 2 Spelling Resources by Australian Teachers _(Dynamic listing feed — browse at the page URL for live results.)_ ## What Year 2 Spelling Covers in the Australian Curriculum In the [Australian Curriculum (version 9) for Year 2 English](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/english/year-2), spelling sits in the Literacy strand under Phonic and word knowledge. In plain words, Year 2 students learn: - vowel digraphs (ee, oo, ai, ay, ea) and less common long vowel patterns like igh - consonant clusters, silent letters (knife, thumb) and compound words - to use spelling patterns and word parts for words that are not spelt the way they sound, including high-frequency words like once and because - to build word families with prefixes and suffixes: friend, friendly, friendship The content descriptions behind this page, in plain words (the curriculum link above has the exact wording): - **AC9E2LY10**: vowel digraphs, less common long vowel patterns, consonant clusters, silent letters and compound words - **AC9E2LY11**: spelling patterns and morphemes for words that are not predictable from their sounds, including high-frequency words - **AC9E2LY12**: build word families using prefixes and suffixes Phonics is still the engine in Year 2, but meaning starts to help. A student who can spell friend can spell friendly and friendship by adding a part they already know. ## 100 Year 2 Spelling Words by Pattern Each group starts with its rule in one line, then the words. Teach the pattern first, then practise the words that follow it. ### Long a: ai and ay (10 words) ai sits in the middle of a word (rain), ay at the end (tray). rain, train, paint, wait, snail, chain, tray, spray, away, today ### Long e: ee and ea (10 words) Both say long e. There is no rule for which one, so learn each word and group them. sheep, teeth, three, queen, sweet, beach, dream, team, leaf, clean ### oa, ow and ew (10 words) oa and ow can both say long o, and ow is common at the end of a word (snow). ew says oo, as in new and grew. boat, coat, road, toast, snow, grow, slow, yellow, new, grew ### Long i: igh, ie and y (8 words) igh is three letters for one sound. y at the end of a short word can say long i. night, light, bright, high, tie, pie, fly, sky ### Two sounds of oo (8 words) oo says a long sound in moon and a short sound in book. moon, food, spoon, zoo, book, good, wood, foot ### ar, or, ir and ur (10 words) The r changes the vowel sound. ir and ur say the same sound. car, park, star, fork, horse, short, bird, girl, turn, nurse ### Three-letter clusters (6 words) Three consonant letters at the start: scr, str, spl. In thr, the th is one sound. scrap, scratch, street, string, splash, throw ### Silent letters: kn, wr and mb (8 words) The k, w or b is written but not said. knife, knee, knock, write, wrong, lamb, thumb, climb ### Compound words (8 words) Two whole words joined. Spell each word, then put them together. sunshine, football, playground, rainbow, bedroom, sandpit, cupcake, homework ### Prefixes and suffixes (10 words) un- and re- go on the front. -ly, -ful and -ship go on the end. The base word stays the same. unhappy, undo, uncover, redo, quickly, slowly, helpful, careful, friendly, friendship ### Tricky high-frequency words (12 words) These do not follow the usual sounds. Learn them in groups: could, would, should. once, only, because, friend, people, again, any, many, every, could, would, should **[Turn these words into a printable list →](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=2)** ## Phonics and Spelling Activities for Year 2 _(Dynamic listing feed — browse at the page URL for live results.)_ ## How to Run a Weekly Year 2 Spelling List A weekly list works best in Year 2 when it follows the phonics you are teaching that week. This is the routine I would use: 1. **Pretest.** Say 8 to 12 words, each in a sentence. Students write them and you mark together. Words they already know come off their list. 2. **Teach the pattern.** Show the spelling, say the sound, and sort words by spelling: which long a words use ai and which use ay? Point out where in the word each one sits. 3. **Practise daily.** Look, say, cover, write, check for a few minutes a day. Have students say each sound as they write its letters, so the sound and the spelling go in together. 4. **Test.** Test the list plus one or two new words with the same pattern, and dictate a short sentence that uses the week's words. Add two or three tricky high-frequency words each week. The [spelling list maker](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=2) lets you add your own words to any list. For decodable texts that practise the same patterns, see [decodable readers](/teacher-guides/decodable-readers), and for more ideas, [spelling activities](/teacher-guides/spelling-activities). ## Spelling Words for Other Year Levels Use the year before for students who need to catch up, and the year after for students who are ready to move on. - [Foundation spelling words](/teacher-guides/foundation-spelling-words) - [Year 1 spelling words](/teacher-guides/year-1-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 2 Spelling Words: Frequently Asked Questions ### Is there an official Year 2 spelling list in Australia? No. The Australian Curriculum describes the spelling knowledge Year 2 students should learn, such as vowel digraphs, silent letters and word families, but it does not list words. The 100 words on this page fit those Year 2 patterns and include examples the curriculum itself gives. ### How many spelling words should a Year 2 student learn each week? Many Year 2 teachers use 8 to 12 words a week that share one phonics pattern, plus two or three tricky high-frequency words. A short list that matches the phonics being taught that week works better than a long mixed one. ### How do I teach ai and ay, or ee and ea? Teach them as two spellings of the same sound. For ai and ay, position helps: ai usually sits in the middle of a word (rain) and ay at the end (tray). For ee and ea there is no reliable rule, so sort words into the two groups and practise each group together. ### What are tricky words in Year 2? Common words that are not spelt the way they sound, such as once, only, because, friend, people, any and many. Most of each word is still regular, so sound out what you can and teach the tricky part on its own. ### How do I make a printable Year 2 spelling list? Open the [free spelling list maker](/tools/spelling-list-maker?year=2), tick the patterns or words you want, add your own words and press Print. You get a look, say, cover, write, check sheet or a plain word list on A4. ### Where can I find free Year 2 spelling resources? Australian teachers share free spelling resources on TeachBuySell. [Browse free spelling resources](/s?keywords=spelling&price=0%2C0) and filter by Year 2. --- Source: https://teachbuysell.com.au/teacher-guides/year-2-spelling-words Marketplace: https://teachbuysell.com.au