Free for teachers and parents
UK primary spelling resources
Rule explainers, morpheme libraries, dictation sentences, and parent guides, built to teach the logic of English spelling, not just the weekly list.
Every resource is anchored to the DfE English Appendix 1 (2013) or peer-reviewed research, and verified against the statutory document.
62 resources · all free · no sign-up
Ready-to-use classroom resources
Print and teach today. Dictation sentences, word sorts, and pretests, mapped to every year group.
Dictation sentences
3 resourcesDictation sentences — Years 1 and 2 (all Appendix 1 rules)
Ready-to-use teacher dictation for Y1 and Y2 rules. Sentences are kept short and at an appropriate reading level.
Dictation sentences — Years 3/4 (all Appendix 1 rules)
Ready-to-use teacher dictation. Read sentences aloud. Pupils write from memory. Mark together and discuss.
Dictation sentences — Years 5/6 (all Appendix 1 rules)
Ready-to-use teacher dictation for all Y5/6 statutory rules.
Word sorts
4 resourcesWord sort activities — Year 1
Printable word sort activities for Y1 spelling patterns.
Word sort activities — Year 2
Printable word sort activities for Y2 spelling patterns.
Word sort activities — Years 3/4
Printable word sort activities. Print, cut, sort into columns. Evidence base: Dymock & Nicholson (2017) — word sorts build pattern recogniti…
Word sort activities — Years 5/6
Printable word sort activities for Y5/6 spelling patterns.
Pretest & retest
4 resourcesPretest and retest pairs — Year 1
Pretest/retest pairs for Y1 common exception words and core phonics patterns.
Pretest and retest pairs — Year 2
Pretest/retest pairs for Y2 common exception words and spelling rules.
Pretest and retest pairs — Years 3/4
Pairs of pretests (Monday) and retests (Friday) for the Y3/4 statutory word list.
Pretest and retest pairs — Years 5/6
Pairs of pretests (Monday) and retests (Friday) for the Y5/6 statutory word list.
For parents
Plain-English guides for helping with spelling at home.
Guides & explainers
3 resourcesSpaced repetition for spelling: how to help your child remember words
Spaced repetition for children's spelling — why revisiting words at growing intervals beats cramming for a Friday test, and how to use it to…
The logic of English spelling
Parent guide to English spelling logic — why spelling isn't random, how phonics, morphology and etymology make sense of tricky words for pri…
Year-by-year spelling guide for parents
Parent guide to UK primary spelling by year group — what your child learns in each year from Reception to Year 6 and how to support them at…
Spelling rules by year group
The statutory patterns from Year 1 to Year 6, each explained with examples and the exceptions.
Year 1
5 resourcesDouble letters at the end of short words: ff, ll, ss, zz, ck
Year 1 spelling guide to the ff, ll, ss, zz, ck rule — why short vowels double the final consonant, with worked examples and practice activi…
The split digraph (magic e)
Year 1 guide to the split digraph (magic e) — how a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e change the vowel sound, with worked examples and practice activities.
The un- prefix and Year 1 common exception words
Year 1 guide to the un- prefix and KS1 common exception words — how un- reverses meaning, plus high-frequency words pupils must learn by hea…
Plurals and verb suffixes: -s and -es
Year 1 guide to plurals (-s, -es) and verb suffixes (-ing, -ed, -er) — rules, spelling changes, and practice activities for KS1.
Suffixes -ing, -ed, -er, -est: when the base word doesn't change
Year 1 guide to adding -ing, -ed, and -er — when to double the consonant, drop the e, or just add the suffix, with examples and practice.
Year 2
8 resourcesThe /dʒ/ sound: -ge and -dge
Year 2 guide to the /dʒ/ sound spelt ge, dge and g before e/i/y — rules, examples, and sorting practice activities.
Soft c, kn-, gn-, and wr- spellings
Year 2 guide to soft c (before e/i/y), and the silent letters kn-, gn- and wr- — rules, word lists, and practice activities.
The /l/ sound at the end of words: -le, -el, -al, -il
Year 2 guide to words ending in -le, -el, -al and -il — rules for choosing the right ending with worked examples and practice activities.
Adding suffixes: the three core spelling change rules
Year 2 guide to adding suffixes and the spelling changes they trigger — doubling, dropping e, y→i — with rules and practice activities.
Suffixes: -ment, -ness, -ful, -less, -ly
Year 2 guide to suffixes -ment, -ness, -ful, -less and -ly — how to add them, spelling changes (y→i), and KS1 practice activities.
Contractions and the possessive apostrophe
Year 2 guide to apostrophes for contraction — what the apostrophe replaces, common contractions, and practice to avoid confusion with posses…
/aɪ/ spelt y at end of words; Year 2 homophones
Year 2 guide to the /eɪ/ sound spelt -ay and -ey, plus KS1 homophones — rules, word lists, and practice distinguishing sound-alike words.
Year 2 common exception words
Year 2 common exception words from the DfE National Curriculum — the KS1 words pupils must learn by heart, with example sentences.
Years 3 & 4
12 resourcesPrefixes: un-, dis-, mis-, re-, sub-, inter-, super-, anti-, auto-
Years 3–4 guide to nine statutory prefixes (un-, dis-, mis-, re-, sub-, inter-, super-, anti-, auto-) — meanings, word lists, and practice a…
Suffix: -ation
Years 3–4 guide to the suffix -ation — how it turns verbs into nouns, spelling patterns, and practice with statutory vocabulary.
Suffix: -ly
Years 3–4 guide to the suffix -ly — rules including y→i and -le→-ly changes, with worked examples and practice activities.
Suffix: -ous
Years 3–4 guide to the suffix -ous — forming adjectives, spelling patterns (including -ious and -eous), and statutory word practice.
Endings: -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian
Years 3–4 guide to the endings -tion, -sion, -ssion and -cian — choosing the right form, worked examples, and practice activities.
The ch spelling: /k/ sound (Greek origin) and /ʃ/ sound (French origin)
Years 3–4 guide to ch spelling /k/ (Greek origin) and /ʃ/ (French origin) — why English has these patterns and statutory word examples.
Endings: -gue and -que; sc spelling for /s/
Years 3–4 guide to words ending in -gue, -que and beginning with sc- — French and Latin borrowings with statutory examples and practice.
Homophones and near-homophones: Years 3/4
Years 3–4 homophones and near-homophones from the DfE statutory list — definitions, sentences, and practice distinguishing sound-alike words…
Endings: -ture and -sure
Years 3–4 guide to words ending in -ture and -sure — when each ending is used, statutory examples, and practice activities.
Adding suffixes to multisyllable words: the stress-and-doubling rule
Years 3–4 guide to doubling consonants in longer words before suffixes — the stressed-syllable rule with worked examples and practice.
/ɪ/ spelt y and /ʌ/ spelt ou
Years 3–4 guide to /ɪ/ spelt y and /ʌ/ spelt ou — historical patterns in English spelling with statutory examples and practice activities.
Years 3/4 Statutory Spelling Word List — grouped by pattern
The full DfE Years 3 & 4 statutory spelling word list — all 100 words with example sentences, free to use, print, and practise.
Years 5 & 6
10 resourcesEndings: -cious and -tious
Years 5–6 guide to adjective endings -cious and -tious — choosing the right form, statutory examples, and practice activities.
Endings: -cial and -tial
Years 5–6 guide to endings -cial and -tial — rules for after vowels vs consonants, statutory examples, and practice activities.
Endings: -ant/-ance/-ancy and -ent/-ence/-ency
Years 5–6 guide to -ant/-ance/-ancy and -ent/-ence/-ency — patterns for choosing the right ending with statutory examples and practice.
Endings: -able/-ably and -ible/-ibly
Years 5–6 guide to -able/-ably and -ible/-ibly — rules for choosing the right form, statutory examples, and practice activities.
Words with -fer: the stress-and-doubling rule in action
Years 5–6 guide to words with the -fer root — when the r doubles before a suffix, statutory examples, and practice activities.
ei after c for the /iː/ sound
Years 5–6 guide to ei after c — the rule and its exceptions, statutory examples, and practice activities for upper KS2.
The -ough letter string
Years 5–6 guide to the -ough spelling pattern — the six different sounds it represents, statutory word list, and practice activities.
Silent letters
Years 5–6 guide to silent letters — common patterns (kn-, wr-, -mb, -gn), etymological reasons, statutory examples, and practice activities.
Homophones and confusable words: Years 5/6
Years 5–6 homophones and near-homophones from the DfE statutory list — definitions, example sentences, and practice distinguishing them.
Years 5/6 Statutory Spelling Word List — grouped by pattern
The full DfE Years 5 & 6 statutory spelling word list — all 100 words with example sentences, free to use, print, and practise.
Morphemes: prefixes, suffixes & roots
The prefixes, suffixes, and Latin and Greek roots that unlock thousands of related words.
Prefixes
6 resourcesPrefix: dis-
Guide to the prefix dis- for KS2 — meaning 'not' or 'reversal', etymology, word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice.
Prefix: in- (and its variants il-, im-, ir-)
Guide to the prefix in-/il-/im-/ir- — meaning 'not', assimilation rules, word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice activities.
Prefix: mis-
Guide to the prefix mis- for KS2 — meaning 'wrongly' or 'badly', word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice activities.
Prefix: re-
Guide to the prefix re- for KS2 — meaning 'again' or 'back', word list with definitions, and morpheme-based spelling practice activities.
Prefixes: sub-, inter-, super-, anti-, auto-
Guide to the prefixes sub-, inter-, super-, anti- and auto- — meanings, etymology, statutory word lists, and morpheme-based practice.
Prefix: un-
Guide to the prefix un- for KS1 and KS2 — meaning 'not' or 'reversal', word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice activities.
Suffixes
6 resourcesSuffixes: -able and -ible
Guide to the suffixes -able and -ible — rules for choosing the right form, KS2 word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice.
Suffix: -ation
Guide to the suffix -ation — how it nominalises verbs, KS2 word list with definitions, etymology, and morpheme-based practice activities.
Suffix: -ly
Guide to the suffix -ly — forming adverbs, spelling changes (y→i, -le→-ly), KS2 word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice.
Suffixes: -ment, -ness, -ful, -less
Guide to the suffixes -ment, -ness, -ful and -less — meanings, word lists with definitions, and morpheme-based practice for KS1 and KS2.
Suffix: -ous
Guide to the suffix -ous — forming adjectives, spelling variants (-ious, -eous), KS2 word list with definitions, and morpheme-based practice…
Suffixes: -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian
Guide to the suffixes -tion and -sion — choosing the right form, word list with definitions, etymology, and morpheme-based practice activiti…
National Curriculum word lists, free to download
The statutory word lists these resources are built around: every word with an example sentence, printable as flash cards or a revision booklet.
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