Third Grade High Frequency Spelling List

SELECTED WORD LISTS AND STRATEGIES

FOURTH GRADE

These high frequency word lists are the most common words in English, ranked in frequency order. The first 25 make up about a third of all printed materials. The first 100 make up about half of all written material, and the first 300 make up about 65% of all written material. Students must learn to instantly read and spell these words correctly.

·    At the beginning of the school year students should be assessed to determine their level of proficiency in spelling the words on these lists.

·    The lists and strategies are meant to guide the spelling instruction in each grade level.

·    By the end of each school year, students should be able to spell and read the selected word lists to mastery.

In order to ensure a smooth transition between third and fourth grades when students should be moving from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” it is imperative that our students learn a minimum number of words each year, beginning in kindergarten. The words on this selected word list should be taught to mastery by the end of 4th Grade.

For additional information, ideas for classroom spelling programs, teaching for word solving strategies, additional lists, and research:

References:

·    The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists, fourth edition, Fry, Kress, Fountoukidis

·    Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12, Janet Allen

·    Spelling K-8: Planning and Teaching, Diane Snowball

SELECTED WORD LIST – FOURTH GRADE

High Frequency Words