Spelling Rule Sort

• 3rd–5th grade
• Ages 8–11
• Free, no sign-up

When you add an ending, sometimes the base word changes. In Spelling Rule Sort, your child reads words like baking, hopping and cried and sorts each one by the rule it follows: just add it, drop the e, double the last letter, or change y to i.

▶ Play

About the game

How to play

1. Read the word card. Like bake + -ing = baking.
2. Compare the base and the new word. What changed?
3. Tap the matching rule. Wrong answers get a hint.
4. Sort them all. Three stars for first-try answers.

For parents: what Spelling Rule Sort practices

Spelling Rule Sort practices the four most useful rules for adding endings, so kids spell new words correctly. It pairs with:

• Spelling rules
• Change y to i
• Spelling rules worksheets

Common Core: L.3.2e (use spelling patterns and generalizations when adding suffixes to base words), L.3.2f, L.4.2d.

Getting the most out of it

• Cover the ending and look at what happened to the base word.
• Keep the y before -ing: crying.
• Vowel + y? Just add: played, enjoyed.

Games are best as a reward or a warm-up, not the main lesson. Ten minutes of play after a short lesson works better than an hour of play on its own.

More games

• Spell CatcherCatch the right spelling, dodge the mistakes.1st–5th grade
• Spelling SnakeSteer the snake to eat a word's letters in order.1st–5th grade
• Spelling Word SearchWord searches made from our spelling lists.1st–5th grade

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Last reviewed: November 11, 2026

Questions parents ask