Grade 1 Spelling Words | 50 Easy Words for Kids

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Grade 1 Spelling Words

These are the 50 most important words every Class 1 student must learn to spell. From simple 3-letter words (cat, dog, the) to trickier ones (said, come, because) — mastering these gives your child a strong spelling foundation for all future grades!

Many of these are sight words — words that appear so often in English that children must recognize them instantly. They don’t always follow spelling rules, so they need to be memorized. Practice 5 words a day and your child will master all 50 in just 10 days!

⭐ 3-Letter Must-Know Words

theteh / tha ✗⭐

THUH

Most common English word

💡 THE = T-H-E, just 3 letters!

“The cat sat on the mat.”

andadn ✗⭐

AND

Joining word

💡 A-N-D = And Never Disappears!

“Rahul and Priya are friends.”

waswaz / wos ✗⭐

WOZ

Past of ‘is’

💡 WAS has W-A-S (not WOZ!)

“She was happy.”

hashaz ✗⭐

HAZ

To possess

💡 H-A-S = Has A Snake!

“She has a red bag.”

hishiz ✗⭐

HIZ

Belonging to him

💡 H-I-S = He Is Special

“His name is Aarav.”

herhar ✗⭐

HUR

Belonging to her

💡 H-E-R = Her Enjoys Reading

“Her dress is pink.”

arear ✗⭐

Present tense of be

💡 A-R-E = All Rabbits Eat

“We are happy today.”

youyoo ✗⭐

YOO

Second person pronoun

💡 Y-O-U = Yes, Only U!

“You are my friend.”

cankan ✗⭐

KAN

Able to do

💡 C-A-N = Cats Are Nice

“I can run fast!”

notnat ✗⭐

NOT

Negative word

💡 N-O-T = No Other Thing

“I am not tired.”

🏃 Common Action Words

saidsed / sayed ✗⭐⭐

SED

Past of ‘say’

💡 SAID: S-A-I-D (AI not AY!)

“She said hello.”

comecum ✗⭐

KUM

To move toward

💡 COME has a silent E!

“Come here, please!”

likelik ✗⭐

LYKE

To enjoy

💡 LIKE = L-I-K-E (magic E!)

“I like mangoes.”

makemak ✗⭐

MAYK

To create

💡 MAKE = M-A-K-E (magic E!)

“Let’s make a drawing.”

havehav ✗⭐⭐

HAV

To possess

💡 HAVE = H-A-V-E (silent E!)

“I have two sisters.”

lookluk ✗⭐

LUK

To see

💡 LOOK = L-O-O-K (double O!)

“Look at the bird!”

wantwont ✗⭐

WONT

To desire

💡 WANT = W-A-N-T

“I want ice cream.”

playplai ✗⭐

PLAY

To have fun

💡 PLAY = P-L-A-Y (AY not AI)

“Let’s play cricket!”

knowno / kno ✗⭐⭐

NOH

To understand

💡 KNOW has a silent K! K-N-O-W

“I know the answer!”

wentwant ✗⭐

WENT

Past of ‘go’

💡 WENT = W-E-N-T (not WANT!)

“We went to the park.”

👀 Tricky Sight Words

theythay ✗⭐⭐

THAY

Those people

💡 THEY = T-H-E-Y (not THAY!)

“They are my friends.”

whatwot ✗⭐

WOT

Question word

💡 WHAT = W-H-A-T

“What is your name?”

werewer / where ✗⭐⭐

WUR

Past of ‘are’

💡 WERE = W-E-R-E (not WHERE!)

“They were at school.”

theretheir / thier ✗⭐⭐

THAIR

In that place

💡 THERE = T-H-E-R-E (HERE is inside!)

“Look over there!”

wouldwud ✗⭐⭐

WUD

Past of ‘will’

💡 WOULD = W-O-U-L-D (L is silent!)

“I would like some water.”

couldcud ✗⭐⭐

KUD

Past of ‘can’

💡 COULD = C-O-U-L-D (L is silent!)

“She could sing well.”

fromfrum ✗⭐

FROM

Starting point

💡 FROM = F-R-O-M

“I am from Mumbai.”

doesduz ✗⭐⭐

DUZ

Third person of ‘do’

💡 DOES = D-O-E-S (O sounds like U!)

“She does her homework.”

beenbin ✗⭐⭐

BEEN

Past participle of ‘be’

💡 BEEN = B-E-E-N (double E!)

“I have been to Goa.”

somesum ✗⭐

SUM

An amount

💡 SOME = S-O-M-E (silent E!)

“Give me some rice.”

🏠 School & Home Words

schoolskool ✗⭐⭐

SKOOL

Place of learning

💡 SCHOOL = SCH (not SK!) + OOL

“I love my school.”

househowz ✗⭐

HOWSS

Where you live

💡 HOUSE = H-O-U-S-E

“Our house is big.”

peoplepeeple ✗⭐⭐

PEE-pul

Human beings

💡 PEOPLE = P-E-O-P-L-E (EO not EE!)

“Many people came to the fair.”

waterwoter ✗⭐

WAW-ter

H2O

💡 WATER = W-A-T-E-R

“Drink water daily.”

aboutabowt ✗⭐

uh-BOWT

Regarding

💡 ABOUT = A-B-O-U-T

“Tell me about yourself.”

otheruther ✗⭐

UH-ther

Different one

💡 OTHER = O-T-H-E-R

“The other book is mine.”

everyevry ✗⭐⭐

EV-ree

Each one

💡 EVERY = E-V-E-R-Y (not EVRY!)

“Every child is special.”

afteraftar ✗⭐

AF-ter

Following

💡 AFTER = A-F-T-E-R

“Come after lunch.”

moneymuney ✗⭐⭐

MUN-ee

Currency

💡 MONEY = M-O-N-E-Y (O sounds like U!)

“Save your money.”

writerite ✗⭐⭐

RYTE

To put words on paper

💡 WRITE = W-R-I-T-E (silent W!)

“Write your name here.”

🌈 Colour, Number & Nature Words

bluebloo ✗⭐

BLOO

A colour

💡 BLUE = B-L-U-E (not BLOO!)

“The sky is blue.”

greengrean ✗⭐

GREEN

A colour

💡 GREEN = G-R-E-E-N (double E!)

“Leaves are green.”

eighteit ✗⭐⭐

AYT

Number 8

💡 EIGHT = E-I-G-H-T (GH is silent!)

“I am eight years old.”

againagen ✗⭐⭐

uh-GEN

Once more

💡 AGAIN = A-G-A-I-N (AI not E!)

“Say it again!”

manymeny ✗⭐

MEN-ee

A lot of

💡 MANY = M-A-N-Y (A not E!)

“I have many books.”

littlelitle ✗⭐⭐

LIT-ul

Small

💡 LITTLE = L-I-T-T-L-E (double T!)

“The little kitten is cute.”

becausebecuz / becoz ✗⭐⭐

bih-KOZ

For the reason that

💡 Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants = BECAUSE

“I’m happy because I passed!”

friendfrend / freind ✗⭐⭐

FREND

A companion

💡 FRI-END: I’ll be your friend to the END!

“She is my best friend.”

beautifulbutiful ✗⭐⭐⭐

BYOO-tih-ful

Very pretty

💡 Big Elephants Are Ugly = B-E-A-U-tiful!

“The garden is beautiful.”

differentdiffrent ✗⭐⭐

DIF-runt

Not the same

💡 DIFFERENT = D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T (double F!)

“Every child is different.”

📐 5 Spelling Rules

Sight Words Must Be Memorized

Words like ‘said’, ‘the’, ‘was’, ‘come’ don’t follow normal spelling rules. You must see them, learn them, and memorize them.

✅ said, the, was, come, have, does, some, were, would, could

Magic E Makes Vowels Long

Adding E at the end changes the vowel sound: mat→mate, hop→hope, kit→kite, cut→cute. The E is silent but powerful!

✅ make, like, come, write, house, blue

Double Letters in Short Words

Some short words need double letters: little (TT), school (OO), green (EE), look (OO).

✅ little, school, green, look, been, different

Silent Letters to Watch

Some letters are written but not spoken: know (K silent), write (W silent), could (L silent), eight (GH silent).

✅ know, write, could, would, eight

Practice 5 Words Every Day

Don’t try to learn all 50 at once! Practice 5 words a day. Say them, write them, spell them aloud. In 10 days you’ll know them all!

✅ Day 1: the, and, was, has, his | Day 2: her, are, you, can, not

🐝 Spelling Quiz

1. Which is correct?

2. Which is correct?

3. Which is correct?

4. Which is correct?

5. Which is correct?

6. Which is correct?

7. Which is correct?

8. Which is correct?

9. Which is correct?

10. Which is correct?

🔀 Word Scramble

Unscramble the letters

AYBCEES

IENRDF

LOSHCO

TERWI

PLEOPE

✏️ Fill in Missing Letters

Type the missing letters

b_c_ _se

fr_ _nd

sch_ _l

wr_t_

p_ _ple

❓ FAQ

What words should a Grade 1 child know how to spell?

Grade 1 children should know 50-100 sight words (the, and, was, said, come) plus simple CVC words (cat, dog, run). This page covers the 50 most essential words with memory tricks.

What are sight words?

Sight words are common words that children should recognize instantly by sight, without sounding out. Words like ‘the’, ‘said’, ‘was’, ‘come’ don’t follow phonics rules and must be memorized.

How to teach spelling to a 6-year-old?

Use the Look-Cover-Write-Check method: Look at the word, cover it, write from memory, check. Also use mnemonics (Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants = BECAUSE).

Why can’t my child spell ‘said’ and ‘come’?

These are irregular words — they don’t sound like they’re spelled. ‘Said’ sounds like ‘sed’ but is spelled S-A-I-D. ‘Come’ has a silent E. These must be memorized, not sounded out.

How many words per day should a child practice?

5 words per day is ideal for Grade 1. Write each word 3 times, spell it aloud, and use it in a sentence. In 10 days, all 50 essential words are covered!

🐝 All Spelling Bee Guides — 49 Topics