First grade is a crucial year in a child's literacy development, building upon the phonemic awareness developed in kindergarten. At this stage, children begin to understand the complexities of the English language through a structured spelling curriculum that focuses on blending sounds, recognizing patterns, and memorizing high-frequency words. The TeachTastic spelling curriculum for first graders is specifically designed to guide them through this essential phase with a strategic breakdown of weekly spelling concepts.
Weeks 1-3: Strengthening Short Vowel Sounds
The curriculum starts by reinforcing the understanding of short vowel sounds, which are fundamental in English spelling.
Week 1: Words with Short 'a' - bag, mad, pan, pat, cab, jam, wag, rag, tag, mat
Week 2: Words with Short 'i' - pin, wig, jig, fig, fib, sip, six, zip, hip, him
Week 3: Words with Short 'o' - not, job, fox, rot, odd, bop, bog, pot, got, hot
Weeks 4-6: High Frequency Words and Continuing Vowel Work
These weeks mix the practice of short vowels with crucial high frequency words, vital for reading fluency.
Week 4: High Frequency Words List 1 - after, again, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, give
Week 5: Words with Short 'e' - pet, jet, red, bed, hen, pen, get, leg, ten, den
Week 6: Words with Short 'u' - bug, rug, hug, up, pup, run, mud, cup, sun, fun
Weeks 7-10: Introduction to Digraphs and Initial Blends
At this stage, children learn to spell words that start with blends and digraphs, which are combinations of two or three letters having a single sound.
Week 7: Words with the Initial Digraph 'th' - this, thin, three, think, throw, that, them, then, thumb, thing
Week 8: High Frequency Words List 2 - going, had, has, her, just, know, let, live, may, of
Week 9: Words with the Initial Digraph 'ch' - chat, chip, chin, chop, chap, cheese, chick, chalk, check, chips
Week 10: Words with the Initial Digraph 'sh' - shark, ship, shop, shut, shag, shirt, shake, shoe, share, shout
Weeks 11-14: Expanding on Blends and More High Frequency Words
Further exposure to blends helps solidify children's understanding and ability to manipulate sounds within words.
Week 11: Words with Initial 'st' Blends - stop, stun, stud, step, stem, stew, stack, stale, stand, stir
Week 12: High Frequency Words List 3 - old, once, open, over, put, round, some, thank, walk, when
Week 13: Words with an Initial 'pl' Blend - place, plaid, plain, plan, plane, plant, plate, play, plug, plumb
Week 14: Words with Initial 'l' Blends - block, clip, flag, glue, glove, flip, clock, class, blank, slip
Weeks 15-19: Advanced Blends and Long Vowel Patterns
This period introduces r blends and progresses to spelling patterns involving long vowels, a significant step up in complexity.
Week 15: Words with Initial 'r' Blends - brag, brat, crop, crust, drag, dress, drip, frost, front, grab
Week 16: High Frequency Words List 4 - are, about, all, am, and, been, but, called, day, did
Week 17: Words with Double Consonants - mitt, chill, drill, buzz, stuff, pass, stiff, jazz, kiss, doll
Week 18: Long 'a' Words Spelled with a_e Pattern - gave, wave, safe, same, page, race, cape, cake, rake, flame
Week 19: Long 'a' Words with Blends and Digraphs - flake, slate, trace, grave, frame, braid, paint, chain, shade, shape
Weeks 20-24: Mastering Long Vowel Sounds and More High Frequency Words
The final stretch of the curriculum covers more complex vowel sounds and additional lists of high frequency words to boost vocabulary and reading skills.
Week 20: High Frequency Word List 5 - into, like, long, look, made, make, my, more, now, number
Week 21: Long 'i' Words Spelled with i_e Pattern - hike, ride, ripe, nice, lime, wafe, vine, five, dive, slice
Week 22: Long 'i' Words with Blends or Digraphs - white, chime, shine, spine, price, drive, glide, high, tight, light
Week 23: Long 'o' Spelled with o_e Pattern - note, hose, vote, robe, bone, code, woke, hope, rose, pole
Week 24: High Frequency Words List 6 - on, one, or, other, out, part, people, said, see, she
Weeks 25-30: Completing the Curriculum with Long Vowels and Final High Frequency Lists
The year rounds off with an emphasis on long vowels combined with blends and the last of the high frequency word lists.
Week 25: Long 'o' Words with Blends and Digraphs - slope, smoke, choke, broke, stone, glow, show, grow, snow, crow
Week 26: Long 'e' Words Spelled e, ee, ea, or e_e - me, eat, sea, read, feet, tree, these, bee, mean, leaf
Week 27: Long 'u' Spelled with the u_e Pattern - mute, duke, dune, fume, ruse, due, huge, rule, use, flute
Week 28: Long 'u' Words with Blends and Digraphs - clue, chute, blue, fruit, juice, cruise, plume, brute, crude, queue
Week 29: Three-Letter Blends str, scr, or spl - string, screen, split, splash, stretch, scrub, scrap, street, splat, straw
Week 30: High Frequency Words List 7 - so, was, than, two, the, their, to, there, time, they
This comprehensive approach to first-grade spelling not only develops foundational spelling skills but also prepares students for more complex reading and writing tasks. Through this carefully designed curriculum, first graders are equipped to tackle the demands of literacy with confidence and competence.
