Meet Spell Cub: one link for the whole class’s spelling list
7 November 2026 · 4 min read
Every week, in thousands of class chats, one message goes round: a photo of the spelling list. Then every family does the same thing on its own: copies the words out, reads them aloud, checks them, and hopes the practice sticks by Friday. Spell Cub, the third Cub Climb app, turns that one message into the practice.
How it works
- One grown-up pastes the list, from the school email, the class app or a PDF. Spell Cub tidies it and asks about any word it doesn’t know, because a typo in a shared list teaches a whole class the wrong spelling.
- They share one link in the class chat. The preview says the class and the week, not an app name.
- Every child taps it and starts, on any phone, tablet or computer, with no sign-up and nothing to install. The cub says the word in a sentence, the child spells it from memory, and a miss is fixed on the spot.
Why it’s free
Spell Cub only works if one parent can share it with everyone, and a paywall stops the sharing. So it is free for every child, with no ads and nothing to buy, for good. Cub Climb is paid for by its other two apps, Gifted Test Prep and Melody, which you’ll find on our pages and never inside a child’s practice.
Built on how spelling is learned
Writing a word from memory and checking it at once beats copying it out, and a little each day beats a long night before the test. Spell Cub knows the class’s test day, so it plans the week: a check on Monday, new words spread over the days left, and a rehearsal with no help before the test. The research, with sources, is in how to help with the weekly spelling test.
For teachers
A teacher can paste the whole term at once, and each week opens on its Monday under the same link. Board mode gives the test on the classroom screen. There are no student accounts and no student data to approve. The teacher kit.
What we keep
Our server keeps the lists grown-ups share. Everything about a child, from the words they know to the ones they missed, stays on their device. No accounts, and no IP addresses stored. The privacy policy.
Try it
Got this week’s list? Share it with your class. No list yet? Practise a grade 2 sample list, or pick one from our free lists for grades 1 to 5. The iPhone and iPad app is coming, and the same class links will open it.
From the makers of this blog
Spell Cub — this week’s spelling list, out loud, free for the whole class
- One link for the class. One parent or teacher pastes the list; everyone else taps the link and practises, with no sign-up and nothing to install.
- Hear it, spell it, fix it. The word in a sentence, spelled from memory, and a miss fixed straight away.
- Planned around test day, a little each day, with a rehearsal before the test. Grades 1 to 5.
Free for every child, with no ads and nothing to buy. See how it works.
More from the blog
How to help with the weekly spelling test: what the research saysWriting words from memory beats copying, checking each word at once beats checking at the end, and four short days beat one long night. With sources.- Spelling
- How children learn
How many spelling words a week? What grades 1 to 5 learnFrom about 5 to 12 words a week in grade 1 to around 20 in grade 5, and from sounds to word parts. What the curricula ask, and free lists for each grade.- Spelling
- United States
- Canada
CAT4 and CCAT-7 scores: stanines and percentiles explainedWhat the Standard Age Score, percentile and stanine on a CAT4 or CCAT-7 report mean, age versus grade stanines, and which “CAT4” your child took.- Gifted testing
- Canada
Cub Climb is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any school board, test publisher or testing organisation. CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT, CCAT-7, CAT4 and other test names are trademarks of their respective owners.