Ages 8 to 9 · grade 3 · UK Year 4
3rd grade spelling words
Grade 3 spelling turns from sounds to word parts and history: silent letters left over from old English, endings like -ful and -less, and the rules for adding -ed and -ing. It is the year Ontario’s curriculum adds spelling by meaning.
Follow the whole grade 3 year: a new list every Monday →
Practise this week’s grade 3 list now, out loud, free →
Week 1
-ar and -or that say er
The er sound at the end of a word can be spelled ar (dollar) or or (doctor).
- dollar
- collar
- cellar
- polar
- doctor
- actor
- sailor
- visitor
- accident
- actually
Stretch: elevator, spectator, solar, lunar
At home: Jobs often end in or: doctor, actor, sailor. Think of more together.
Week 2
eigh, ei and ey
Long a spelled eigh (eight), ei (vein) and ey (obey), and ea in steak.
- eight
- eighty
- weigh
- weight
- sleigh
- freight
- obey
- steak
- address
- arrive
Stretch: eighteen, reindeer, survey, straight
At home: Weigh something on a kitchen scale and spell weigh and weight.
Week 3
ue, ou and other long u
The oo or yoo sound spelled ue (value), ou (soup) and outh (youth).
- argue
- value
- statue
- tissue
- soup
- group
- youth
- coupon
- believe
- build
Stretch: barbecue, continue, avenue, pursue
At home: Read a menu together and spot the ou in soup and group.
Week 4
ch as sh and k; gn and silent t
ch can say sh (chef) or k (echo); g is silent in sign, and t in castle.
- chef
- machine
- chorus
- echo
- ache
- sign
- design
- castle
- caught
- century
Stretch: character, orchestra, whistle, fasten, campaign
At home: Say the silent letter out loud as a reminder: sig-n, cas-t-le.
Week 5
ou in touch
ou can say u as in cup: touch, double, cousin.
- touch
- double
- trouble
- couple
- cousin
- courage
- nourish
- flourish
- certain
- circle
Stretch: encourage, southern, country, countryside
At home: Make a list of ou words that sound like cup: touch, double, trouble.
Week 6 · Review
dollar, doctor, eight, weigh, value, soup, echo, sign, touch, double
Week 7
y in myth
y can say i in the middle of a word, in words from Greek: myth, gym, system.
- myth
- pyramid
- mystery
- system
- symbol
- crystal
- typical
- gymnast
- complete
- consider
Stretch: mysterious, symmetry, hymn, lyrics
At home: Look for y in the middle of words in a science book.
Week 8
gu
A u after g keeps the g hard before e or i: guide, guest, guitar.
- guard
- guide
- guest
- guitar
- tongue
- league
- disguise
- guild
- decide
- describe
Stretch: guarantee, guardian, intrigue, guidance
At home: Cover the u in guest. What would it say without it?
Week 9
sc that says s
sc can say s, in words from Latin: science, scene, muscle.
- science
- scene
- scent
- muscle
- scenery
- ascend
- descend
- crescent
- different
- difficult
Stretch: fascinate, discipline, ascent, descent
At home: Flex an arm and spell muscle: the c is silent.
Week 10
w changes the vowel: wa and wor
After w, a often says o (watch) and or says er (word).
- watch
- wander
- swan
- swamp
- wasp
- word
- worm
- worth
- disappear
- early
Stretch: squabble, quarrel, wardrobe, worthwhile
At home: Say watch and catch. Same ending, different vowel sound. Why? The w.
Week 11
Homophones
Words that sound the same and are spelled differently: whole and hole, plain and plane.
- whole
- knew
- flour
- peace
- plain
- plane
- board
- bored
- earth
- enough
Stretch: allowed, aloud, serial, missed
At home: Make up a sentence for each pair: the whole pizza, a hole in the sock.
Week 12 · Review
myth, system, guard, guitar, science, muscle, watch, word, whole, peace
Week 13
-ture
Sounds like cher at the end of a word, spelled ture: picture, nature.
- picture
- nature
- future
- mixture
- capture
- creature
- feature
- texture
- exercise
- experience
Stretch: adventure, furniture, temperature, signature, departure
At home: Clap the parts: pic-ture, na-ture. The last part is always ture.
Week 14
-er, -or and -ist (people)
Endings that name a person who does something: painter, inventor, artist.
- farmer
- painter
- singer
- editor
- inventor
- artist
- dentist
- tourist
- experiment
- famous
Stretch: scientist, cyclist, conductor, collector, illustrator
At home: Name the people in your street by their jobs: a baker, a dentist.
Week 15
-ish
-ish means a bit like: childish, greenish.
- childish
- foolish
- selfish
- stylish
- reddish
- greenish
- feverish
- ticklish
- forward
- fruit
Stretch: sluggish, outlandish, sheepish, squeamish
At home: Describe a colour with -ish: greenish, reddish, bluish.
Week 16
-y (rainy)
Adding y turns a word into a describing word: rain, rainy.
- rainy
- windy
- cloudy
- snowy
- frosty
- foggy
- stormy
- chilly
- grammar
- heart
Stretch: thirsty, healthy, sleepy, grumpy
At home: Describe the weather each morning with a -y word: rainy, windy, foggy.
Week 17
-sure
Sounds like zher at the end of a word, spelled sure: measure, treasure.
- measure
- treasure
- pleasure
- leisure
- closure
- exposure
- enclosure
- composure
- height
- history
Stretch: measurement, treasurer, pleasurable, displeasure
At home: Measure things at home with a ruler and spell measure.
Week 18 · Review
picture, nature, painter, artist, childish, selfish, windy, foggy, measure, treasure
Week 19
-ness
-ness makes a naming word: kind, kindness. The word before it doesn’t change.
- kindness
- darkness
- sadness
- fitness
- softness
- goodness
- fairness
- freshness
- imagine
- increase
Stretch: happiness, loneliness, emptiness, laziness
At home: Talk about a kindness someone did today.
Week 20
-ment
-ment makes a naming word: move, movement. The word before it doesn’t change.
- payment
- movement
- statement
- treatment
- amazement
- enjoyment
- equipment
- apartment
- important
- interest
Stretch: excitement, agreement, entertainment, encouragement
At home: Turn verbs into -ment words: enjoy, enjoyment; pay, payment.
Week 21
-ly when the word changes
Adding -ly: y turns to i (happily), and -le becomes -ly (gently, simply).
- gently
- simply
- happily
- angrily
- easily
- busily
- noisily
- lazily
- island
- knowledge
Stretch: horribly, terribly, frantically, dramatically
At home: Act out a verb in a way: walk happily, talk gently, sit lazily.
Week 22
-able and -ible
-able usually follows a whole word (wash, washable); -ible usually doesn’t (vis-ible).
- breakable
- washable
- bendable
- enjoyable
- visible
- sensible
- terrible
- horrible
- learn
- length
Stretch: comfortable, reasonable, incredible, responsible
At home: Cover the ending. Is a whole word left? Then it’s probably -able.
Week 23
f to ves
Many words ending in f or fe make more than one with ves: leaf, leaves.
- leaves
- wolves
- halves
- shelves
- calves
- loaves
- lives
- thieves
- material
- medicine
Stretch: themselves, ourselves, yourselves, elves
At home: Count things that change: one leaf, two leaves; one shelf, two shelves.
Week 24 · Review
kindness, darkness, payment, movement, happily, gently, washable, visible, leaves, halves
Week 25
Irregular plurals
Words that change to mean more than one: child, children; mouse, mice.
- children
- mice
- geese
- teeth
- women
- oxen
- deer
- dice
- mention
- minute
Stretch: grandchildren, dominoes, potatoes, tomatoes, heroes
At home: Play "one, two": one tooth, two teeth; one goose, two geese.
Week 26
in-, im-, il- and ir- (not)
All four mean not. im- comes before m and p, il- before l, ir- before r.
- incorrect
- inactive
- impolite
- impatient
- imperfect
- impossible
- illegal
- irregular
- natural
- naughty
Stretch: irresponsible, illogical, inaccurate, immeasurable
At home: Make opposites: polite, impolite; correct, incorrect; legal, illegal.
Week 27
mis-, sub-, super- and inter-
Beginnings that change a word: mis- (wrongly), sub- (under), super- (above), inter- (between).
- misbehave
- misspell
- mistake
- subway
- submarine
- superstar
- supermarket
- interact
- notice
- occasion
Stretch: misunderstand, subtract, superhero, interrupt
At home: Guess the meaning from the beginning: submarine, supermarket.
Week 28
uni-, bi- and tri-
Number beginnings: uni- is one, bi- is two, tri- is three.
- unicorn
- uniform
- unicycle
- bicycle
- triangle
- tricycle
- tripod
- trio
- often
- opposite
Stretch: universe, binoculars, triple, unite
At home: Count the wheels: unicycle, bicycle, tricycle.
Week 29
Tricky everyday words
Words grade 3 and 4 writers use often and misspell often.
- February
- Wednesday
- calendar
- library
- separate
- surprise
- probably
- remember
- ordinary
- particular
Stretch: occasionally, definitely, interesting, vegetable
At home: Pick one tricky word a day and use it in a sentence at dinner.
Week 30 · Review
children, teeth, impossible, irregular, misspell, submarine, uniform, triangle, February, separate
How to practise a list like this
- Say the word, then a sentence, then the word. Your child writes it from memory, not by copying it.
- Check each word straight away. Show the right spelling, point to the letters that differ, and have them write it again.
- A few words a day beats the whole list the night before. Start on Monday with a quick check, so the practice goes on the words they don’t know yet.
Other grades
The lists are Cub Climb’s own, by spelling pattern. Every word is spelled the same in American and Canadian English. Spell Cub reads them in American or Canadian English, as the class chooses.