Spelling · Grades 5 and 6 · Teacher Guide
Roots of Reason
Roots of Reason

Spelling Lists and Test Pages

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Four lists, each built around one spelling pattern.
Students learn the pattern, not twenty separate words.
Grade 5
List A: silent letters (knowledge, wrench)
List B: endings -er, -or, -ar (neighbor, grammar)
Page 2 · CA CCSS L.5.2e
Grade 6
List A: r-controlled vowels (guarantee, absurd)
List B: the /s/ and /z/ sounds (license, citizen)
Page 3 · CA CCSS L.6.2b
How to run a week
1. Pretest on the first day, before any studying. Read each word, use it in a sentence, read it again. Students write on a test page (page 4).
2. Students study only the words they missed. The pattern is the study tool: sort missed words by where the pattern shows up.
3. Retest at the end of the week on a fresh test page. The second test page (page 5) has a correction column for fixing misses on the spot.
Say the pattern out loud before every test:   "Every word today has a silent letter. Listen for it."
Roots of Reason CA CCSS L.5.2e · L.6.2b rootsofreason.org · Page 1 of 5
Roots of Reason
Spelling · Grade 5 · teacher page

Grade 5 Word Lists

Teacher copy
List A · silent letters
Every word hides a letter you cannot hear.
1.answer
2.knowledge
3.muscle
4.scissors
5.wrench
6.thorough
7.handsome
8.gnaw
9.knuckle
10.tomb
11.ballet
12.rustle
13.playwright
14.bomb
15.knitting
16.hustle
17.wrinkle
18.assign
19.wrestle
20.column
List B · endings -er, -or, -ar
Three endings that all sound the same.
1.anchor
2.vinegar
3.cylinder
4.carrier
5.narrator
6.educator
7.solar
8.neighbor
9.projector
10.ancestor
11.counselor
12.grammar
13.believer
14.elevator
15.calendar
16.popular
17.character
18.similar
19.mirror
20.regular
Dictation tip: for List A, after the test ask students to circle the silent letter in every word they got right. For List B, have them sort their 20 words into three columns by ending before the retest.
Roots of Reason CA CCSS L.5.2e rootsofreason.org · Page 2 of 5
Roots of Reason
Spelling · Grade 6 · teacher page

Grade 6 Word Lists

Teacher copy
List A · r-controlled vowels
The r changes the vowel sound: ar, er, ir, or, ur.
1.carpenter
2.guarantee
3.concert
4.alerted
5.whirlwind
6.horizontal
7.elaborate
8.disturbing
9.ensure
10.carnival
11.compartment
12.swerve
13.determine
14.confirmation
15.corrupt
16.authority
17.absurd
18.burden
19.inspirational
20.conspiracy
List B · the /s/ and /z/ sounds
One sound, many spellings: s, c, z, se, ce.
1.compromise
2.sympathize
3.optimism
4.deceptive
5.recite
6.license
7.episode
8.citizen
9.dissolve
10.disease
11.blizzard
12.quartz
13.glimpsed
14.service
15.trousers
16.pacifier
17.motorcycle
18.browsed
19.clumsiest
20.criticize
Dictation tip: for List B, read slowly enough that students can hear whether the sound is /s/ or /z/, then ask on the retest: which letter is making that sound in this word?
Roots of Reason CA CCSS L.6.2b rootsofreason.org · Page 3 of 5
Roots of Reason
Spelling · test page
Name Date List

Spelling Test

Listen to the whole word before you write.
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Scoreout of 20
Roots of Reason CA CCSS L.5.2e · L.6.2b rootsofreason.org · Page 4 of 5
Roots of Reason
Spelling · test page with corrections
Name Date List

Spelling Test and Corrections

Missed one? Write it correctly in the second column.
my test fixed and correct
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Scoreout of 20