20 words, shortest first. Level 1 has the most common words.
living
losing
making
mixing
moving
naming
noting
paying
saving
saying
seeing
spring
string
strong
taking
timing
trying
typing
amusing
arguing
The spelling pattern
Every word on this list contains ng (sing). Seeing the same letters in many words helps children spot the pattern and spell new words that follow it. Level 3 is the most challenging set.
Ways to practise
Read the list aloud, then cover each word and write it from memory.
Use the fill-in sheet below: the pattern letters are blanked out.
Sort the words by length or by where the pattern appears (start, middle or end).
Where the pattern appears
At the end (20): living, losing, making, mixing, moving, naming, noting, paying, saving, saying, seeing, spring, string, strong, taking, timing, trying, typing, amusing, arguing.
Sorting the words like this is a good first activity: children say each word, find the ng (sing) letters and decide which group it belongs to. It shows that the same letters keep the same sound wherever they appear in a word.
Running a spelling test with this list
Read each word aloud, use it in a short sentence, then read it once more. Children write the word without looking. Mark the test with the list above and practise any misspelled words again the next day. Five or ten words at a time is plenty for younger children.
Practice sheet: fill in the missing letters
livi__
losi__
maki__
mixi__
movi__
nami__
noti__
payi__
savi__
sayi__
seei__
spri__
stri__
stro__
taki__
timi__
tryi__
typi__
amusi__
argui__
Questions
How many words are on this list?
20 words, all containing ng (sing). The shortest has 6 letters and the longest, amusing, has 7.
What does level 3 mean?
Levels sort the ng (sing) words by how common and how long they are. Level 1 has the shortest, most frequent words; higher levels add longer and rarer ones.
What should come next?
This is the last level for ng (sing). Try another spelling pattern from the word lists page.