20 words, shortest first. Level 1 has the most common words.
too
book
boot
door
food
foot
good
look
loop
pool
poor
room
root
soon
took
books
doors
floor
goods
looks
The spelling pattern
Every word on this list contains oo (moon / book). Seeing the same letters in many words helps children spot the pattern and spell new words that follow it. Level 1 uses the shortest, most common words.
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
In the middle (19): book, boot, door, food, foot, good, look, loop, pool, poor, room, root, soon, took, books, doors, floor, goods, looks.
At the end (1): too.
Sorting the words like this is a good first activity: children say each word, find the oo (moon / book) 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
t__
b__k
b__t
d__r
f__d
f__t
g__d
l__k
l__p
p__l
p__r
r__m
r__t
s__n
t__k
b__ks
d__rs
fl__r
g__ds
l__ks
Questions
How many words are on this list?
20 words, all containing oo (moon / book). The shortest has 3 letters and the longest, books, has 5.
What does level 1 mean?
Levels sort the oo (moon / book) 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?
When this list is secure, move on to level 2 of the same pattern.