listbee20 weekly lists
3rd grade spelling words
Twenty weekly lists for third grade, up to fifteen words each. Third grade moves from single patterns to longer words built from syllables, prefixes and suffixes.
Longer words are easier when they are broken into syllables or into a base word plus an ending. Encourage your child to spell one part at a time.
If your child brings home a list from school, practice that list first. These lists are for summer, homeschool, extra practice, or weeks without a list.
said marks a heart word: a common word with a part that does not follow the usual pattern, so it is learned by heart.
Week 1 · Two-syllable short vowels
15 words- rabbit
- napkin
- basket
- magnet
- kitten
- picnic
- insect
- problem
- button
- muffin
- lobster
- hundred
- different (heart word)
- special (heart word)
- minute (heart word)
Week 2 · Two-syllable silent e
15 words- mistake
- inside
- sunrise
- invite
- explode
- cupcake
- pancake
- reptile
- costume
- include
- escape
- complete
- answer (heart word)
- busy (heart word)
- women (heart word)
About this pattern: Silent e words
Week 3 · Vowel teams in longer words
15 words- rainbow
- explain
- complain
- display
- holiday
- between
- sixteen
- coffee
- season
- reason
- teacher
- repeat
- ocean (heart word)
- early (heart word)
- learn (heart word)
Week 4 · oa, ow and igh
15 words- toaster
- oatmeal
- elbow
- shadow
- tiptoe
- frighten
- highway
- delight
- midnight
- sunlight
- lightning
- tonight
- though (heart word)
- straight (heart word)
- quiet (heart word)
Week 5 · Vowels with r
15 words- garden
- harvest
- carpet
- morning
- corner
- forty
- perfect
- person
- thirsty
- birthday
- purple
- surprise
- heard (heart word)
- search (heart word)
- journey (heart word)
About this pattern: ER, IR and UR words
Week 6 · ou, ow, oi and oy
15 words- around
- mountain
- thousand
- power
- shower
- allow
- avoid
- noisy
- poison
- employ
- destroy
- loyal
- touch (heart word)
- double (heart word)
- trouble (heart word)
About this pattern: OU and OW words
Week 7 · aw, au, augh and ough
14 words- awful
- awesome
- drawing
- author
- autumn
- laundry
- sausage
- caught
- taught
- daughter
- bought
- thought
- brought
- fought
About this pattern: AW and AU words
Week 8 · Consonant -le
15 words- table
- bubble
- pebble
- candle
- handle
- middle
- puddle
- little
- bottle
- simple
- purple
- jungle
- giggle
- ankle
- puzzle
About this pattern: -le words
Week 9 · -tion
15 words- action
- nation
- motion
- lotion
- station
- fraction
- section
- mention
- vacation
- direction
- question
- attention
- invention
- location
- addition
About this pattern: -tion words
Week 10 · -dge, -ge and soft g
15 words- badge
- bridge
- edge
- judge
- ledge
- hedge
- dodge
- cage
- page
- huge
- large
- change
- orange
- giraffe
- gentle
About this pattern: DGE and GE words
Week 11 · Soft c
15 words- city
- circle
- circus
- center
- cereal
- cement
- pencil
- place
- space
- dance
- fence
- prince
- voice
- juice
- notice
About this pattern: Soft c and soft g words
Week 12 · Silent letters
15 words- knee
- knife
- knock
- knight
- write
- wrong
- wrist
- wrinkle
- lamb
- thumb
- climb
- comb
- listen
- castle
- island
About this pattern: Silent letter words
Week 13 · Prefixes un-, re- and dis-
15 words- unhappy
- unlock
- unkind
- unpack
- untie
- unfair
- redo
- reread
- rebuild
- replay
- retell
- dislike
- disagree
- disappear
- disobey
Week 14 · Suffixes -ful, -less, -ly and -ness
15 words- helpful
- careful
- thankful
- cheerful
- careless
- fearless
- useless
- endless
- slowly
- quickly
- softly
- safely
- kindness
- sadness
- darkness
Week 15 · Adding -er and -est
15 words- bigger
- biggest
- hotter
- hottest
- sadder
- faster
- fastest
- taller
- tallest
- nicer
- nicest
- happier
- happiest
- funnier
- funniest
About this pattern: Adding -ing and -ed
Week 16 · Plurals
15 words- boxes
- dishes
- lunches
- glasses
- buses
- babies
- cities
- stories
- berries
- families
- leaves
- knives
- wolves
- children
- mice
About this pattern: Plurals with -s and -es
Week 17 · Contractions
15 words- don't
- can't
- won't
- didn't
- doesn't
- couldn't
- shouldn't
- wouldn't
- I'm
- it's
- you're
- they're
- we'll
- I've
- let's
About this pattern: Contractions
Week 18 · Homophones
14 words- to
- too
- two
- there
- their
- they're
- your
- you're
- its
- it's
- right
- write
- hear
- here
About this pattern: Homophones
Week 19 · Compound words
15 words- sunflower
- butterfly
- playground
- everyone
- everything
- grandmother
- grandfather
- basketball
- afternoon
- toothbrush
- waterfall
- fireplace
- earthquake
- headache
- newspaper
About this pattern: Compound words
Week 20 · Tricky words to know
15 words- because
- beautiful
- believe
- different
- enough
- favorite
- friend
- minute
- people
- probably
- special
- surprise
- through
- tomorrow
- usually
Have a list from school?
Use the exact words your child brought home for listening practice, a spelling test, and worksheets.