Spelling words for 4th grade: 16 weekly lists
Free 4th grade spelling lists, one spelling pattern a week with the rule in plain words. Open any week in the spelling maker for a practice sheet, a test and games, or print all 16 lists.
Week 1Ough and augh
The letters ough and augh can make several sounds, so learn each word by sight.
- thought
- bought
- brought
- fought
- ought
- sought
- caught
- taught
- daughter
- naughty
- through
- though
Week 2Silent k and w
In kn the k is silent, and in wr the w is silent.
- knee
- knife
- knock
- knot
- know
- knight
- write
- wrong
- wrist
- wrap
- wreck
- wren
Week 3Silent b and g
In mb the b is silent, and in gn the g is silent.
- lamb
- thumb
- climb
- comb
- crumb
- limb
- plumber
- sign
- design
- gnat
- gnaw
- reign
Week 4Silent t
In words like listen and castle, the t is silent.
- listen
- castle
- whistle
- fasten
- often
- soften
- glisten
- hustle
- wrestle
- thistle
- rustle
- moisten
Week 5Ei and eigh
The letters ei and eigh often say the long a sound, as in vein and eight.
- eight
- weigh
- weight
- freight
- neighbor
- vein
- rein
- beige
- veil
- eighty
- eighteen
- neigh
Week 6I before e
Write i before e, except after c, when the sound is long e.
- believe
- field
- piece
- chief
- shield
- thief
- niece
- brief
- yield
- receive
- ceiling
- receipt
Week 7Suffix tion
The ending that sounds like shun is most often spelled tion.
- action
- nation
- motion
- station
- lotion
- fiction
- caution
- section
- fraction
- question
- vacation
- addition
Week 8Suffix sion
Some words end in sion, which can sound like zhun or shun.
- vision
- decision
- explosion
- division
- confusion
- tension
- mission
- permission
- discussion
- expression
- collision
- television
Week 9Prefixes pre and mis
The prefix pre means before, and mis means wrongly.
- preview
- preheat
- prepay
- preschool
- pretest
- preset
- misread
- misspell
- mistake
- misplace
- misuse
- mislead
Week 10Suffixes able and ible
The suffixes able and ible mean can be, and a whole word before the suffix usually takes able.
- readable
- washable
- breakable
- comfortable
- enjoyable
- valuable
- possible
- visible
- terrible
- flexible
- sensible
- edible
Week 11Homophones, set three
Homophones sound the same, so use the meaning to pick the spelling.
- weather
- whether
- break
- brake
- pair
- pear
- plane
- plain
- threw
- through
- peace
- piece
Week 12Suffix ous
The suffix ous means full of, as in joyous.
- famous
- nervous
- joyous
- curious
- generous
- dangerous
- enormous
- delicious
- various
- previous
- serious
- mysterious
Week 13Suffix ure
The ending ure often sounds like cher or zher, as in picture and treasure.
- picture
- nature
- future
- creature
- adventure
- capture
- furniture
- treasure
- measure
- pleasure
- mixture
- texture
Week 14Ph and gh for f
The f sound can be spelled ph, or gh at the end of some words.
- phone
- photo
- graph
- alphabet
- dolphin
- elephant
- trophy
- phrase
- laugh
- cough
- rough
- enough
Week 15Qu
The letter q is almost always followed by u, and together they say kw.
- quiet
- quick
- quilt
- queen
- quarter
- question
- equal
- square
- quote
- squeeze
- liquid
- request
Week 16Words often misspelled
Some words do not follow the rules, so say each part slowly as you spell it.
- friend
- people
- special
- favorite
- library
- probably
- different
- surprise
- until
- beginning
- beautiful
- already
How the lists are built
- Each week teaches one pattern, in the order the phonics steps and the grade's spelling usually come: short vowels and blends in 1st grade, vowel teams and endings in 2nd, prefixes and suffixes in 3rd, Latin and Greek roots in 5th and 6th.
- Every word on a pattern list has that pattern; a check runs on each one before the page is published. Heart words are the few common words that do not follow it.
- The spelling maker opens with the week's words typed in, and makes a look-say-cover-write-check sheet, a test with a teacher's copy, a scramble, and bingo, word search and flashcards from the same list. The list rides in the address after the #, so it never reaches our server.