1st Grade spelling
1st Grade CK Words
First grade ck words: back, pack, quick, trick, deck, sock, duck. Play hangman with this spelling list, read it with scores, or print a worksheet.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: One-syllable words ending in ck after a short vowel, the most common spelling of /k/ at the end of a short word.
Ck is a spelling for the /k/ sound at the end of a short word. It follows a single short vowel in a one-syllable word: pack, deck, sock, tuck, quick, trick, brick, snack and stack. In a digraph, two letters make one sound, and ck is one of them: the c and k together say /k/ once. This list collects thirty such words.
The words were chosen by spelling pattern, with each checked against a pronunciation dictionary, and a frequency filter placed them in a first grade band. Ck is a very reliable spelling rule, which makes it a good one to teach early. It is also one of the first rules children can explain: ck never starts a word, and it does not follow a long vowel or a consonant. Compare back with bake, or desk with deck. The words also reinforce each short vowel.
30 entries. Our solver needed 6.5 wrong guesses on average: 0 easy, 7 medium and 23 hard. The toughest is buck (13 misses), the quickest snack (3).
- quick Hard · 8
- pack Hard · 8
- trick Hard · 6
- thick Hard · 7
- deck Hard · 8
- brick Hard · 8
- chick Hard · 7
- hack Hard · 6
- stack Medium · 4
- buck Hard · 13
- wreck Medium · 4
- sack Medium · 4
- rack Hard · 6
- snack Medium · 3
- tick Hard · 7
- lick Hard · 7
- slack Medium · 4
- slick Hard · 5
- smack Hard · 5
- flick Hard · 5
- puck Hard · 11
- sock Hard · 6
- tuck Hard · 8
- peck Hard · 8
- shack Medium · 4
- whack Hard · 6
- tack Hard · 6
- wick Hard · 10
- knack Medium · 3
- pluck Hard · 7
Words worth a closer look
- quickStarts with qu, where u is needed because q always travels with u. The ck at the end is the regular part.
- wreckStarts with a silent w. The ck at the end is regular, so the only hard part is wr.
- knackStarts with a silent k. Compare it with knock, which has the same silent k and ck ending.
- chickStarts and ends with the sound /ch/ and /k/. Spot the ch and ck together.
- thickTh at the start and ck at the end, two digraphs in one word. Ask children to circle both.
- shackSh and ck, two digraphs again. The vowel is short a, so the rule holds.
Teaching it
Show the rule with a quick sort. Put a word with a short vowel and ck, like pack, beside a word with a long vowel and ke, like make, and ask what is different. Then give children a list of words to complete, such as pa_, de_, so_ and tu_, and have them write ck. Repeat daily with new words until it is automatic.
Errors include writing just k (pak), writing ck after a consonant (ranck) and using ck at the beginning of a word. Hangman is good for this list because the ending is predictable: call out that every word ends in ck, and the game becomes a vowel and starting letter search. Add the printable to the end of week for a written check.
Print a 1st Grade CK Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 1st Grade Short A WordsFirst grade short a words with blends and digraphs: that, back, last, hand, class, match. Play hangman with the list, or print a worksheet.
- 1st Grade Short E WordsFirst grade short e words with blends and digraphs: when, best, next, check, dress, fresh. Play the hangman game, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade Short I WordsFirst grade short i words with blends and digraphs: with, this, think, list, ship, fish, stick. Play hangman, read the list, or print a worksheet.
- 1st Grade Short O WordsFirst grade short o words with blends and digraphs: stop, rock, drop, shop, block, clock, frog. Play hangman, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade Short U WordsFirst grade short u words with blends and digraphs: just, much, club, luck, jump, lunch, brush. Play hangman, read the list, or print a sheet.
- 1st Grade SH WordsFirst grade sh words: she, shop, ship, fish, dish, wash, sheep, shell. Play hangman with the list, read it with difficulty scores, or print a sheet.