1st Grade spelling
1st Grade Short A Words
First grade short a words with blends and digraphs: that, back, last, hand, class, match. Play hangman with the list, or print a worksheet.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: One-syllable words of four to six letters with a single vowel, a, saying its short sound, often with a blend or digraph.
In first grade, short a moves beyond cat and map. The vowel is still the closed-syllable short a, but the words now carry blends and digraphs around it: that, back, last, hand, plan, black, stand, grand, glass and camp. Each word on this list is one syllable, four to six letters, with a as its only vowel.
The words were picked by pattern and each was checked against a pronunciation dictionary, so the a really says its short sound. Word frequency sorted them into a first grade band, meaning the words children meet in early readers. The list also shows the spelling habits that go with short a: double final letters in class, pass and glass, tch in match and catch, and ck in back, black and track. Once children can encode the vowel, these endings are what they must learn next.
30 entries. Our solver needed 4.7 wrong guesses on average: 0 easy, 15 medium and 15 hard. The toughest is back (9 misses), the quickest last (2).
- that Medium · 4
- than Hard · 5
- back Hard · 9
- last Medium · 2
- thank Medium · 4
- black Hard · 5
- fact Hard · 6
- hand Hard · 5
- class Medium · 2
- past Hard · 6
- plan Hard · 6
- land Hard · 6
- bank Hard · 7
- stand Medium · 2
- fast Hard · 5
- match Medium · 4
- staff Hard · 6
- pass Medium · 3
- track Medium · 4
- band Hard · 8
- cash Medium · 4
- lack Hard · 6
- grand Medium · 3
- glad Hard · 6
- plant Medium · 4
- catch Medium · 3
- mass Medium · 2
- glass Medium · 3
- brand Medium · 4
- camp Hard · 6
Words worth a closer look
- thatStarts with th, one sound from two letters. It is also one of the most common words children write, so spelling it automatically frees attention for harder words.
- matchThe tch spelling follows a short vowel at the end of a one-syllable word. Contrast it with each, where ch follows a long vowel.
- thankThe n here sounds like ng, because it comes before k. Children often leave out the n when they spell by ear.
- glassA short vowel then double s at the end of a one-syllable word, like class, pass and mass. Teachers often call this the floss rule.
- staffFinal ff follows the same doubling habit as glass. Only a few endings double this way, mostly f, l and s.
- backSpelled with ck, the usual way to end a short word with /k/ after a short vowel. The ck page has many more.
Teaching it
Start with a quick review of the kindergarten CVC words, then add one ending at a time. A good order is final blends (hand, last, camp), then ck (back, lack, track), then the doubled s (pass, mass, class, glass). Sort word cards by ending so children see the groups for themselves. Say each word, tap out the sounds, then write it.
Mistakes to expect include writing n before the d too early or leaving it out (had for hand), putting k instead of ck at the end of back, and spelling catch without the t. In a hangman round, reveal the a first and ask the class whether the ending is likely to be ck, ss or tch. Keep notes on each word that gets missed and use the printable sheet as the Friday check.
Print a 1st Grade Short A 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 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.
- 1st Grade CH WordsFirst grade ch words: chair, cheese, each, beach, teach, watch, pitch. Play hangman with the list, read it with scores, or print a worksheet.