1st Grade spelling
1st Grade Short I Words
First grade short i words with blends and digraphs: with, this, think, list, ship, fish, stick. Play hangman, read the list, or print a worksheet.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: One-syllable words of four to six letters with a single vowel, i, saying its short sound, often with a blend or digraph.
Short i in first grade covers a mix of everyday words: with, this, which, think, list, bring, miss, wish, king, pick, ship, fish, stick and switch. All are one syllable with i as the only vowel, and most carry a digraph or a blend. This is where children use what they learned in kindergarten (sit, big, pin) on longer words.
The words were chosen by pattern and checked with a pronunciation dictionary, and frequency data put them in a first grade band. A few words, such as king, ring and think, have the i before ng or nk. The vowel in those words is still counted as short i, though the nasal sound pulls it a little, so it helps to teach them together as their own group. The list also shows ck (pick, sick, stick) and tch (switch) endings, and the doubled s in miss and kiss.
30 entries. Our solver needed 6.1 wrong guesses on average: 0 easy, 5 medium and 25 hard. The toughest is king (13 misses), the quickest this (3).
- with Hard · 8
- this Medium · 3
- which Hard · 7
- think Hard · 7
- list Medium · 3
- bring Hard · 6
- miss Hard · 5
- wish Hard · 6
- king Hard · 13
- pick Hard · 9
- risk Hard · 5
- link Hard · 6
- ship Medium · 4
- spring Hard · 6
- rich Hard · 8
- skin Hard · 7
- fish Hard · 5
- trip Hard · 6
- sick Hard · 5
- click Hard · 5
- ring Hard · 5
- fifth Hard · 5
- gift Hard · 7
- stick Hard · 5
- kick Hard · 8
- split Hard · 5
- wing Hard · 10
- switch Medium · 4
- kiss Hard · 6
- shift Medium · 4
Words worth a closer look
- whichThe ch here follows a short vowel, an exception to the rule that tch does that job. Rich is similar. Teach it as a word to remember, and keep it apart from witch.
- thinkThe n sounds like ng before k. Children who spell by ear often write thik or thingk, so tap out the sounds slowly.
- switchShort vowel plus tch, with sw as the start. A long word for a first grader, so save it for later in the week.
- fifthEnds with th after f, and children usually drop the first f or the last th. Count the sounds to check.
- kissDoubled s after a short vowel, matching miss. A quick example of the doubling habit.
- clickCombines cl at the start and ck at the end, so the c and k appear twice. Slow it down and listen for each sound.
Teaching it
Group the words by ending and teach one group a day. Day one: ng and nk (king, ring, bring, spring, think, link). Day two: ck (pick, sick, kick, click, stick). Day three: ss and sh (miss, kiss, wish, fish). Day four: st and ft (list, gift, shift). Short, steady groups beat a long list taught in one sitting.
Common errors include leaving out the n in think (thik), writing c instead of k before the i in kick, and spelling which with a missing h. In hangman, ask the class to predict whether the ending will be ck or sh before they guess, which gets them reasoning from the pattern. Use the printable at the end of the week for a short test.
Print a 1st Grade Short I 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 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.