A complete 3rd grade spelling words list — grouped by spelling pattern for easy weekly teaching — with free printable practice worksheets and a blank test template. These words reflect a typical third-grade year: r-controlled vowels, suffixes, plurals, compound words, and frequently misspelled words.
This list has 40 words grouped into 5 pattern-based units, so you can assign one set a week. Use the Practice Worksheet to write each word, the ABC Order Sheet for alphabetizing practice, and the Blank Spelling Test template on test day. All three print on standard US Letter paper.
For the sound-and-spelling patterns behind these words, see our phonics worksheets; for high-frequency reading words, see sight words.
A third-grade spelling list usually runs 10 to 15 words per week, or roughly 40 words per month. This page covers a representative set across the main third-grade patterns.
Third graders most often misspell irregular high-frequency words like friend, favorite, February, different, and believe, which do not follow a simple spelling rule.