Spelling games with time to hear, build and try again
Spelling Workshop practises putting letters in order. Hear a recorded word, use the sentence to understand which word is missing, then build its spelling with letter tiles or a keyboard. A word model is available when you need to look, cover and try again. There is no countdown, speed score, signup or penalty for asking for support.
This is a different task from Sound Box, where learners blend sounds and match a picture, and Formation, where they trace letter paths. Here, the editable spelling is the answer. The letter bank supplies the word’s letters, so it is supported practice rather than unrestricted spelling from memory.
Choose a list that fits current teaching
The lists contain the 45 Year 1 and 64 Year 2 example common exception words in England’s English Appendix 1: Spelling, split in published order into 22 short lists. Most contain five words; the final Year 2 list contains four. Schools may use other words or a different sequence. Year labels identify the source examples, not an age test, an exact programme match or a complete spelling curriculum. The published list includes children because of its relationship with child.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Common exception words still contain sound–letter relationships. Which parts are unfamiliar can depend on the teaching and accent. Discuss the word, its sounds and meaning with the learner; the game’s letters are individual written characters, not a claim that every letter is a separate phoneme. For example, the two letters in sh can represent one sound.
Browse the actual words in every list
Year 1 · List 1
the, a, do, to, today
Open Year 1 · List 1Year 1 · List 2
of, said, says, are, were
Open Year 1 · List 2Year 1 · List 3
was, is, his, has, I
Open Year 1 · List 3Year 1 · List 4
you, your, they, be, he
Open Year 1 · List 4Year 1 · List 5
me, she, we, no, go
Open Year 1 · List 5Year 1 · List 6
so, by, my, here, there
Open Year 1 · List 6Year 1 · List 7
where, love, come, some, one
Open Year 1 · List 7Year 1 · List 8
once, ask, friend, school, put
Open Year 1 · List 8Year 1 · List 9
push, pull, full, house, our
Open Year 1 · List 9Year 2 · List 1
door, floor, poor, because, find
Open Year 2 · List 1Year 2 · List 2
kind, mind, behind, child, children
Open Year 2 · List 2Year 2 · List 3
wild, climb, most, only, both
Open Year 2 · List 3Year 2 · List 4
old, cold, gold, hold, told
Open Year 2 · List 4Year 2 · List 5
every, everybody, even, great, break
Open Year 2 · List 5Year 2 · List 6
steak, pretty, beautiful, after, fast
Open Year 2 · List 6Year 2 · List 7
last, past, father, class, grass
Open Year 2 · List 7Year 2 · List 8
pass, plant, path, bath, hour
Open Year 2 · List 8Year 2 · List 9
move, prove, improve, sure, sugar
Open Year 2 · List 9Year 2 · List 10
eye, could, should, would, who
Open Year 2 · List 10Year 2 · List 11
whole, any, many, clothes, busy
Open Year 2 · List 11Year 2 · List 12
people, water, again, half, money
Open Year 2 · List 12Year 2 · List 13
Mr, Mrs, parents, Christmas
Open Year 2 · List 13Hear the word or study a model
Choose Start practice, then press Hear word to play the whole word. Sound never starts merely because you opened a page or moved to the next word. The sentence has a blank for the target and helps separate words that can sound alike. For Mr and Mrs, the recording gives the spoken title while the task asks for its short written form.
The 109 clips are pre-generated synthetic speech made with ElevenLabs using the site’s commissioned voice. They are whole-word recordings, not phonics sound instruction or a human pronunciation assessment. Preview the selected list’s clips and check volume before shared play. Replay and Stop sound are available. If a recording cannot play, use Show word (model) to continue.
Show word reveals the spelling without erasing an attempt. Look at the letters and their order, then use Cover and build to return to editing. The model must be covered before Check. Using it is welcomed support; no points or stickers are removed.
Build, edit and check
Tap the available letter tiles or type in Your spelling. Each tile can be used as many times as that letter appears in the word; repeated letters have separate tiles. Backspace removes the last letter; Clear attempt empties it. Enter in the text field checks the spelling. The input switches off browser spelling assistance and accepts letters only. Upper- and lower-case attempts are accepted; capitalisation is displayed in the model and accepted word, but is not assessed.
Check spelling keeps an incorrect attempt editable and points to a letter position or length to revisit. Replay, study the model or change the attempt, then check again. A match reveals the word and waits for a separate Next word. Finish list saves completion and earns that list’s sticker in the sticker book. Stickers record supported practice, not independent mastery or an assessment result.
Return to saved practice
Every list saves its current word, spelling attempt and model state separately in this browser. A checked word still waits for Next after you return. Favourites and recent games retain the chosen list. Replaying a list starts a fresh order without taking away earned stickers. Clearing browser data can remove saved work; if storage is blocked, a warning explains that the page can keep working but leaving may lose progress.
The game uses labelled buttons, a native text field and normal page scrolling. Tab moves between controls; Enter or Space activates a focused button. Holding an activation key does not keep checking or advancing. No dragging, automatic speech or uploaded player text is required. Shared play can include an adult reading a word or sentence aloud and discussing its meaning.
Match capital and lowercase forms, order letters or complete an alphabet segment in Alphabet Workshop. Letter-name recordings are optional; they are different from phonics sounds.
For sentence editing, try Punctuation Workshop: full stops, questions, capitals, list commas and contractions, with four separately saved routes.