Spelling Inventory Directions

The Spelling Inventory is a tool used to assess a student’s words knowledge.

Grade Level / Words to be given
First / 1-10
Second / 1-20
Third / 1-30
Fourth / 1-40
Fifth / 1-50
Sixth / 1-50
Secondary / 51-81

Elementary

1. Students are NOT to study these words. This would negate the purpose of the inventory.

2. The inventory may be used three times a year (fall, winter, spring) as a tool to monitor progress.

3. Administer the inventory as you would any spelling test. Recite the word and then read the dictation sentence provided for each word.

4. Compare the student’s spelled word to each phonetic element on the Spelling Inventory Chart. Highlight any incorrect phonetic elements.

Note: not every phonetic element is represented on the Spelling Inventory Chart.

5. Form intervention groups according to an error analysis. Limit groups to 3-5 students with similar needs. For example:

- students who have not mastered sl/st blends

- students who have not mastered short vowels

Secondary (Words 31-81)

Students are NOT to study these words. This would negate the purpose of the inventory.

The inventory should be used as a tool to monitor progress twice a year (pre/post)

Administer the inventory as you would any spelling test. Recite the word and then read the dictation sentence provided for each word.

Compare the student’s spelled word to each phonetic element on the Spelling Inventory Feature Guide. Highlight any incorrect phonetic elements.

Note: not every phonetic element is represented on the Spelling Inventory Chart.

5.Target instruction to meet the needs of students based on data.

Spelling Inventory

Features / Short
Vowel / Blend / Digraph
Trigraph / Vowel
+R / VCe / Vowel
Teams / Cle / Inflections / Prefix / Final
Syllable/
Suffix
1 / slip / i / sl
2 / dust / u / st
3 / then / e / th
4 / clock / o / cl / _ck
5 / string / i / str / _ng
6 / left / e / ft
7 / match / a / _tch
8 / shark / sh / ar
9 / brink / br / _nk
10 / skate / sk / a_e
11 / green / gr / ee
12 / plight / pl / igh
13 / quote / qu / o_e
14 / treated / tr / ea / ed
15 / thorn / th / or
16 / burnt / _nt / ur
17 / twirl / tw / ir
18 / maple / ple
19 / boiling / oi / ing
20 / coached / ch / oa / ed

Maltby/Merkel 06

Spelling Inventory

Features / Short
Vowel / Blend / Digraph
Trigraph / Vowel
+R / VCe / Vowel
Teams / Cle / Inflections / Prefix / Final
Syllable/
Suffix
21 / sailor / ai / or
22 / smooth / sm / _th / oo
23 / unheated / ea / un / ed
24 / reused / u_e / re
25 / dislike / i_e / dis
26 / title / tle / able
27 / loudest / ou / est
28 / nudge / _dge
29 / hardly / ar / ly
30 / powerful / er / ful
31 / lawlessness / less/ness
32 / pennies / ies
33 / discovery / y
34 / scribble / scr / ble
35 / subway / sub
36 / fraction / fr / tion
37 / strictness / str / ness
38 / mishandled / dle / mis
39 / immature / im / ture
40 / profession / sion

Maltby/Merkel 06

Spelling Inventory

Features / Short
Vowel / Consonant Digraphs
& Blends / Long Vowels
& Other Patterns / Syllable Junctures & Easy Prefixes & Suffixes / Harder Prefixes, Suffixes, & Unaccented Syllables / Bases, Roots, & Derivatives
41 / bottle / tt / le
42 / resident / ent
43 / visible / ible / vis
44 / category / e (schwa)
45 / criticize / critic
46 / confidence / con / ence
47 / puncture / ure / punct
48 / decorator / (e-drop) or / decor
49 / fortunate / ate / fortun
50 / opposition / op / position

Revised/Larkins 09

Secondary Spelling Inventory

Features / Digraphs
& Blends / Vowels / Complex
Consonants / Inflected
Endings &
Syllable
Juncture / Unaccented
Final
Syllables / Affixes / Reduced
Vowels in
Unaccented
Syllables / Greek
and
Latin
Elements / Assimilated Prefixes
51 / switch / sw / i / tch
52 / smudge / sm / u / dge
53 / trapped / tr / pp
54 / scrape / a-e / scr
55 / knotted / o / kn / tt
56 / shaving / sh / e-drop
57 / squirt / ir / squ
58 / pounce / ou / ce
59 / scratches / a / tch / es
60 / crater / cr / t / er
61 / sailor / ai / or
62 / village / ll / age
63 / disloyal / oy / al / dis
64 / tunnel / nn / el
65 / humor / m / or
66 / confidence / con / fid
67 / fortunate / ate / fortun
68 / visible / ible / vis
69 / circumference / ence / circum
70 / civilization / liz / civil
71 / monarch / arch
72 / dominance / ance / min
73 / correspond / res / rr
Features / Digraphs
& Blends / Vowels / Complex
Consonants / Inflected
Endings &
Syllable
Juncture / Unaccented
Final
Syllables / Affixes / Reduced
Vowels in
Unaccented
Syllables / Greek
and
Latin
Elements / Assimilated Prefixes
74 / illiterate / ate / ll
75 / emphasize / size / pha
76 / opposition / pos / pp
77 / chlorine / ine / chlor
78 / commotion / tion / mm
79 / medicinal / al / medic
80 / irresponsible / ible / res / rr
81 / succession / sion / cc

Spelling Inventory Dictation Sentences

Level 1
1. / slip / Don’t slip on the ice!
2. / dust / Please dust the table.
3. / then / We’ll eat dinner then go to the store.
4. / clock / This clock has the wrong time on it.
5. / string / The kite string is all tangled.
6. / left / Are there any cookies left?
7. / match / My socks don’t match.
8. / shark / A shark swims quickly and quietly.
9. / brink / I was on the brink of crying.
10. / skate / It’s not safe to skate in the street.
Level 2
11. / green / A palo verde tree has a green trunk.
12. / plight / I worry about the plight of endangered animals.
13. / quote / It’s okay for you to quote my words.
14. / treated / My friend treated me to an ice cream cone.
15. / thorn / The thorn on the brush poked me.
16. / burnt / I don’t like burnt toast very much.
17. / twirl / Twirl around so I can see your back.
18. / maple / Mom put maple syrup on my pancakes.
19. / boiling / Add the eggs when the water is boiling.
20. / coached / Mr. King is the man who coached my team.
Level 3
21. / sailor / The sailor swabbed the deck of the ship.
22. / smooth / Beat the cake batter until it is smooth.
23. / unheated / Our swimming pool is unheated.
24. / reused / My teacher reused the empty boxes.
25. / dislike / How can anyone dislike such a cute puppy?
26. / title / I knew the author but not the title of the book.
27. / loudest / Our class cheered the loudest on Field Day.
28. / nudge / I gave her a nudge so she would move over.
29. / hardly / We hardly know the new student.
30. / powerful / A lion has powerful jaws.
Level 4
31. / lawlessness / There was a lot of lawlessness in the Old West.
32. / pennies / Pennies used to be made of copper.
33. / discovery / We made a surprising discovery.
34. / scribble / Little children scribble before they learn to write.
35. / subway / I rode the underground subway.
36. / fraction / I only have a small fraction of my homework left to do.
37. / strictness / The coach was known for her strictness about playing fairly.
38. / mishandle / Please don’t mishandle the new equipment.
39. / immature / Younger brothers and sisters can seem so immature.
40. / profession / Teaching is a rewarding profession.
Level 5-6
41. / bottle / The bottle of shampoo fell from his slippery hands.
42. / resident / Mrs. Neilson has been a resident of this town for over 40 years.
43. / visible / The singer was visible to everyone in the room.
44. / category / When recycling, put plastic in one category and paper in another.
45. / criticize / It is always easy to criticize someone else's endeavors.
46. / confidence / Her confidence grew with each success.
47. / puncture / John saw the puncture in his bicycle tire.
48. / decorator / She hired a decorator to design the living room.
49. / fortunate / It was fortunate that the car had snow tires in the snowstorm.
50. / opposition / The coach said the opposition would give us a tough game.

Secondary Spelling Inventory Dictation Sentences

51.switchI will switch my laundry from the washer to the dryer.

52.smudgeThe eraser left a smudge on the paper.

53.trappedThe bear was trapped in the cage.

54.scrapeI will scrape the cake batter out of the bowl.

55.knottedThe scout knotted the rope to secure the tent.

56.shavingThe man is shaving his beard.

57.squirtThe ketchup will squirt out of the container.

58.pounceI watched the cat pounce on the mouse.

59.scratchesThe dog scratches at the back door.

60.craterThe meteor created a large crater in the ground.

61.sailorThe sailor prepared his boat for the journey.

62.villageWe will hike to the tiny village in the mountains.

63.disloyalThe disloyal soldier shared battle plans with the enemy.

64.tunnelThe engineers built a tunnel in the mountain.

65.humorHer sense of humor made the lesson entertaining.

66.confidenceSpeaking in class helped boost his confidence.

67.fortunateThe family was fortunate to receive help.

68.visibleThe entire valley is visible from the mountaintop.

69.circumferenceThe circumference of the circle is 20 inches.

70.civilizationA plague destroyed the civilization.

71.monarchThe kingdom was ruled by a monarch.

72.dominanceThe bully’s dominance controlled the crowd.

73.correspondYour grades in school correspond to your study habits.

74.illiteratePeople who cannot read and write are illiterate.

75.emphasizePlease underline the words you would like to emphasize.

76.oppositionThe opposition slowed down the team’s advance.

77.chlorineMy dad put chlorine in our swimming pool.

78.commotionThe commotion in the crowd led to a fight.

79.medicinalMy grandmother drinks tea for medicinal reasons.

80.irresponsibleFailure to keep promises is irresponsible.

81.successionThe queen’s succession to the throne begins today.

Spelling Inventory Error Analysis Sheet

Students Names / Digraphs
and
Blends / Vowels / Complex Consonants / Inflected
Endings and Syllable
Juncture / Unaccented Final
Syllables / Affixes / Reduced Vowels in Unaccented Syllables / Greek and Latin Elements / Assimilated Prefixes
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