Commonly Misspelled Words List: 4th & 5th Grade (Printable)

Mastering spelling skills can be very challenging, especially within the english language! As a homeschool mom of a 1st and 5th grader, I’ve seen first hand which words often get misspelled more than others. Over the years, we have practiced many spelling words from multiple different spelling lists found in our curriculum and online. To simplify things, I have put together this commonly misspelled words list for both 4th grade and 5th grade!

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Grade Levels

If you homeschool like we do, you know that grade levels don’t really apply as much as they do in public school. However, the grade levels I’ve used for these spelling words are just an average. You know your children best and you will know if these are the right word lists for them or not. If your child is in 3rd grade but is ready for these words, then go ahead and use them! Or if your child is older but still struggles with spelling, that’s ok too! Grade levels really are an average when it comes to homeschooling. Simply meeting your children where they’re at is the best way to help them learn. To read more about why grade levels aren’t important for homeschoolers, click here.

Also, even if your children aren’t struggling with the correct spelling of these specific words, giving your child new words for spelling practice is a great way to expand their vocabulary.

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Tricky Words

Within this commonly misspelled words list, I’ve included some “tricky words” that tend to be more of a challenge. When I present tricky words to my kids, I like to tell them that these words are known to be tricky, so they don’t feel too discouraged if they don’t get them right away.

Tips For Spelling Practice

Have your kids start a spelling notebook that they can write their spelling words in. Writing is a great way to commit things to memory and the more times they write the word, the easier it will be for them to remember how to spell it.
Review their spelling for a few minutes every day.
Each day, choose a few spelling words from the list and ask them to verbally use them in a sentence.
For words that are really challenging for them to remember, try putting the spelling of the word to a tune or rhythm – this always worked well for me as a kid!

Word Walls

Another great option for helping your kids with their spelling words is to create a word wall somewhere in your home where they will see it frequently. It could be in the room where your kids do their homeschool, or anywhere else that you see fit.

I wouldn’t suggest placing ALL of your child’s spelling words on the word wall, as that would end up being too cluttered. Focus on the ones they are struggling with the most and just tape them up for a week or so. As you and your child walk past that wall, stop for a minute, have your child look at a word and spell it. Then have them close their eyes and see if they can remember it.

Make sure to keep this activity light and fun! Don’t force them to stand in front of the wall everyday and recite every word that’s on it. You don’t want to make them hate spelling and forcing them to do something like that would most likely cause them some stress. Keep it short, simple and fun. And most importantly, celebrate their successes!

Additional Activities

When you do go through this commonly misspelled words list with your children, take note of any words they don’t know the meaning of. Use those to create a list of words for vocabulary research later on. I believe it’s important for kids to understand the words they are spelling and not just memorize the letters. It provides context and they are more likely to return to that word in their everyday writing.

Another activity you could do with your children, is to give them this word list and have them re-write their own list by putting these words in alphabetical order. Sorting words into alphabetical order is a great way to start memorizing the words, because it allows them to take a closer look and really familiarize themselves with each word.