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Printable spelling dictionaries

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One thing all writers love is words.  So I created a printable spelling dictionary so my children would have a special place to keep them.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

So… do you consider yourself a natural speller?  How about your kids?  It’s true that the ability to spell comes easily to some kids and not so easily to others. I remember a first grade student who was a natural speller.  At her parent teacher conference I asked which of her parents she inherited that gift from.

The answer was, “Both of us.”

Then her dad continued.  “She’ll also inherit size 12 prom shoes.”

I guess that’s what happens when both of your parents are six feet tall!

Whether or not your child is a natural speller, these free printable spelling dictionaries are a fabulous resource.

How to use the spelling dictionaries

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!
Please note: the updated version has different pictures, in black and white.
  • If you are the parent of a preschooler or kindergartner, consider printing a book without the word lists. This way your child can be a word collector – spelling words as he hears them and writing words he already knows (his name, Mom, Dad, etc.).

Just yesterday my Four (almost five) was excitedly writing his own invented spellings.  He spelled turtle “TRDL.” I thought that was fabulous!  (Not so sure about invented spelling? Read my do’s and don’ts for invented spelling.)

  • If you choose to print a dictionary with word lists, encourage your child to use it as a reference as he seeks the spellings of words commonly used in writing.
  • Have your child use the lines as a recording space to write words he wants to use in his writing.  “How do you spell ‘happy’?”  (Encourage him to write the word on the “H” page as you give him the spelling, so he doesn’t need to ask again.)
These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!
Note: The new dictionaries have an updated look.
  • Let your child find his own use for the dictionary.  While I was working with my Four, my daughter was busy copying words from the word lists.  This was not my intent when I created the dictionary, but who am I to get in the way of child-led spelling practice?  When she wondered what to do next, I suggested she get out her new picture dictionary and find words she wanted to record. She was enthusiastic and stayed busy for a while.

How not to use the dictionaries

  • Please don’t encourage your child to look up every word he wants to write.  This will really slow down the creative process and make him dependent on spelling every word correctly before he’s ready to do that.
  • Please encourage your child to “invent” spellings according to her ability.  For example, I was thrilled when my Four spelled turtle “TRDL.”  Look at how many sounds he puzzled out!  He was learning much more about sounds by figuring out his invented spelling than by writing letters by rote as I dictated them, which would merely be handwriting practice.

Of course, if your child is truly ready to learn and remember a spelling, by all means supply the correct one.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Choose one of six versions!

When I first created these dictionaries, my oldest son was showing an increased interest in words.  He asked about words in print and wanted to write notes to his sister.   I knew it was time to give him a spelling dictionary, too.   However, since he was reading very little, I did not want to give him a dictionary with word lists already included.  Instead, I wanted him to puzzle out spellings on his own — while having a special place to house words that he uses a lot.

That’s why the first two versions have just the letters and a picture clue on each page.  I included pictures for the long and short vowel sounds as well as pictures for the hard and soft sounds of C and G.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Version 1 has pictures and handwriting lines.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Version 2 has pictures and wide lines.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Version 3 has word lists, pictures and narrower handwriting lines.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Version 4 has word lists, pictures and wide lines.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Version 5 has word lists, pictures, and narrow lines.

These free printable spelling dictionaries are AMAZING. 6 different versions for kids ages 4-8. So perfect to use during writing workshop!

Version 6 has word lists and narrow lines.

Whether you are a classroom teacher, homeschooling parent, or a parent (like me) who seeks to supplement your child’s school education, I hope you will find these dictionaries useful!

How to download, print, and assemble

Download the file and print with Adobe Reader. Make sure you print front to back. Set it to “flip on the short side,” or the backs will be upside down!

When done printing, fold the dictionary. Then open it back up and staple on the fold with a long-armed stapler

Get your free spelling dictionary (six versions)!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

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Reader Interactions

167 Comments

  1. Jaime

    I’m an educator and love your dictionaries for my younger students! However, I just came to print one off for my daughter and for the life of me, I can’t find the area to actually download the dictionaries!!! What am I doing wrong? I thought there was a link under each version but I’m not seeing anything now…

    Reply to this comment

    • Heather Groth, Customer Support

      Hello Jaime! We’re so glad the dictionaries work well for your students, and now your daughter! If you scroll down to the bottom of the post (but before the comments section), you’ll see a box outlined in green that says, “Get your free spelling dictionary (six versions)!” Then just click on the yellow button that says, “Click to Download,” and the pdf containing all six versions will pop up right away!

      Reply to this comment

  2. Laila

    Thank you so much for posting this great resource. I had been buying spelling dictionaries for my class out of my own pocket for years. This wasn’t too much of problem as I usually had very small class sizes. This year, I will have 22 students and just can’t afford it, but couldn’t see not having them as they are such a great help for students (and they love using them!). This is the perfect solution. I just tried printing using your very clear instructions and it worked perfectly (and I learned about “flip on the short side” – who knew!). Thanks, again!

    Reply to this comment

  4. Brooke

    Thank you so much for this FREE resource! I have a very similar one in my teacher files in our storage unit. I didn’t want to have to try to find it to use in my homeschool classroom, and I am grateful that you shared this one.

    Reply to this comment

  7. Grace Detwiler

    Just printed one out for my homeschooled first grader, this is going to be a great resource for her! She even got to decorate the cover with glitter to make it unique just for her!

    Reply to this comment

  13. Becky

    Love this! I am trying to print for my new class but am having trouble. There is not option on any of the printers I’ve tried to print both sides or flip the short edge. At home I’m using a Mac and at school PC. Any tips? Thank you so much!

    Reply to this comment

  14. myapplemonkey

    Thank you! This is just what I was looking for! I’m hoping this will be a great resource for my grade 4s to teach them not only spelling but also how to use a dictionary. 🙂

    Reply to this comment

  15. Angela

    Thank you so much for sharing. I will soon be teaching a creative writing class to 3rd to 6th graders. (It’s a Co-Op homeschool group.) This will help so much with helping the students become independent writers.

    Reply to this comment

  18. Lisa Spencer

    HI! I Love this..I’m a resource teacher and this is exactly what I need for a few students. I’m having trouble with printing, however. I am in Adobe but the print options looks different. No place to choose “Print on Both Sides” or “Flip on Short Side”. Maybe it’s a newer version of Adobe or because I’m printing from a Mac?? I’ve tried looking for comparable print options but don’t see anything. Have printed twice but it flips back page upside down : (
    Any thoughts or other programs I can print from? Thank you!

    Reply to this comment

  30. Louise

    I have downloaded many of your free resources and can only thank you for sharing so much that has clearly taken you so long to prepare. The children in my class benefit immensly from your generosity. Thank you so much.

    Reply to this comment

  32. Sue

    I have tried several times to print this but its not working. Plus the pages don’t match on your site S and T are 19 and 20 when I printed them they were S 19 and H 8. Could you help me Thank you so much!
    Sue

    Reply to this comment

  33. Lauren

    I printed the book. My first page is the cover…next page is a/z…next is y/b.
    If I follow the directions and fold the book, it reads: z, b, x, d.
    How can I arrange the pages so they read alphabetically?

    Reply to this comment

  34. Henry

    Love it can’t wait to show it to my daughters…

    just a comment about Dict 1 the letter P has Z underneath and the letter B has the # 26 page prob typo i was just wondering sorry

    Good Job Love it.

    thanks again

    Reply to this comment

  35. George

    Anne,

    Thank you for the resource.

    Both spelling books are very nice.

    A few constructive comments:

    In the My First Spelling Book, the lines are very large and not divided.
    For the very young age that is learning to place side of hand on paper and only move fingers, ½ inch or about 12 mm is a good line height. Adding a colored red dotted dash and a blue top line and green bottom line, may make the writing of letters more understandable and more inviting. This will hopefully help in making the short letters and tall letters easier to make. Then spacing these colored lines a ¼ inch apart will help the child understand letters with tails.

    Kids of ALL ages love color. In the example words, by making the vowels or vowel teams a color may help a child remember the most difficult part of English spelling, which grapheme to match up with a vowel sound (phoneme) whether this is a diphthong vowel sound or a monophthong vowel sound.

    Also adding a few simple examples in the CVC pattern would by nice in the My First Spelling Book.

    Many other ways could be used to pop the difficult to spell parts of English words. But this may clutter your cute little books.

    Again, I love the little books.

    George

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      HI George,

      Thanks for your suggestions! This is by far the most time consuming of all my printables, taking tens of hours to make and put together… so I am not looking at updating it in the near future. But I will certainly keep your suggestions in mind!

      Reply to this comment

  36. Clarissa

    Thank you so much for making these dictionaries! They are a great resource! Is it possible for me to switch the the clipart around so that I may use these dictionaries to help my nephew and niece study Spanish? Through a program like Photoshop or MS Word?

    Reply to this comment

  39. Tony Wong

    Thank you so much for creating and sharing this resource! The dictionaries looks great and I’m sure they will be extremely useful in my classroom! Thanks for including three options as well! 🙂

    Reply to this comment

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  50. Shonda

    OK, I’m not sure how to print this. I have an old printer and so I have to do everything manually meaning I print a page and then have to take it out and put it back in to print double sided. So is the title page part of the book or do I start printing double sided with the letter page? Are page 3/4 back and to back and 5/6 back to back. Like that? I am really confused! Sorry!

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Sorry it’s confusing, Shonda! The very first page is my Terms of Use. So just skip that. You will start with page 2, which is the cover of the book and part of it. So page 2 is the first page, and 3 goes on the back of it. If you print all the even pages first, reinsert the stack, and then print all the odd pages (starting with page 3, since page 1 is Terms of Use), it should work. Have I confused you more?

      Reply to this comment

  51. Tabitha

    Wow! Thanks for sharing this resource. I have been looking for something like this for awhile. I have a fourth grader, so some of the words are a little easy, but he has plenty of space to write in his own words.

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Yes, I used words from a list of “most commonly used words” in children’s writing. So I debated whether to keep some of those simple ones in there but in the end used them all. I’m glad you can use it, Tabitha!

      Reply to this comment

    • annageig

      Diane, I’m so sorry to hear that. 🙁 I haven’t heard from anyone else with the same problem. I’m afraid I’m not a techie by any means – but maybe we can figure something out?? Send me an e-mail at annageig@gmail.com with specifics about what’s not printing for you.

      Reply to this comment

  62. Conny

    I will adapt them to use the dictionary resources in German 🙂 Here children don’t go to school before they are 6 or 7 years old. Most of the kids haven’t learned how to read or write before school and I am not sure it might make primary school experience better or boring if they know how to do it. We have great schools too and teachers, but they often aren’t prepared to deal with “clever” children or those who wanted to learn things earlier and did so. Differentiating (?) tasks.. no clue how its called in English … I mean tasks that are so to say customized for the individual kids are still not used enough. Anyway, my four-year old loves to copy letters, I will just try and see how she likes doing it in a more structured and guided way. Thanks so much!!

    Reply to this comment

    • annageig

      Hi Conny — I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you. In your comment you talked about differentiating instruction (that’s what we call it here) in Germany – that teachers aren’t often prepared to do it. It’s definitely something we learn here as we study to be teachers, but in practice I’d say not many teachers actually do it. It’s much easier to have everyone do the same thing. When I taught I varied instruction for my students, but I had a hard time convincing my co-workers to give it a try.

      As for teaching kids too much before school so that they are bored… I’ve heard that before, but in my experience it doesn’t hold. My daughter was reading fluently before kindergarten – she has a great teacher, but she doesn’t differentiate instruction – and she loves school. When I taught the really bright kids (who also were well behaved) I was able to challenge them and they read in their spare time or did their own projects.

      Anyway — hope your 4 year old can use the dictionary!

      Reply to this comment

  67. Diana Rambles

    I love it! Pinned! I showed my daughter and she’s very excited about this. We have a little spelling reference book that was her brothers that she has at school that she uses quite a bit. She has wanted one for home and I think this is perfect. I love that it has room to add words. I am sure it will be filled by summer’s end!

    Reply to this comment

  69. Stephanie

    This is great, I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog on pinterest. This may be a silly question, but I’m wondering if the Writing Workshop you mentioned is a curriculum you purchased or if it’s something you made up? Writing (not handwriting) is not a strong area for me, at least in teaching it, so I’m looking for some resources I can use.

    Reply to this comment

    • annageig

      Hello, Stephanie!
      That is such a great question, and I am going to go back into the other post to clarify.

      First of all, I understand that writing is not a strong area for you because that’s true for most people. That’s why, I think, most people teach writing with just a prompt; they truly don’t know what else to do.

      Writing Workshop is not a curriculum; it’s just a way of teaching writing developed by an amazing educator named Lucy Calkins. It looks different in different grade levels, but this is the general idea:

      a) Teacher (or homeschooling parent) gives a mini-lesson. Here are sample lessons for different age levels:
      prek: draw a picture and write one letter to label the picture.
      Kindergarten: how to stretch out a word and write the sounds you hear.
      1st & 2nd grade: how to brainstorm to get writing ideas
      3rd & 4th: how to choose more interesting words for your writing
      etc.

      b) Give the kids lots of time to write. On any given day they may be: coming up with a new idea, writing about that idea, revising their work (changing it to make it better), editing their work (fixing spelling and grammar), or publishing their work (rewriting it or typing up their final copy).

      c) While kids are writing, you step in to “conference” – talk to them about what they’re doing and give assistance. In a classroom, a teacher walks around the room, keeping track of whom she’s talked with and taking notes about what to check for the next time she meets with those students. A homeschooling parent would offer encouragement and suggestions, but would not hover.

      d) Kids would share what they’ve written — in a classroom, just a few kids would share, or kids would share with buddies. At home the child could save his work to share with Daddy or a sibling.

      Here are some links that might help you:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_Workshop
      http://busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/writing_workshop.html

      And here are some excellent resources:
      The Art of Teaching Writing, by Lucy Calkins (a fat book! but really, truly excellent if you have time for it)

      Mini-Lessons for (K, 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc.) Here’s a link: http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Mini-Lessons-First-Grade-Four-Blocks/dp/0887248136/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366936679&sr=1-1&keywords=writing+mini+lessons+for+first+grade — these books are much shorter and very practical

      Can I ask if you are a classroom teacher or a homeschooling parent?

      I do plan to offer mini-lessons in the near future. I may be working with another blogger to develop those, so please check back! If you follow by e-mail, you won’t miss it 🙂

      Reply to this comment

      • Stephanie

        Thanks for explaining, that’s really helpful. I am definitely going to check out those links. I’m a homeschooling mom to ages 8,7,4,2. My 8 yo is finishing up 3rd grade, and she loves to write stories, I just have a hard time helping her make them better. I can see the big picture, that to make her writing better she could be more descriptive, add more sentences, etc. And I can correct her grammar and spelling. But I don’t always know how to go about teaching her those things at her level in a way we can build on. Wow, I need to start researching curriculum… 🙂

        Reply to this comment

        • annageig

          Hello, again, Stephanie! I was thinking of you recently when I dug through my files and found a presentation I gave on Writer’s Workshop at a teacher’s conference some years ago. It is written for classroom teachers but is easily adaptable to home instruction. I can e-mail you the document if you’d like. If you’re interested, just reply to this comment with your e-mail address or send me a message at themeasuredmom@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you!

          Reply to this comment

      • Angie

        As a classroom teacher, I loved Writer’s Workshop. Even the most reluctant writer wanted to share something. When I came home to teach my children, I let go of it as one of those things that was a “classroom” strategy, so I am very intrigued how you make it work, especially the management of their work and the different grade levels. My kids are 8, 5, 3 and 1. I’m trying to wrap my brain about so much. What I am saying is I would probably really love a class.

        Thank you for spelling dictionary!!

        Reply to this comment

        • annageig

          Hello, Angie! I am planning to start up Writing Workshop at the table this summer, and at the end of the summer I am teaming up with This Reading Mama to share a writing mini-lesson series. We will likely be starting with preschool and then move into the primary grades a few months later. I think that doing Writing Workshop at home is ideal (even though I admit I’ve yet to try it!) because you can conference as often as you need to and give such personalized instruction. We’ll see 🙂

          Reply to this comment

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