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)
1. Students are NOT to study these words. This would negate the purpose of the
inventory.
2. The inventory should be used as a tool to monitor progress twice a year
(pre/post)
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 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
1
slip
i
sl
2
dust
u
st
3
then
e
4
clock
o
cl
_ck
5
string
i
str
_ng
6
left
e
ft
7
match
a
8
shark
9
brink
br
10
skate
sk
11
green
gr
ee
12
plight
pl
igh
13
quote
qu
14
treated
tr
15
thorn
th
or
16
burnt
_nt
ur
17
twirl
tw
ir
18
maple
19
boiling
20
coached
Cle
Inflections
Prefix
Final
Syllable/
Suffix
th
_tch
sh
ar
_nk
a_e
o_e
ea
ed
ple
ch
oi
ing
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
22
smooth
23
unheated
24
reused
u_e
re
25
dislike
i_e
dis
26
title
27
loudest
28
nudge
29
hardly
ar
ly
30
powerful
er
ful
31
lawlessness
32
pennies
33
discovery
34
scribble
35
subway
36
fraction
fr
tion
37
strictness
str
ness
38
mishandled
39
immature
40
profession
sm
_th
or
oo
ea
un
ed
tle
able
ou
est
_dge
less/ness
ies
y
scr
ble
sub
dle
mis
im
ture
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
tt
le
Bases, Roots, &
Derivatives
41
bottle
42
resident
ent
43
visible
ible
44
category
45
criticize
46
confidence
47
puncture
48
decorator
49
fortunate
ate
fortun
50
opposition
op
position
vis
e (schwa)
critic
con
ence
ure
(e-drop) or
punct
decor
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
51
switch
sw
i
tch
52
smudge
sm
u
dge
53
trapped
tr
54
scrape
a-e
scr
55
knotted
o
kn
56
shaving
57
squirt
ir
squ
58
pounce
ou
ce
59
scratches
a
tch
60
crater
61
sailor
62
village
63
disloyal
64
tunnel
nn
el
65
humor
m
or
66
confidence
67
fortunate
68
visible
ible
vis
69
circumference
ence
circum
70
civilization
71
monarch
72
dominance
73
correspond
Assimilated
Prefixes
pp
sh
tt
e-drop
cr
es
t
ai
er
or
ll
oy
age
al
dis
con
fid
ate
fortun
liz
civil
arch
ance
min
res
rr
Secondary Spelling Inventory
Features
Digraphs
& Blends
Vowels
Complex
Consonants
Inflected
Endings &
Syllable
Juncture
Unaccented
Final
Syllables
Affixes
74
illiterate
75
emphasize
76
opposition
77
chlorine
ine
78
commotion
tion
79
medicinal
80
irresponsible
ible
81
succession
sion
Reduced
Vowels in
Unaccented
Syllables
Greek
and
Latin
Elements
ate
Assimilated
Prefixes
ll
size
pha
pos
pp
chlor
mm
al
medic
res
rr
cc
Spelling Inventory Dictation Sentences
Level 1
1.
slip
2.
dust
3.
then
4.
clock
5.
string
6.
left
7.
match
8.
shark
9.
brink
10. skate
Don’t slip on the ice!
Please dust the table.
We’ll eat dinner then go to the store.
This clock has the wrong time on it.
The kite string is all tangled.
Are there any cookies left?
My socks don’t match.
A shark swims quickly and quietly.
I was on the brink of crying.
It’s not safe to skate in the street.
Level 2
11. green
12. plight
13. quote
14. treated
15. thorn
16. burnt
17. twirl
18. maple
19. boiling
20. coached
A palo verde tree has a green trunk.
I worry about the plight of endangered animals.
It’s okay for you to quote my words.
My friend treated me to an ice cream cone.
The thorn on the brush poked me.
I don’t like burnt toast very much.
Twirl around so I can see your back.
Mom put maple syrup on my pancakes.
Add the eggs when the water is boiling.
Mr. King is the man who coached my team.
Level 3
21. sailor
22. smooth
23. unheated
24. reused
25. dislike
26. title
27. loudest
28. nudge
29. hardly
30. powerful
The sailor swabbed the deck of the ship.
Beat the cake batter until it is smooth.
Our swimming pool is unheated.
My teacher reused the empty boxes.
How can anyone dislike such a cute puppy?
I knew the author but not the title of the book.
Our class cheered the loudest on Field Day.
I gave her a nudge so she would move over.
We hardly know the new student.
A lion has powerful jaws.
Level 4
31. lawlessness
32. pennies
33. discovery
34. scribble
35. subway
36. fraction
37. strictness
38. mishandle
39. immature
40. profession
There was a lot of lawlessness in the Old West.
Pennies used to be made of copper.
We made a surprising discovery.
Little children scribble before they learn to write.
I rode the underground subway.
I only have a small fraction of my homework left to do.
The coach was known for her strictness about playing fairly.
Please don’t mishandle the new equipment.
Younger brothers and sisters can seem so immature.
Teaching is a rewarding profession.
Spelling Inventory Dictation Sentences
Level 5-6
41. bottle
42. resident
43. visible
44. category
45. criticize
46. confidence
47. puncture
48. decorator
49. fortunate
50. opposition
The bottle of shampoo fell from his slippery hands.
Mrs. Neilson has been a resident of this town for over 40 years.
The singer was visible to everyone in the room.
When recycling, put plastic in one category and paper in another.
It is always easy to criticize someone else's endeavors.
Her confidence grew with each success.
John saw the puncture in his bicycle tire.
She hired a decorator to design the living room.
It was fortunate that the car had snow tires in the snowstorm.
The coach said the opposition would give us a tough game.
Secondary Spelling Inventory Dictation Sentences
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
switch
smudge
trapped
scrape
knotted
shaving
squirt
pounce
scratches
crater
sailor
village
disloyal
tunnel
humor
confidence
fortunate
visible
circumference
civilization
monarch
dominance
correspond
illiterate
emphasize
opposition
chlorine
commotion
medicinal
irresponsible
succession
I will switch my laundry from the washer to the dryer.
The eraser left a smudge on the paper.
The bear was trapped in the cage.
I will scrape the cake batter out of the bowl.
The scout knotted the rope to secure the tent.
The man is shaving his beard.
The ketchup will squirt out of the container.
I watched the cat pounce on the mouse.
The dog scratches at the back door.
The meteor created a large crater in the ground.
The sailor prepared his boat for the journey.
We will hike to the tiny village in the mountains.
The disloyal soldier shared battle plans with the enemy.
The engineers built a tunnel in the mountain.
Her sense of humor made the lesson entertaining.
Speaking in class helped boost his confidence.
The family was fortunate to receive help.
The entire valley is visible from the mountaintop.
The circumference of the circle is 20 inches.
A plague destroyed the civilization.
The kingdom was ruled by a monarch.
The bully’s dominance controlled the crowd.
Your grades in school correspond to your study habits.
People who cannot read and write are illiterate.
Please underline the words you would like to emphasize.
The opposition slowed down the team’s advance.
My dad put chlorine in our swimming pool.
The commotion in the crowd led to a fight.
My grandmother drinks tea for medicinal reasons.
Failure to keep promises is irresponsible.
The queen’s succession to the throne begins today.
Spelling Inventory Error Analysis Sheet
Students Names
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
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