Hard fifth grade words: Academic vocabulary words for 5th graders

5th-Grade Spelling That Adults Have Trouble With

5th-Grade Spelling That Adults Have Trouble With

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Misspelling a word can be embarrassing.

jazbeck / Getty

• The English language is as unpredictable as it is colorful.
• From “grateful” to “disappear,” these common words are deceptively hard to spell.
• “Occasion” gets two “c’s” and one “s.” 
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Let’s face it — spelling is hard. Without spell check and autocorrect, our texts and emails would likely include a handful of typos. 

From homophones such as “soar” and “sore” to words with doubled letters like “parallel” and “committee,” the English language is as unpredictable as it is colorful. 

To find common words that are deceptively hard to spell, Insider searched for 5th-grade  spelling lists. Keep reading to learn about 32 words that a 10-year-old student can spell, but you probably get wrong a lot. 

Achieve

Rafael Nadal.

Christian Hartmann/Reuters

The “i before e” rule may have exceptions, but in this case it will help you “achieve” spelling success. 

Receive

Gift bags from the beauty store ULTA.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

When you “receive” a “c,” you put “e” before “i. ” 

Disappear

Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, trying to disappear.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

At first glance, “disappear” appears to have a tricky spelling. If you keep in mind that “dis-” is a Latin prefix, you’ll remember not to double the “s.” 

Grateful

The gratitude wall at Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles.

Sara R./Yelp

It’s great to have gratitude, but there’s nothing great about “grateful.” In Latin, “grat” is a root word that means “pleasing, thankful, or favorable.”

Noticeable

Kendall Jenner in costume.

Bryan Steffy/Getty Images

If you pay attention, you’ll notice there’s an “e” in the middle of “noticeable. ” 

Cemetery

Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans.

Meinzahn / iStock

Think Terry rather than tarry when spelling “cemetery.” The “-ery” suffix derives from the Old French “-erie.” 

Embarrass

Misspelling a word can be embarrassing.

jazbeck / Getty

You might feel humiliated if you misspell “embarrass,” a word whose double “r’s” come from the French “embarrasser. ” 

Occasion

Prince William and Kate Middleton at their wedding in 2011.

Chris Jackson / Getty

A special event like a royal wedding is a good “occasion” to remember how to spell this word, which gets two “c’s” and one “s.” 

Separate

Sarah Jessica Parker stars in the HBO series “Divorce. ”

HBO

The spelling of “separate” is on par with its Latin etymology, a combination of “se-” (“apart”) and “parare” (“prepare”). 

Fiery

A fiery cocktail.

Alison Millington / INSIDER

You might feel the heat if someone asks you how to spell “fiery” — the “e” doesn’t go where you think it would.  

Soar

Dan McManus and his service dog Shadow hang glide together outside Salt Lake City, Utah, July 22, 2013.

REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Unless you’re talking about a bird with an injury, our feathered friends “soar” when they take to the sky. 

Interrupt

Kanye West infamously interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Formed from the Latin prefix “inter-” (“between”) and the verb “rumpere” (“to break”), the double “r’s” in “interrupt” can lead spellers astray. 

Committee

Members of the Caméra d’Or jury at the 71st International Cannes Film Festival.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Don’t commit to spelling “committee” if you forget about the word’s three doubled letters.

Calendar

Calendars are easier to use than they are to spell.

Rawpixel / Shutterstock

Dare to spell “calendar,” which doesn’t end with the vowel you think it will thanks to its roots in the Latin “calendarium” (“account book”). 

Nickel

Nickelback arrives before the 2012 NHL Awards at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas on June 20, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The humble nickel may only be worth five cents, but the word itself has a rich etymological history. That’s why its spelling is not the most phonetically straightforward. 

“Nickel” comes from the Swedish “kopparnickel” (“copper-colored ore”) — a half-translation of the German “Kupfernickel” (“copper demon”). 

Caribbean

Bottom Bay, Barbados.

Shutterstock. com

You can’t list a popular pirate movie franchise or famous cruise line without knowing how to spell “Caribbean.” A common misspelling doubles the “r” instead of the “b.”

The word comes from “Carib,” the name of an indigenous people from Central America and northern South America. 

Humorous

Former US President Barack Obama helps a young girl make a building block tower.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Some might be tempted to add a “u” to the middle of “humorous,” but there’s nothing funny about spelling mistakes.  

Argument

Serena Williams of the United States argues with umpire Carlos Ramos during her Women’s Singles finals match against Naomi Osaka of Japan.

Jaime Lawson/Getty Images for USTA

A bickering couple might emphasize the “you” in “argument,” but there’s only one “e.”

Prejudice

Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the 1995 TV adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice. ”

BBC

If you’re biased toward spelling words phonetically, “prejudice” — which only has one “d” —could trip you up. 

Absence

US Army personnel fill out absentee ballots at a voting assistance drive at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, in 2008.

The U.S. Army/Flickr

It requires more than common sense to spell “absence,” which was taken from Old French via Latin.  

Apparent

Charles, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent to the British throne.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

While some people might find the spelling of “apparent” to be obvious, the word’s “-ent” suffix isn’t evident to everyone. Many spell it with an “-ant.”

Parallel

A farmer works in a flax field after harvest.

Reuters

If the double “l’s” in “parallel” confuse you, think of how they illustrate the word’s meaning: “extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging.”

Rhythm

A marching band performs outside the stadium before the start the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, February 2, 2014.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The silent “h” and scarcity of vowels make “rhythm” a perplexing word to spell. Pertaining to poetic metre and patterns of sound and movement, this word entered English via the Latin “rhythmus” (“movement in time”), which came from the Greek “rhythmos.”

Tragedy

News of the Titanic sinking.

John Moore/Getty

It would be a tragic mistake to add a “d” before the “g” in “tragedy.” This gloomy word comes from the Old French “tragedie,” which in turn has Latin and Greek origins. 

Forty

Cans of WD-40.

Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

When spelling “forty,” think of forts rather than the fourth digit in the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. 

Capitol

The United States Capitol in Washington, DC.

REUTERS/Jason Reed

Homophones can confuse even the most astute speller. While “capital” refers to a country or region’s most important city — in addition to being a financial term that describes the amount of money owned by a person or institution — a “capitol” is the physical building that houses the legislative branch of a government. 

To distinguish between the two words, you can think of the “o” in “capitol” as a symbol of the domed roofs that characterize these governmental structures. 

Privilege

Champagne.

Antony Jones/Getty Images

You can check your privilege, but you might not be spelling it correctly. As with “tragedy,” some people are tempted to add an unnecessary “d.” 

Decimal

A calculator.

mamiw/Shutterstock

Although it rhymes with and shares a prefix with “decibel,” the word “decimal” comes from the Medieval Latin “decimalis” (“of tithes or tenths”). 

The “bel” in “decibel” is taken from the surname of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

Sleight

A magic trick.

Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

There’s only a small difference between “slight” and “sleight,” but the “e” is necessary if you’re referring to “deceitful craftiness.” 

Approximate

A ballpark estimate is an approximate number.

Melia Robinson/BI

Don’t be imprecise in spelling “approximate. ” With two “p’s,” this word from the Late Latin “approximatus” (the past participle of “approximare,” “to come near to”). 

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Teaching Spelling in 5th Grade

As fifth graders move into upper elementary and middle school curricula, it is important not to forget fundamentals like spelling words. Even though computer word processing software now provides spelling and grammar checks, students should still be learning the fundamentals of spelling in school. Reading and writing skills are enhanced by the application of spelling knowledge.

Teaching Spelling in 5th Grade

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Appropriate Spelling Objectives

Fifth grade students should have mastered basic one syllable words and memorizing simple rules such as “i before e, except after c.” With the increase in difficulty of their overall curriculum, so too should the spelling curriculum become increasingly challenging. Spelling skills work in conjunction with the following areas of Language Arts, according to Time 4 Learning:

• Phonics
• Reading comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Reading fluency
• Grammar

More Complex Spelling Rules to Memorize

This grade level is also the perfect time to introduce more complex rules for memorization. While earlier grade levels may have focused on strictly memorizing word groups, patterns, and syllable combinations, the fifth grade is the perfect time to introduce more complex spelling rules.

Spelling rules are described in the following articles:

• Spelling: A Lost Art: This article argues that students should no longer memorize words, but rather the 29 rules for spelling along with 70 spellings of 44 speech sounds.
• English Spelling Rules: Short and Long Vowels: Over ten spelling rules are covered in detail, including short and long vowels, letter sounds, endings, and spelling by word meaning.

Upper elementary students may have a hard time memorizing every rule, so teachers should choose the most appropriate rules for the kids in their classroom. Emphasis should be geared towards mistakes the teacher finds students commonly making when it comes to spelling. Diane Snowball outlines six strategies for teaching spelling rules in her article Spelling Strategies: Guiding Kids to “Discover” Spelling Rules.

Creating Fifth Grade Word Lists

Spelling word lists are often still given out in fifth grade, even if rules are being taught. Students are expected to apply the rules throughout their general writing, but schools will usually have words they expect students to spell by the fifth grade. These word lists are generated from a variety of sources, including:

• Current reading literature
• Words from other subjects (math, science, social studies)
• Mistakes students commonly make
• Lists of frequently misspelled words
• Word groups with the same spelling pattern or rules
• Workbooks or curriculum designed for spelling in the fifth grade

The words are often more difficult and may include any of the following:

• Multiple syllables
• Contractions
• Prefixes and suffixes
• Alternate word endings
• Root words
• Consonant blends (for example, “ch”)
• Plurals
• Rule “exceptions”

Strategies for Learning Fifth Grade Spelling Words

Word lists are often sent home with kids or posted on the classroom page online. To help their children learn the spelling words, parents can do the following at home:

• Review the spelling rule that applies to each word
• Have the child write each word several times in succession
• Create flashcards
• Write word jumbles and have the child unscramble them

Students who need additional help with spelling may find attending a tutoring program helpful. If that is not possible, additional spelling help can be found online at these places:

• Free Spelling Worksheets: With 200 worksheets to choose from, students will cover a number of spelling words.
• Fifth Grade Skill Builders: Scroll to the Language Arts section to find three interactive listings of spelling skill building websites.
• Spelling It Right — Learn How to Spell Confidently: Find worksheets and advice on spelling topics ranging from prefixes to syllables to memorization strategies.

Fifth graders who have trouble with spelling may find it helpful to have a list of their most commonly misspelled words. Start their list with YourDictionary’s 100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English and add to it when you find words your child misspells on a consistent basis.

• 5th grade
• elementary school

Related Articles

• Teaching Spelling in 3rd Grade: Best Ways to Make it Fun

  By 3rd grade, students are moving away from techniques like invented spelling and phonetic spelling. They should know how to spell high-frequency words, spelling list words and unfamiliar words with a variety of different techniques — and those techniques can be fun! Keep reading for the best ways to teach spelling in 3rd grade.

• Teaching Spelling in 4th Grade: Effective Strategies

  Learning how to spell fourth grade level words can be a source of stress for students, but they can succeed with help from teachers and parents. Review these strategies and tips to discover how to teach spelling to 4th graders.

Spelling Games for 5th Grade | LoonyLearn

Fifth grade can be a difficult year for some students as teachers have higher expectations for student writing. Students have a wider vocabulary but still need help spelling challenging words. Prepare your child for the demands of fifth grade with LoonyLearn.

At LoonyLearn, we want students to get excited about spelling through gaming. Students engage in learning through our fun spelling games made for developing learners. Your child will fight monsters and use magic to spell fifth-grade words. As your child plays their confidence grows and so does their spelling ability.

In fifth grade, students become more independent. Teachers expect fifth-grade students to research and read on their own to learn. Without the proper support, this autonomy can be difficult. Our fifth-grade words are words that students encounter when reading in and outside of class. These lists enhance student vocabulary and put them on a path to success.

Each of our lists are structured like our fourth-grade lists and include twenty words. The spelling lists have similar word structures and common words. These words are found in fifth-grade textbooks and reading tests. With twenty words per list, your student will gain new vocabulary quickly. Here are a few sample lists from fifth grade:

Each of the games below can be played with any of our LoonyLearn spelling lists and lists you create yourself. Just select the list you want to learn then choose the game you want to play.

Easy Spelling Games for 5th Grade

Oh no! The spell-animals are out of their cages! Help the zoo keeper dorp the good and bad spell-animals back to their correct cages.

In this game, the player is given a word and must decide if the word is correctly or incorrectly spelled. The player then places the word into the “good” or “bad” cages.

There are two kinds of water spelloons, good spelloons and mis-spelloons. Pop all the good water spelloons and move on to the next level.

In this game, the player is given six words and must select which of the words are correctly spelled. The player places the slingshot in front of the correctly spelled words to select them.

Watch out! The mean pirates are getting close to shore. Help destroy their ship before it’s too late.

In this game, the player must select the correct letter to complete the word on the ship’s sail. The player follows the ship with the canon and selects when to fire the canon to complete the word.

Normal Spelling Games for 5th Grade

Willy the Wizard loves casting spells but he can’t spell words. Help Willy put the letters back in order to spell the spelling word. Tap on the letters to put them back in order.

In this game, the player must use the wand to capture the letters in the correct order. Spell the entire word correctly to move to the next level.

Oh no! The mean monsters have mixed up all the letters and hid them around the maze. Help Molly the Monster find all the letters in the correct order to spell the spelling word. Make sure to watch out for the mean monsters! Ue your arrows to move around the cave.

In this game, the player navigates the maze to collect letters to spell the word. The player must avoid the purple monsters and the walls to grab the letters.

Help Freddy the Frog move around the busy road and river to collect letters in the correct order to spell the spelling word. Watch out for the cars and water!

In this game, the player uses the arrows to guide the frogs across the street to collect letters. The player must avoid the cars to spell the words.

Hard Spelling Games for 5th Grade

Yolo the Yeti loves the snow but he can’t spell words! Help Yolo collect all the letters to spell the spelling word.

In this game, the player moves the yeti across the screen using the control arrows to collect the letters. The player must avoid to flags and the snow mounds to spell the word.

Oh no! The aliens are attacking! Shoot down the correct letter and all the alien pods will explode.

In this game, the player moves the defender ship with the control arrows to shoot the correct letter. The player must spell the word letter-by-letter. Make sure to avoid the lasers from the alien invaders!

Help Speedy the dinosaur move around the race track to collect letters in the correct order to spell the spelling word. Watch out for the bad letters!

In this game, the player moves the car around the track with the arrows to collect the letters. The player must collect the letters in the correct order while avoiding the incorrect letters.

The Spell-Adactyl is hungry, but he can’t see the difference between good letters and bad letters. Help the Spell-Adactyl eat all the good letters to spell the spelling word.

In this game, the player moves the Spell-Adactyl using the arrows to collect the letters in the correct order. The player must collect the letters in the correct order while avoiding the incorrect letters.

Vocabulary words for grade 5 – lists by topic

Spelling dictionary,
spelling of words with online search

Vocabulary words in Russian studied in grade 5 by topic: Russian language, literature, library, food, garden, fruits, security , ecology, as well as spelling sections: foreign roots, hyphenated spelling, do not obey the rules, unpronounceable consonants, consonant stunning, separate spelling, continuous spelling, difficult to write, complex prefixes, connecting vowel, doubled consonants, ъ and ь sign.

Select a spelling section to view a list of vocabulary words:
foreign roots, spelling with a hyphen, do not obey the rules, unpronounceable consonants, stunning consonant, separate spelling, continuous spelling, difficult to write, complex prefixes, connecting vowel, doubled consonants, ъ and ь sign.

Total words: 477

1. paragraph
2. apricot
3. accident
4. airline
5. active
6. aleet
7. alley
8. diamond
9. diamond
10. alphabet
11. album
12. pineapple
13. orange
14. applaud
15. pharmacy
16. arena
17. fragrant
18. artillery
19. artist
20. artist
21. astronaut
22. athlete
23. poster
24. crimson
25. purple
26. ballet
27. balcony
28. banana
29. drum
30. ram
31. steering wheel
32. basketball
33. button accordion
34. hippopotamus

35. bad taste
36. tasteless
37. serene
38. save
39. talk
40. bijouterie
41. ticket
42. binoculars
43. turquoise
44. noble
45. flash
46. glitter
47. shine
48. wrestling
49. boots
50. fearful
51. brochure
52. booth
53. future
54. broth
55. sandwich
56. beats
57. wagon
58. top
59. together
60. cycling
61. bike
62. string
63. lobby
64. veteran
65. video prompt
66. showcase
67. possession
68. left

69. bottom
70. to avoid
71. fire
72. rise
73. station
74. around
75. excitement
76. imagination
77. imagine
78. general
79. exclamatory
80. uprising
81. admire
82. admire
83. impression
84. right
85. jump
86. soon
87. threesome
88. get wet
89. expression
90. expressive
91. grow
92. subtraction
93. gallery
94. wardrobe
95. harmony
96. carnation
97. heroic
98. gymnastics
99. guitar
100. gladiolus

Grade 5 “Compound words”

Subject: Difficult
words

Class: 5

Purpose of the lesson: deepen
an idea of ​​the method of addition and its types, to form an idea of
spelling of difficult words, the ability to write correctly in such words
connecting vowels; expand knowledge about the composition of the word.

Planned results:

Personal : respect for the native
language, the desire for speech self-improvement, the ability to participate in
dialogue, recognize and determine interest in creating their own texts,
written form of communication.

Subject: mastering the ways of addition,
competent spelling of complex words, characterize the morphemic composition of the word,
apply knowledge and skills in morphemics in practice
spelling, help improve the literacy of students with different
level of cognitive abilities, to expand their vocabulary.

Metasubject : ability to relate goals and
result, highlight
learning task based on correlation of known, mastered and unknown;
compare your assessment with the assessment of another person; ability to extract
information from various sources, including Internet resources; free
use dictionaries; mastering the methods of selection and systematization of material on
specific topic; the ability to conduct an independent search for information.

Lesson type : learning new material.

Forms of work of students: frontal, independent,
work in groups.

Teaching aids: computer, projector,
textbooks, explanatory dictionaries S.I. Ozhegov. Textbook
“Russian language grade 5 in 2 parts / L.M. Rybchenkova, O.M. Aleksandrova,
O.V. Zagorovskaya, A.G. Narushevich, publishing house “Prosveshchenie”, 2013 .

Lesson progress

I. Organizational moment.

Teacher: Entry
numbers. Don’t forget to indent 2 lines from your homework. I really hope that
today at the lesson you will learn something new for yourself, and maybe you will do a little
discovery (possible at the end of the lesson: what discoveries did you make?)

II. Actualization of knowledge

1. Write down the words where there are two roots and disassemble
them in composition.
birch, one-room, Vedic language, great-grandfather, suitcase, s_nokos, earth digger,
l_zhebok.

– what about
formed the words “birch, great-grandfather and suitcase”?

Running parallel
work with the offer:

Cartoon “Well,
wait ”- a beloved and long-awaited series.

Task: parse
suggestions. Offer not to erase

Students’ answers.

Teacher: What is
Difficult words?

Student answers.
2 . Teacher: In the country “GRAMMAR” there lived and were roots: “ice” and
“rub”. They lived separately with their relatives. They got bored and
decided to make friends with each other. But no matter how hard they tried, they got nothing.
came out. Words didn’t come out. How to help the roots to become friends? connect them
together to make words.
If we take two roots, is it always enough for a complex
word.

let’s
let’s observe what would help them become friends, how words are combined and make up
scheme (algorithm)

Teacher: how are you
Do you think we will discover a new way of word formation for you today?

Students’ answers : (“addition”
from add + -eni-)

Teacher: let’s
Let’s observe when the vowel E-O is written and draw a conclusion. Slide #3. How
would you name such vowels?

Students’ answers : connecting

3. Teacher: READING
paragraph.p.54. What new things have you discovered?

Student answers .

Teacher: Let’s
Let’s analyze the composition of the following words (children independently disassemble).

What
did you notice while disassembling? (suffix) and check ourselves . What are the errors
admitted? Together we make an algorithm

Students’ answers.

Teacher: exists
another way to form compound words. And what, you will know if you guess
word and watch.

Students’ answers.

Teacher: what else
words with the root “ photo ” can you give an example? Answers
students: camera, photography…

Teacher: PHOTOS
translated from Greek “light”. It does not change. And she helped us
science THIS O LOG IA (“truth” + “concept”, we will learn about it in 2
quarters). Algorithm verification.

4. Teacher: a
the etymology of which word is offered to us by the author of the textbook in the heading “From the history
language”?

IV. Consolidation of the studied material

1. Teacher: now
We will perform exercise No. 117 according to the scheme

seafood

Water supply

poultry farm

Medovar

Reference

vacuum cleaner

Morozoosa+Chiva+

Mechanical+E

Misheps+K+

9000 9000

9000 9000 Navigator+a+tel

Wall newspaper

cartoon

Teacher: what column
left empty? Let’s try to come up with words on our own. (AT
in case of difficulty, it is proposed to find out the word by its interpretation)

– a word from our proposal about the adventures of the Hare and the Wolf-cartoon

– handwritten or typewritten newspaper hung on the wall, there is

for each class a wall newspaper aerial photography

– words close in meaning synonyms

– words with opposite meanings antonyms

Students’ answers and
filling 3 columns of the table

2. Teacher:

Parallel
perform individual tasks.

A) Make up words
with root

…background

Tape recorder,
gramophone, smartphone…

Next task
we will do it in groups. To do this, combine

1 row – 1 and 2
desks – natural phenomena (snowfall, leaf fall,
waterfall, ice drift, flood…)

3 and 4 desks – house
and its surroundings (meat grinder, chimney, road,
sports ground, physical education, forest park, haymaking, hiking …)

5 desks work in
parah- people (gardener, beekeeper, birder, digger,
dog breeder, diver, livestock breeder…)

2 row – 1 and 2
– Transport: ( helicopter, plane, steamer, icebreaker,
motor ship, steam locomotive, diesel locomotive, lunar rover, milk carrier) .

3 and 4 desks
– Machines: snow plow, dump truck,
potato harvester, grain harvester, haymaker.

3rd row – 1 and 2 – Compound
adjectives: railway, one-story, multi-story,
long-legged, black-eyed, multi-colored, inconspicuous, bright red, gray-eyed,
snow-white.

3 and 4 desks
– household items – (bread slicer, juicer,
pressure cooker, coffee maker, grinder, grinder, vacuum cleaner…)

– Task: think of
as many words as possible in thematic groups

B) Come up with words
rooted

…water

Water pipeline

Oil pipeline

Gas pipeline

(
norms – accent on water)

Check
assignments

Physical
minute.

A pine stands in the clearing,

it stretches to the sky.

Poplar grew next to her,

he wants to be more authentic.

(Standing on one leg,
stretching – hands up,

then the same, standing on
other leg)

Strong wind blew,

shook all the trees.

(Body slopes
left-right)

The branches bend back and forth,

the wind shakes them, oppresses them.

(Jerking hands in front of
chest)

Let’s squat together –

times, two, three, four,
five.

(Squats)

And now the step is in place,

above the leg! Stop, one, two!

creative task.