Year 5 Spelling Words: Download Free Word Lists

What are the “must-know” Year 5 spelling words all Australian students should learn? If you’re asking this question, you are likely aware that in Year 5, the New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC) education systems place significant emphasis on spelling. At this critical stage of literacy development, students are expected to be able to effectively read, respond to, and compose their own texts, ranging from speeches to short stories. Yet, these learning outcomes are near impossible to exact without mastering the fundamentals of spelling.

So, how can you know your child’s spelling is at the right level? Well, join us as we explore the best learning strategies for Year 5 English students. Otherwise, simply download our free “Year 5 Spelling Words Australia” Word List below to kick-start your child’s journey toward spelling mastery today!

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Phonetic Strategies

For Year 5 spelling students, phonetic strategies, or more simply, “sound” strategies, are an excellent resource for supporting their spelling accuracy. When hearing unfamiliar words, students are encouraged to break them down into their individual sounds.

This process, referred to as segmenting, helps students to properly examine each individual sound in a word. By segmenting a word into its individual sounds, students can then make informed inferences about what letters (or phonograms) they should use to represent those sounds!

For example, a student might segment the word “sheep” into three sounds:

SH – EE – P

Next, they might ask themselves what letters are used to represent the sound “SH”. Once they determine the letters “s” and “h” can be used together to achieve a “SH” sound, they can move on to spelling the next segment of the word.

Using Common Spelling Rules

For Year 5 spelling students, understanding common spelling rules is crucial for success. While the phonetic strategies above can be helpful, there is often more than one way to spell the same sound, and some words aren’t spelled phonetically (the way they sound) at all!

Accordingly, spelling rules can help students recognise spelling patterns that are less intuitive. That said, English is infamous for having an exception to every spelling rule, and there is no better example of this than the “Magic E” rule. While popular spelling curricula often suggest that a silent “E” at the end of the word turns a short vowel into a long vowel (e.g. hat vs hate, run vs rune, lit vs lite), words like “love”, “have”, and “come” seem to flagrantly break this rule.

Accordingly, when it comes to learning Year 5 spelling words, Australian students who are taught the “Magic E” rule without knowledge of its many exceptions may become frustrated. With so many outliers, it can be easy for them to doubt the pillars of their spelling education, or blame themselves for not getting it.

Of course, the solution to this is not to discard these rules altogether, but to ensure Year 5 spelling students are taught that language is fluid. The English language is not a science. At no point in human history did a bunch of linguists sit down and decide how every English word should be spelled (if they did, English spelling would probably make a lot more sense!).

Instead, like all languages, English has evolved with time, and spellings and pronunciations have organically shifted over the course of hundreds of years (in ways that are often less than logical). While there is an excellent video on the dicey history of English spelling here, the key take-away is that Year 5 spelling students should be taught spelling rules alongside their many exceptions!

An example of a table that has considered all the exceptions to the “Magic E” rule can be found below!

Morphemic Strategies

One of the most crucial arrows in a Year 5 spelling student’s quiver is an understanding of morphemes. Like in the case of phonetic segmenting, morphemic spelling strategies require students to break down words into smaller parts. However, this time, instead of breaking down unknown words into their individual sounds, students are encouraged to break them down into their smallest, meaningful units, or “morphemes”.

To see this process in action, let’s take a moment to consider the word “invisible”. The word “invisible” is made up of three morphemes. The prefix “in”, the base word “vis”, and the suffix “ible”. Not only that, but each of these morphemes carries its own meaning:

1. The prefix “in” means “not”. For example, the word “inactive” means “not active”. Similarly, if something is described as “involuntary”, it means it is not voluntary, or done without will or conscious control.
2. The base word “vis” means to see, and relates to the sense of sight. This same meaning can be seen in other sight-related words that contain this base morpheme, like “visual”, “envision”, and “vista”.
3. The suffix “ible” (and the similar suffix, “able”) means “able to be”. For example, the word “edible” means “able to be eaten”. In the same way, if someone is described as “flexible“, it means they are able to flex their muscles and joints to a significant degree.

By strategically separating the word “invisible” into its three morphemes, spelling the word becomes much more intuitive. Students will find this particularly helpful when it comes to even more complex Year 5 spelling words (take a tier 3 word like “incomprehensibility”, for example). Not only that, but this strategy can also be used to decipher the meaning of new or unknown words! For our full guide on using morphemes to improve spelling accuracy, visit our guide here!

Dodging Homonym Mistakes

Homonyms are words that sound or are spelled the same, but have different meanings. For example, “their”, “there”, and “they’re”  all sound the same, but they have different meanings. Or, as is the case with the words “date” (the sweet tropical fruit) and “date” (a specific day in the calender year), words can share their sound and spelling, and yet still have different meanings.

Indeed, homonyms are the confusing twins of the spelling world. Due to their striking (and often confusing) resemblances, homonyms are one of the leading causes of spelling mistakes among Year 5 students. Hence, it is vital that students familiarise themselves with common homonyms, in both their speaking, listening, and writing. For a full guide on how Year 5 students can use homonym awareness to improve their spelling, visit our guide here!

Read Widely

The absolute best way to master Year 5 Spelling Words is through reading widely and regularly. Simply through exposure to new vocabulary, children can start to intuit spelling rules and structures. Accordingly, encourage your child to pursue their interests in the books they read, and try and nurture their passion for books, rather than making reading a chore! For a list of actionable steps you can take to inspire your child’s love of reading, visit our Ultimate Reading Guide. Otherwise, if you’re looking for the perfect book to kick-start your child’s mastery of spelling, visit our list of the Top 10 Books for Year 5 Students!

The Take-Away

When it comes to mastering Year 5 spelling words, Australian students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the strategies above. Phonetic words can be spelled simply through a process of segmentation, or in layman’s terms, by “sounding them out”. That said, when it comes to more complex vocabulary, students are encouraged to rely on their understanding of morphemes, spelling rules (and their exceptions), and common homonyms.

Finally, students are encouraged to read widely and for enjoyment, as this is the most effective way of improving spelling long-term. For students looking to accelerate their learning, a word list once a week can go a long way. Simply download your child’s free ‘Year 5 Spelling Words Australia” Word List at the top of this page. As you work through the word list with your child, make sure to reward them for any time and effort they put into their learning, no matter their results. And, of course, make sure your child has plenty of time to play, and have fun as well!