Spelling Word Categories Explained

Spellaroo doesn't just give your child a flat list of words to memorise. Across the Junior and Senior divisions, every word is sorted into one of six categories. Grouping words by topic helps children learn related vocabulary together, spot shared spelling patterns, and connect a word's meaning to how it's spelled — which makes the spelling stick.

The six word categories

• General — everyday vocabulary that comes up across reading, writing and conversation (for example, 'abbreviation').
• Arts — words from art, music, drama and literature (for example, 'aesthetics').
• Plants & Animals — nature and biology words, from habitats to living things (for example, 'zoological').
• Geography — places, landforms and the natural world (for example, 'archipelago').
• Science, Maths & Technology — STEM vocabulary across science, numbers and technology (for example, 'aerodynamic').
• Civics — words about government, community and how society works (for example, 'abdication').

Why practising by category helps

Related words often share roots, prefixes and spelling patterns. When children practise a topic together — say, geography words ending in '-graphy' or science words built from Greek and Latin roots — they start to recognise those patterns and apply them to new words they've never seen. Category practice also builds subject vocabulary that helps with schoolwork, not just spelling.

How to use categories at home

• Lead with your child's interests: a child who loves animals will happily power through the Plants & Animals words.
• Mix it up: rotate categories so practice stays fresh and covers a broad vocabulary.
• Talk about meaning: read the definition and example sentence together so the word's spelling and meaning stick as a pair.

Every Spellaroo word shows its category, definition and an example sentence, so your child is always learning the meaning alongside the spelling — across all six topics.