Spelling Word Lists by Year Level: Junior & Senior

Spelling difficulty should match your child's year level. Spellaroo groups its word lists into two divisions: Junior for Years 3–4 and Senior for Years 5–6. Choosing the right division keeps practice challenging but not discouraging.

Junior division (Years 3–4)

The Junior word lists suit children in Years 3 and 4. They build from common, high-frequency words towards longer words with prefixes, suffixes and trickier patterns. This is where many children first try a spelling bee, so reading the definition and example sentence for each word really helps.

Senior division (Years 5–6)

The Senior word lists suit children in Years 5 and 6. Expect academic and specialist vocabulary, less familiar spelling patterns, and words borrowed from other languages. Practising the meaning alongside the spelling helps these harder words stick.

Choosing the right level to start

Within each division, Spellaroo has five levels that step up in difficulty — Level 1 is the foundation and Level 5 is competition-style. Start at Level 1 of the division that matches your child's year, and only move up once they're consistently getting words right. Junior Level 1 is free, so you can find the right starting point before unlocking the full catalogue.

Not sure where to begin? Pick the division by year level (Junior for Years 3–4, Senior for Years 5–6), start at Level 1, and let your child's scores guide when to move on.