5th Grade Spelling Words
150+ essential spelling words for fifth graders (ages 10–11) — absorbed prefixes, advanced Latin roots, the i-before-e rule and its exceptions, academic vocabulary, and spelling bee prep words.
What Spelling Skills Do 5th Graders Learn?
Fifth grade spellers are ready to think like linguists. They move beyond individual word memorization into understanding how English borrowing patterns from Latin and Greek create predictable spelling clusters. Students who master these systems can confidently decode and spell tens of thousands of words they've never seen before. By year's end a typical student should:
Absorbed (Assimilated) Prefixes
An absorbed prefix changes its spelling to match the first letter of the base word — making the word easier to pronounce. Once students see the pattern, dozens of words that looked irregular suddenly make perfect sense.
Practice Tip: When a student spells "ilegal" or "iresponsible," they're not being careless — they haven't learned absorbed prefixes yet. Explain: "in + legal = illegal (double l). The prefix absorbed the first letter." One explanation beats ten corrections.
Advanced Latin Roots (36 Words)
These six roots appear constantly in 5th grade reading across subjects. Students who internalize them gain a powerful tool for both spelling and vocabulary — aud, vis, dict, scrib, mit, and ven together appear in hundreds of common English words.
Practice Tip: The three-step decode: (1) find the prefix, (2) find the root, (3) find the suffix. "Invisible" = in- (not) + vis (see) + -ible (able to be) = "not able to be seen." Walking through this out loud once makes the spelling logical rather than arbitrary.
I Before E — The Rule and Its Exceptions
"I before E, except after C" is one of the most taught spelling rules — and one of the most incomplete. Fifth graders are ready for the full picture: the rule applies mainly to the long-E sound, and even then there are notable exceptions worth memorizing.
Practice Tip: "Weird" is the most reliable way to remember that exceptions exist — "weird is just WEIRD" is a joke that sticks. For the full exceptions list, SpellCrush's AI hint feature will generate a custom mnemonic for whichever exception trips up your child most.
Academic Vocabulary (16 Words)
By 5th grade, standardized tests lean heavily on academic language. Children who can both spell and confidently use these words have a measurable advantage on assessments — and in class discussions.
Practice Tip: "Photosynthesis" and "characteristics" are the longest words on most 5th grade lists. Break them into roots: photo (light) + syn (together) + thesis (putting) = "putting together with light." When kids understand the meaning, the spelling often locks in automatically.
Spelling Bee Prep Words (10 Words)
These words appear regularly in school spelling bees at the 5th grade level. Each has a reliable trick that's worth teaching explicitly:
Prep for the Spelling Bee on SpellCrush
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are absorbed prefixes in 5th grade spelling?
Absorbed (or assimilated) prefixes change their spelling to match the first letter of the base word for easier pronunciation. For example, in- becomes il- before l (illegal), im- before m and p (immature, impossible), and ir- before r (irregular). Recognizing these variants helps students spell and decode unfamiliar words.
What Latin roots are taught in 5th grade?
Key 5th grade Latin roots include: aud (hear) as in audible and audience; vis/vid (see) as in visible and video; dict (say) as in dictionary and predict; scrib/script (write) as in describe and manuscript; mit/miss (send) as in transmit and mission; and ven/vent (come) as in adventure and convention.
What spelling words are typically on a 5th grade spelling bee?
5th grade spelling bee words often include multi-syllable words with Latin or Greek roots (necessary, conscience, perseverance), words with absorbed prefixes (immense, illustrate, irresponsible), and academic vocabulary (hypothesis, legislature, photosynthesis).
How should a 5th grader approach an unfamiliar word?
Teach the three-step attack: (1) Identify any known prefix and its meaning. (2) Find the root and what it means. (3) Note any suffix and what it adds. For example: invisible = in (not) + vis (see) + ible (able to be) = not able to be seen. This strategy works for thousands of unfamiliar words.
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