Scan the spelling list straight from a photo
Yes, SpellCrush does this. Photograph the worksheet and the words are in the app about ten seconds later — no typing.
And then it keeps going. Definitions get written, audio gets recorded, and the list turns into practice, tests, a spelling bee and games. Scanning is the first ten seconds, not the product.
Photo in, practice out
Four steps, and you only do the first one.
Photograph the sheet
The worksheet on the fridge, the list copied into the homework diary, a page of the spelling book. Straight on, in normal light — that is the whole technique.
The AI reads only the words
Headings, instructions, page numbers and clip art are discarded. If the sheet prints a definition beside a word, that definition is kept. The result lands in an editable box, so you can fix anything before saving.
The gaps get filled in
Every word that arrived bare gets a child-readable definition written for it, and natural audio recorded for it. You photographed twenty words; you now have twenty words that can be taught.
The week builds itself
The list is instantly available as practice sessions, a spelling test, a spelling bee round, AI hints, visual memory aids and every game in the library.
Prefer a file? The same creator takes .txt and .pdf uploads, or you can paste the words in as plain text — one word per line, with an optional word — definition on each line.
A scanner gives you a list. This gives you the week.
Getting the words off the page is the easy part. What matters is what the app can do with them once they are in.
Definitions written automatically
Bare words become words with meaning — a plain-English definition your child can actually read, generated for anything the worksheet did not define.
Audio for every word
Natural pronunciation in your dialect, so practice works the way a real spelling test works: hear it, then spell it.
AI hints when they are stuck
Not the answer — a nudge about the tricky part of the word, generated for that child on that word.
Visual memory aids
An image built around the shape of the word, for the spellers who remember pictures far better than letter strings.
Tests, bees and games
The same scanned list drives the spelling test, the spelling bee, and every game — Word Scramble, Memory Match, Spell Runner and the rest.
Progress you can read
Which of this week's words are sticking, which are not, and a weekly report that says so in sentences rather than a chart.
What it costs, stated plainly
Scanning runs an AI vision model every time it is used, so it sits in Premium rather than the free plan. The trial exists so you can point it at your child's real worksheet before deciding.
Still includes practice, spelling tests, the games and the daily puzzle — free forever, no card.
Enough to scan this week's list for every child, before you are charged anything. A photo we can't read doesn't count against it.
Plus AI hints, visual memory aids, unlimited children, custom lists and weekly reports.
Free for 7 days, cancel anytime.
Questions parents ask about scanning
Can SpellCrush scan a spelling list from a photo?
Yes. SpellCrush reads spelling lists directly from a photo. Open the word-list creator, tap 'Scan photo', and take a picture of the worksheet, homework diary page, or textbook list. The AI transcribes the words, and if the sheet prints a definition next to a word it keeps that too. Headings, instructions, page numbers and decorations are ignored, so you get the words and nothing else.
Does SpellCrush import spelling lists from a PDF or text file?
Yes. Alongside photo scanning, SpellCrush imports .txt and .pdf files. Use 'Upload .txt / .pdf' for a text-based PDF sent home by the school. If the PDF is itself a scanned image, use 'Scan photo' instead — that path runs the same AI transcription used for photos.
Does it read handwriting?
It reads clearly written handwriting as well as printed worksheets. A word copied into a homework diary in neat handwriting usually transcribes correctly. Very cramped or joined-up cursive is less reliable — every scanned list lands in an editable text box before you save it, so anything misread takes a couple of seconds to correct.
What happens to the words after they are scanned?
This is where SpellCrush differs from scan-only apps. Any word that arrived without a definition gets one written automatically, each word gets natural audio pronunciation, and the finished list becomes practice sessions, spelling tests, a spelling bee, AI hints, visual memory aids and the games library — all from the one photo. You are not left holding a list you still have to do something with.
Is photo scanning free?
Photo scanning is a Premium feature, and it is included in the 7-day free trial — so you can scan your child's actual worksheet before paying anything. During the trial you get 3 scans per day; on a paid plan it is 10 per day. A scan is only counted when words are successfully read, so a blurry photo costs you nothing. Premium is $4.99/month. The free plan includes spelling practice, tests, games and the daily puzzle, but not photo scanning.
How many words can one list hold?
Up to 1,000 words per list. A weekly school list is typically 10 to 20 words, so a single photo usually captures the whole week. Several photos can be scanned into the same list if the words are spread across more than one page.
What happens to the photo I upload?
The photo is used once, to transcribe the words, and is not kept as part of your child's profile — only the resulting word list is saved to your account. Photos are also downscaled in your browser before they are sent, so a 10 MB phone photo never leaves the device at full size.
Which image formats work?
JPEG, PNG and WebP, which covers every photo a phone or tablet camera produces. Point the camera straight at the page in reasonable light and the whole list is usually read on the first try.
Keep reading
The full walkthrough — scanning, uploading, pasting and editing.
Turn the list you just scanned into a real, read-aloud test.
Run a bee round on your child's own school words.
An honest comparison, including which apps scan word lists.