What your child learns
Here is what practice covers, grade band by grade band, so you can see exactly what your child will work on before you sign up. The built-in bank holds more than 800 words, each with a definition and an example sentence, and you can paste your child's own school lists at any level.
Early Elementary
The foundation: hearing sounds and turning them into letters.
- Short vowel sounds and simple consonant-vowel-consonant words (cat, bed, pig)
- Word families (words that end the same way, like -at, -ig, -op)
- Beginning and ending blends (st-, -nd, -mp)
- Digraphs: two letters, one sound (sh, ch, th, wh)
- Long vowel patterns, introduced gently (cake, rain, tree)
- First vocabulary: everyday words your child can define and use, not just spell
Elementary
Patterns get trickier, and vocabulary starts reaching into school subjects.
- Silent letters (knight, write, lamb) and when to expect them
- Common spelling patterns: soft c and g, -tion, -ough, double letters
- Prefixes and suffixes (un-, re-, -ful, -less, -ness) and how they change meaning
- Homophones in context (there, their, they're) chosen by meaning, not memorized by list
- Plurals and irregular spellings
- Vocabulary from chapter books, science, and social studies
Middle School
The academic layer: where strong readers separate from the pack.
- Greek and Latin roots (bio, geo, port, dict) so new words unlock themselves
- Advanced affixes and word-building: one root becomes a whole family of words
- Academic vocabulary: analyze, consequence, evidence, perspective, and the words every textbook uses
- Easily confused words and precise spelling under pressure
- Vocabulary in context: choosing the word that fits the sentence, not just the definition
High School
Precision, range, and words with real weight behind them.
- Advanced vocabulary from literature, history, and science
- Latin and Greek derivatives at full strength
- Nuance: near-synonyms and the difference between them
- The spelling patterns that still trip up strong students
- Definitions, usage, and spelling tested together, the way real tests ask
College Prep
The bridge to test day and college reading.
- High-level academic and literary vocabulary
- Word roots and origins used to decode unfamiliar words on sight
- Sustained difficulty across long sessions for students who want the challenge
ACT/SAT Vocabulary
For older students: paste an ACT or SAT word list and drill it with the same practice and review cycle.
- High-value ACT and SAT vocabulary, selected for how often these words and their families appear in serious reading
- Definitions, connotation, and correct usage in full sentences
- Spelling precision on the words students most often get wrong
- Tests retry only the words missed, and review cycles bring words back until they are automatic
How mastery works
A word is not "learned" because a child spelled it once. In Time for Spelling, words your child spells correctly return less often; words they miss come back sooner, in practice and on retests, until they are spelled right on their own. Only then does a word count as mastered on the parent dashboard. Missed words are never punished, they are simply scheduled for another visit, the same way a good teacher would do it.
Not sure where your child should start? Pick a level a step below what feels easy, not above it. Early wins build the habit, and you can move the level up the moment it feels easy. Parents control the level at all times.
Start with this week's list
Free during early access, no downloads, no card required. Two minutes from now your child can be practicing the first word on this week's list.
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