• 50 words

Spelling Bee Words for Second Graders, Round by Round

Five bee rounds of 10, from double letters to compound words, read aloud word, sentence, word.

Edit this list or use your own words

The 10 words of this list. Add or change any. For your own list, press Clear first.

For a sentence, put it after a colon: rain: The rain fell all day. Up to 40 words.

Sheet to show and print

Warm-up: double letters (dinner)

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.dinnerWe ate spaghetti for dinner.
  2. 2.supperWe ate supper at six o'clock.
  3. 3.butterSpread butter on the warm toast.
  4. 4.followThe ducklings follow their mother.
  5. 5.cherryA cherry has a hard pit inside.
  6. 6.parrotThe parrot can say hello.
  7. 7.zipperThe zipper on my coat is stuck.
  8. 8.slipperI found one slipper under the bed.
  9. 9.worryTry not to worry about the test.
  10. 10.hurryWe had to hurry to catch the bus.

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Make a word search

Each word is read aloud, then used in a sentence. Type what you hear. The marks come at the end.

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Reading speed

Accents do not count: café may be typed as cafe, and the marks show how it is written.

Only voices built into this device are used, so the words are not sent to a speech service to be read. With no voice, a person reads the words from the last page of the test sheet.

Review test from several lists
Tick the lists to draw 10 words from

The words are mixed from the lists you tick, so a review test needs a read-aloud voice.

Next step Pick the next speller at randomRun a bee with your own word list

All 50 words

Warm-up: double letters (dinner) 10

  • butter Spread butter on the warm toast.
  • cherry A cherry has a hard pit inside.
  • dinner We ate spaghetti for dinner.
  • follow The ducklings follow their mother.
  • hurry We had to hurry to catch the bus.
  • parrot The parrot can say hello.
  • slipper I found one slipper under the bed.
  • supper We ate supper at six o'clock.
  • worry Try not to worry about the test.
  • zipper The zipper on my coat is stuck.

Round 2: c that says s (fence) 10

  • bounce Watch the ball bounce down the steps.
  • circus The circus had clowns and acrobats.
  • dance We learned a new dance in gym.
  • fancy She wore a fancy dress to the party.
  • fence The dog jumped over the fence.
  • juicy The peach was sweet and juicy.
  • office Take the note to the school office.
  • ounce One ounce is one sixteenth of a pound.
  • pencil Sharpen your pencil before the test.
  • recess We play tag at recess.

Round 3: g that says j (gentle) 10

  • change Leaves change color in the fall.
  • danger The sign warned of danger ahead.
  • engine The engine roared as the car started.
  • gem The ring had a shiny green gem.
  • gentle Be gentle when you hold the kitten.
  • germ A germ is too small to see.
  • ginger The cookies taste spicy with ginger.
  • magic The magic trick fooled everyone.
  • orange An orange has a thick peel.
  • stage The actors bowed on the stage.

Round 4: dge (fudge) 10

  • budge The heavy rock would not budge.
  • dodge Try to dodge the ball in the game.
  • fudge Grandma made chocolate fudge.
  • hedge A bird built a nest in the hedge.
  • lodge We stayed in a lodge in the mountains.
  • nudge Give your partner a gentle nudge.
  • pledge We say the pledge every morning.
  • ridge We hiked along the rocky ridge.
  • smudge There is a smudge of paint on my cheek.
  • wedge A wedge holds the heavy door open.

Final round: compound words (afternoon) 10

  • afternoon We have art every afternoon.
  • cowboy The cowboy rode his horse across the field.
  • cupcake Each cupcake had pink frosting.
  • everybody We waited until everybody was ready.
  • grandmother My grandmother knits warm scarves.
  • homework Finish your homework before dinner time.
  • rainbow A rainbow appeared after the storm.
  • raincoat Wear your raincoat on wet days.
  • somebody I think somebody left a jacket here.
  • sunflower The sunflower grew taller than the fence post.

How it works

None of these 50 words has a sound-alike or a second spelling, so a speller who hears the sentence can be right only one way. They come in 5 rounds of 10, dinner to cowboy, as our suggestion for grade 2.

Read the full guide

What each round tests

The warm-up doubles a letter (dinner, zipper). Round 2 has c that says s (fence, circus), Round 3 g that says j (gentle, orange), and Round 4 ends in dge (fudge, ridge). The final round joins two words (afternoon, grandmother), the longest words on the page.

The device as pronouncer

Pick a round and press Start round: the device reads the word, a sentence, then the word again, and the speller types. Marks come at the end, and Retry the missed words runs the misses again. Choose Word list and press Print for the reader's copy of a round.

  • Before Round 4, say badge and cage: dge follows a short vowel, ge a long one.
  • Circus holds both sounds of c: the first says k, the second says s.

Questions and answers

Are these harder than the 2nd grade spelling lists?

Yes. The grade lists teach one pattern at a time with short words; these add two-syllable words such as danger, office and grandmother, and none of the 50 is on those lists. The grade is our suggestion, and Edit this list changes any word.

Why are ladder, sorry and notebook missing?

Ladder and sorry each have a sound-alike (latter, sari), and notebook is also written note book. A bee word here has one right answer, so a speller is never marked wrong for the other form.

How do I run a spelling bee for second graders?

Print one round as a Word list for the reader, line the spellers up, and have each spell a word aloud; a random name picker can choose who goes next. The rules for a miss are yours to set.

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