• 90 words

Christmas Spelling Words in Three Levels, Read Aloud

Christmas spelling words in three levels, elf to myrrh: pick a list, press Start test and type what you hear.

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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.

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Level 1, List 1: short vowels

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

  1. 1.elfThe elf wore a green hat.
  2. 2.redMy mittens are bright red.
  3. 3.sledThe sled raced over the fresh snow.
  4. 4.bellRing the bell on the front door.
  5. 5.giftI made a gift for my teacher.
  6. 6.sackThe toys fit in one big sack.
  7. 7.hugGive your grandma a big hug.
  8. 8.wishMake a wish on the first star.
  9. 9.nutsWe cracked nuts by the fire.
  10. 10.listWrite a list of gifts to make.

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

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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.

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All 90 words

Level 1, List 1: short vowels 10

  • bell Ring the bell on the front door.
  • elf The elf wore a green hat.
  • gift I made a gift for my teacher.
  • hug Give your grandma a big hug.
  • list Write a list of gifts to make.
  • nuts We cracked nuts by the fire.
  • red My mittens are bright red.
  • sack The toys fit in one big sack.
  • sled The sled raced over the fresh snow.
  • wish Make a wish on the first star.

Level 1, List 2: long vowels 10

  • cake We baked a cake with white icing.
  • glow The candles glow in the window.
  • green Holly leaves stay green all winter.
  • home Everyone came home for the holiday.
  • joy The song is full of joy.
  • pine The room smells like fresh pine.
  • snow Fresh snow covered the whole yard.
  • tape I need more tape for this box.
  • toy He wrapped a toy for his cousin.
  • tree We put lights on the tree.

Level 1, List 3: ar, or, ir and er 10

  • card I drew a card for my aunt.
  • fir A fir tree stays green all winter.
  • horn She played a tune on her horn.
  • letter I mailed a letter to my grandpa.
  • north A cold wind blew from the north.
  • scarf Tie the scarf around your neck.
  • silver Silver bells hung on the door.
  • star A gold star sits on top.
  • stir Stir the cocoa until it is smooth.
  • winter We wear thick coats in winter.

Level 2, List 4: compound words 10

  • evergreen An evergreen keeps its leaves in winter.
  • fireplace We hung stockings above the fireplace.
  • fruitcake Grandpa bakes a fruitcake every December.
  • gingerbread We built a gingerbread house with candy.
  • midnight The church bells rang at midnight.
  • nutcracker A wooden nutcracker stood on the shelf.
  • reindeer A reindeer can pull a heavy sled.
  • snowflake A snowflake landed on my sleeve.
  • snowman Our snowman has a carrot nose.
  • workshop The elves hammered away in the workshop.

Level 2, List 5: double letters 10

  • cranberry Cranberry sauce is sour and sweet.
  • glitter Glitter stuck to my hands all day.
  • holly Holly has red berries and sharp leaves.
  • jolly The jolly baker handed out cookies.
  • merry We wish you a merry holiday.
  • mitten I lost one mitten in the snow.
  • peppermint This candy cane tastes like peppermint.
  • pudding We ate warm pudding after dinner.
  • ribbon Tie the ribbon in a neat bow.
  • wrapping Save the wrapping paper for next year.

Level 2, List 6: silent letters and le, el, ol endings 10

  • angel A paper angel sat on the tree.
  • candle Light one candle at a time.
  • carol We sang a carol at each house.
  • Christmas Christmas falls on December 25.
  • jingle The bells jingle when the door opens.
  • sleigh Two horses pulled the sleigh through snow.
  • stocking Each child hung up one stocking.
  • tinsel Silver tinsel sparkled on every branch.
  • wrap Please wrap this box in blue paper.
  • wreath A wreath of pine hung on the door.

Level 3, List 7: unstressed vowels 10

  • calendar Open one door on the calendar each day.
  • celebrate Many families celebrate with a big meal.
  • chocolate Hot chocolate warms you up fast.
  • cinnamon Sprinkle cinnamon on the apple slices.
  • December December is the twelfth month.
  • decorate We decorate the classroom with paper chains.
  • family My whole family sings off key.
  • holiday School closes for the winter holiday.
  • marshmallow A marshmallow melted in my cocoa.
  • ornament Hang the glass ornament near the top.

Level 3, List 8: tion, ous, ment and ity endings 10

  • charity We collected coats for a charity.
  • decoration Each decoration was made by hand.
  • excitement The room buzzed with excitement.
  • generous It was generous to share your lunch.
  • invitation I mailed an invitation to the party.
  • joyous The choir sang a joyous song.
  • merriment Laughter and merriment filled the hall.
  • nativity The class acted out a nativity play.
  • tradition Baking together is a family tradition.
  • vacation Winter vacation starts on Friday.

Level 3, List 9: silent letters and old borrowings 10

  • bough Snow bent the pine bough low.
  • chimney Smoke rose from the brick chimney.
  • frankincense Frankincense is a resin with a sweet smell.
  • garland A garland of popcorn circled the tree.
  • icicle An icicle hung from the roof.
  • manger The donkey ate hay from the manger.
  • mistletoe Mistletoe grows on the branches of trees.
  • myrrh Myrrh comes from a small thorny tree.
  • poinsettia A poinsettia has bright red leaves.
  • presents We opened our presents after breakfast.

How it works

Sleigh, wreath and myrrh hide letters no one says. These Christmas spelling words are 9 lists of 10 in 3 levels, from elf and sled in Level 1 to poinsettia and frankincense in Level 3, and nine have a sound-alike.

Read the full guide

What each level practices

Level 1 uses kindergarten and first grade patterns: short vowels, long vowels, then ar, or, ir and er. Level 2 fits about second to fourth grade: compounds (gingerbread), double letters (peppermint), silent letters (sleigh, wreath). Level 3, for fifth grade and up, has unstressed vowels (ornament), endings (merriment) and old borrowings (myrrh). The levels follow spelling patterns, so treat the grades as a guide.

Sound-alikes, capitals and the sentence

Nine of the 90 words have a sound-alike: sleigh and slay, wrap and rap, fir and fur, bough and bow. A voice cannot show which one it means, so a sentence follows each word. Capitals count is on, so Christmas and December need their capital. Untick it under Voice, speed and marking for younger spellers.

  • Reindeer is not connected to reins. The first half is Old Norse hreinn, the animal's name: rein, never rain.
  • Poinsettia honors Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US minister to Mexico. His name plus ia keeps the often-dropped i.
  • Mistletoe was misteltan in Old English, where tan meant twig. The silent t belongs to the first half.

Questions and answers

How do you spell Christmas, and why is the t silent?

Capital C, then h, r, i, s, t, m, a, s. The word began in Old English as Cristes maesse, Christ's mass, so the spelling is Christ plus mas. The t stayed on paper after it left speech.

What are the hardest Christmas words to spell?

On this page, the Level 3 words. Poinsettia has a double t and an i near the end. Frankincense has a c and then an s. Myrrh has no vowel letter except y. Marshmallow ends in mallow, not mellow, and cinnamon doubles only the n.

Can I remove words such as nativity or manger?

Yes. Open Edit this list and delete the lines you do not want, such as nativity, manger or angel where a school keeps the season secular. The test and both printed sheets use the box as typed.

Is it presents or presence?

For gifts, presents. Presence means being there, and the two sound the same. So List 9 reads the word, then We opened our presents after breakfast. Type it and press Enter, or tap Next word. Presence is marked wrong as a sound-alike.

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