• 120 words
  • Checked October 2026

Spelling Words for Social Studies

Geography, government, history and economics words: pick a list, press Start test and type what you hear.

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List 1: geography, land and water

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

  1. 1.continentEach continent has its own page in the atlas.
  2. 2.islandOnly goats live on the island.
  3. 3.plainsWheat grows well on the plains.
  4. 4.straitShips pass through the narrow strait.
  5. 5.marshHerons wade in the salt marsh.
  6. 6.bluffThe lighthouse stands on a high bluff.
  7. 7.inletFishing boats sheltered in the inlet.
  8. 8.coastlineThe map shows a jagged coastline.
  9. 9.foothillsThe town sits in the foothills.
  10. 10.grasslandBison once grazed this grassland.

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All 120 words

List 1: geography, land and water 10

  • bluff The lighthouse stands on a high bluff.
  • coastline The map shows a jagged coastline.
  • continent Each continent has its own page in the atlas.
  • foothills The town sits in the foothills.
  • grassland Bison once grazed this grassland.
  • inlet Fishing boats sheltered in the inlet.
  • island Only goats live on the island.
  • marsh Herons wade in the salt marsh.
  • plains Wheat grows well on the plains.
  • strait Ships pass through the narrow strait.

List 2: geography, maps 10

  • border A river forms the border here.
  • cartographer A cartographer drew this map by hand.
  • coordinates Find the city using its coordinates.
  • county Three towns share one county library.
  • district The school district added a new bus route.
  • equator A red line marks the equator on our globe.
  • latitude Our town sits at forty degrees north latitude.
  • longitude Longitude is measured east or west of Greenwich.
  • province The map colors each province differently.
  • tropics Bananas grow in the tropics.

List 3: geography, people and places 10

  • agriculture Agriculture is the main work in this valley.
  • diverse Our city has a diverse mix of foods.
  • indigenous Corn is indigenous to the Americas.
  • language Signs at the airport appear in each language.
  • metropolitan The metropolitan area includes six suburbs.
  • nationality The form asks for your nationality.
  • resident Each resident received a letter from the mayor.
  • settlement The old settlement grew into a city.
  • society Every society has rules for sharing.
  • urban Buses run all night in urban areas.

List 4: government, voting 10

  • congress Congress meets in the Capitol.
  • democracy The club runs as a small democracy.
  • democratic We made a democratic choice by voting.
  • election The election for student council is Friday.
  • government The city government fixed the bridge.
  • majority A majority of voters backed the new park.
  • mayor The mayor answered questions from our class.
  • minority Only a small minority voted no.
  • president The class elected a president.
  • voter Each voter signs in at the desk.

List 5: government, laws and courts 10

  • amendment The club passed an amendment to its rules.
  • constitution Delegates signed the constitution in ink.
  • courthouse The courthouse has a clock tower.
  • equality The speech was about equality for all.
  • judge The judge asked everyone to sit.
  • jury The jury listened to both sides.
  • petition We signed a petition for a crosswalk.
  • preamble The club rules begin with a short preamble.
  • regulation A new regulation limits fishing here.
  • trial A jury of twelve heard the trial.

List 6: government, offices and money 10

  • administration The school administration approved the trip.
  • bipartisan The bill passed with bipartisan support.
  • cabinet The president met with the cabinet.
  • citizenship Her citizenship papers arrived in March.
  • diplomat The diplomat spoke three languages.
  • legislation The new legislation protects wetlands.
  • policy The library has a new lending policy.
  • revenue Ticket sales are the fair's main revenue.
  • taxation The debate was about fair taxation.
  • treasury The club treasury holds forty dollars.

List 7: history, the past 10

  • ancient The ancient road is still in use.
  • century This school was built a century ago.
  • decade The mill closed a decade ago.
  • document The old document was hard to read.
  • era The steam era ended long ago.
  • historic The historic depot is now a cafe.
  • history Our town's history fills one small museum.
  • memorial We visited the memorial in the park.
  • ruins Vines covered the ruins of the mill.
  • timeline We drew a timeline along the wall.

List 8: history, long words 10

  • agricultural The county is mostly agricultural land.
  • chronology The book follows a strict chronology.
  • colonial The colonial house has a huge fireplace.
  • colonist A colonist wrote this letter home.
  • declaration The mayor read the declaration aloud.
  • excavation The excavation uncovered a stone floor.
  • exploration Space exploration takes years of planning.
  • generation The farm passed to the next generation.
  • industrial The old industrial district has brick mills.
  • navigation Stars were once used for navigation.

List 9: history, trade long ago 10

  • barter They barter eggs for firewood.
  • caravan A caravan of camels crossed the dunes.
  • cargo The ship unloaded its cargo at dawn.
  • galleon A model galleon sits on the shelf.
  • goods The store sells canned goods.
  • merchant The merchant sold cloth and spices.
  • port The ship reached port after ten days.
  • shipment A shipment of tea arrived by sea.
  • trader The trader swapped salt for wool.
  • voyager The voyager kept a map of every stop.

List 10: economics, money 10

  • borrow May I borrow a dollar until Friday?
  • budget We made a budget for the trip.
  • credit The store gave us credit for the return.
  • dollar The pencil costs one dollar.
  • income Her income comes from two jobs.
  • loan The bank gave them a loan.
  • money The class counted play money at the store.
  • savings My savings paid for the bike.
  • tax Sales tax added sixty cents.
  • trade The two villages trade wool for grain.

List 11: economics, work 10

  • commerce The river made commerce easier.
  • demand Demand for umbrellas rises when it rains.
  • economy Tourism helps the local economy.
  • employer Her employer gave her Friday off.
  • industry Fishing is the town's oldest industry.
  • labor Building the barn took a week of labor.
  • occupation Write your occupation on the form.
  • product The newest product sold out fast.
  • scarcity Scarcity of water raised its price.
  • surplus The farm sold its surplus corn.

List 12: economics, long words 10

  • corporation The corporation has offices in ten cities.
  • distribution The warehouse handles distribution for the region.
  • economist An economist studies prices and jobs.
  • employment She found employment at the mill.
  • expenditure The largest expenditure was the new roof.
  • interdependence Trade creates interdependence between countries.
  • investment The bakery's biggest investment was an oven.
  • productivity New tools raised the factory's productivity.
  • specialization Specialization lets each worker master one task.
  • transaction The receipt lists each transaction.

How it works

These 120 words come in twelve lists of ten, three for each branch of social studies. Each branch runs from short words (island, mayor, ruins, dollar) to long ones (metropolitan, administration, chronology, interdependence).

Read the full guide

Geography spelling words and government spelling words

Lists 1 to 3 are geography: land and water (strait, coastline), maps (latitude, cartographer) and people and places (settlement, indigenous). Lists 4 to 6 are government: voting (majority, election), laws and courts (preamble, petition) and offices and money (treasury, diplomat).

History spelling words and economics

Lists 7 to 9 are history: the past (century, memorial), long words (excavation, chronology) and trade long ago (caravan, galleon). Lists 10 to 12 are economics: money (income, borrow), work (scarcity, employer) and long words (expenditure, productivity).

  • Strait, the narrow water, sounds like straight; the sentence tells the two apart.
  • Government keeps the n of govern: say gov-ern-ment as you write it.

Questions and answers

Is this a spelling list or a vocabulary lesson?

A spelling list. Each word has one plain sentence that shows it in use, such as The jury listened to both sides, and the page explains no topic of the subject.

Which words here have a sound-alike?

The test knows five: plains and planes, strait and straight, border and boarder, loan and lone, tax and tacks. Type the other spelling and the results say it sounds the same, then show the sentence that was read.

Which list has the longest words?

List 12, the long words of economics: interdependence has fifteen letters and specialization fourteen. Administration in List 6 also has fourteen.

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