Appendix D
Spelling Inventories
Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI)
The Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI) covers more stages than the PSI. It can be used as early as first grade, particularly if a school system wants to use the same inventory across the elementary grades. The 25 words are ordered by difficulty to sample featuresof the letter name–alphabetic to derivational relations stages. Call out enough words so that you have at least five or six misspelled words to analyze. If any students spell more than 20 words correctly, use the Upper Level Spelling Inventory.
1. bed I hopped out of bed this morning. bed
2. ship The ship sailed around the island. ship
3. when When will you come back? when
4. lump He had a lump on his head after he fell. lump
5. float I can float on the water with my new raft. float
6. train I rode the train to the next town. train
7. place I found a new place to put my books. place
8. drive I learned to drive a car. drive
9. bright The light is very bright. bright
10. shopping She went shopping for new shoes. shopping
11. spoil The food will spoil if it is not kept cool. spoil
12. serving The restaurant is serving dinner tonight. serving
13. chewed The dog chewed up my favorite sweater yesterday. chewed
14. carries She carries apples in her basket. carries
15. marched We marched in the parade. marched
16. shower The shower in the bathroom was very hot. shower
17. bottle The bottle broke into pieces on the tile floor. bottle
18. favor He did his brother a favor by taking out the trash. favor
19. ripen The fruit will ripen over the next few days. ripen
20. cellar I went down to the cellar for the can of paint. cellar
21. pleasure It was a pleasure to listen to the choir sing. pleasure
22. fortunate It was fortunate that the driver had snow tires. fortunate
23. confident I am confident that we can win the game. confident
24. civilize They wanted to civilize the forest people. civilize
25. opposition The coach said the opposition would be tough. opposition
Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI)
The Upper-Level Spelling Inventory (USI) can be used in upper elementary, middle, high school, and postsecondary classrooms. The 31 words are ordered by difficulty to sample features of the within word pattern to derivational relations spelling stages. With normally achieving students, you can administer the entire list, but you may stop when students misspell more than eight words and are experiencing noticeable frustration. If any students misspell five of the first eight words, use the ESI to more accurately identify within word pattern features that need instruction.
1. switch We can switch television channels with a remote control. switch
2. smudge There was a smudge on the mirror from her fingertips. smudge
3. trapped He was trapped in the elevator when the electricity went off. trapped
4. scrape The fall caused her to scrape her knee. scrape
5. knotted The knotted rope would not come undone. knotted
6. shaving He didn’t start shaving with a razor until 11th grade. shaving
7. squirt Don’t let the ketchup squirt out of the bottle too fast. squirt
8. pounce My cat likes to pounce on her toy mouse. pounce
9. scratches We had to paint over the scratches on the car. scratches
10. crater The crater of the volcano was filled with bubbling lava. crater
11. sailor When he was young, he wanted to go to sea as a sailor. sailor
12. village My Granddad lived in a small seaside village. village
13. disloyal Traitors are disloyal to their country. disloyal
14. tunnel The rockslide closed the tunnel through the mountain. tunnel
15. humor You need a sense of humor to understand his jokes. humor
16. confidence With each winning game, the team’s confidence grew. confidence
17. fortunate The driver was fortunate to have snow tires on that winter day. fortunate
18. visible The singer on the stage was visible to everyone. visible
19. circumference The length of the equator is equal to the circumference of the earth. circumference
20. civilization We studied the ancient Mayan civilization last year. civilization
21. monarchy A monarchy is headed by a king or a queen. monarchy
22. dominance The dominance of the Yankee’s baseball team lasted for several years. dominance
23. correspond Many students correspond through e-mail. correspond
24. illiterate It is hard to get a job if you are illiterate. illiterate
25. emphasize I want to emphasize the importance of trying your best. emphasize
26. opposition The coach said the opposition would give us a tough game. opposition
27. chlorine My eyes were burning from the chlorine in the swimming pool. chlorine
28. commotion The audience heard the commotion backstage. commotion
29. medicinal Cough drops are to be taken for medicinal purposes only. medicinal
30. irresponsible It is irresponsible not to wear a seat belt. irresponsible
31. succession The firecrackers went off in rapid succession. Succession
Words Their Way:Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
