These Grade 3 spelling words are grouped into themed weekly lists. This will help make spelling a little more fun for your third grader.
The 36 weekly spelling lists are free to download and print.
There is also a growing collection of printable spelling worksheets and activities that go along with the words of the week.

Themed Spelling Lists
In an effort to make learning to spell a more enjoyable experience for children, I’ve created these themed spelling lists.
As each week has a different theme, no spelling week will feel the same, helping alleviate boredom.
They also allow for more opportunities to use the words in its correct context which helps build vocabulary connections.
For example, the theme of one week is “Baseball”. You might decide to incorporate different baseball learning activities during that week. The words will then be very familiar to the child and have meaning to them, as opposed to just random words they have to learn.
Another weeks theme is “Fairy Tales”. This might be a good week to focus on reading a few fairy tales. When the child is having a lot of exposure seeing and reading the same words, it will make learning to spell them that much easier.
36 Weekly Spelling Themes
There are 36 weekly spelling themes for these grade 3 spelling words. They are listed below.
Some themes below are linked to the weekly spelling list.
- Back to School
- Silent Consonants
- Y as a Vowel
- Plural Nouns
- Animals
- Disney Movies
- Dogs
- Contractions: To Be
- Mixed Bag of Words
- Numbers
- Shopping & Money
- Fairy Tales
- Music
- Today & Tomorrow
- Winter
- Human Body
- Medical
- Contractions: Not
- Contractions
- Clocks
- Clothes
- Vacation
- House
- Family & Chores
- Manners & Greetings
- Baseball
- Outer Space
- Shapes
- Math
- Trees & Nature
- Colors
- Gardening
- Fruit
- Fruit Adjectives
- Homophones
- Summer
About these 3rd Grade Spelling Words
- 36 weeks of words
- 12 words per week
- Of the 432 words, 180 of them are Fry words. 52 of the words are Dolch words.
- So by the end of third grade, including the first and second grade words, your child will have learned the spellings of 589 Fry words + 563 additional words. 286 of the words learned will have been Dolch words.
- spelling lists are secular
Printable 3rd Grade Spelling Words
The themed lists of grade 3 spelling words can be downloaded free below. It’s a 6 page printable pdf.
3rd Grade Spelling Worksheets
New spelling games, word puzzles and worksheets to go along with these spelling words are continually being added. Here is the link where you can see a list of all the 3rd grade spelling activities to date.
More Elementary Spelling Lists
Not yet ready for third grade spelling words? Here are the spelling word lists for other elementary grade levels:
Crystal
Monday 21st of March 2022
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tiffany
Tuesday 4th of January 2022
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ayden
Friday 15th of October 2021
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habiba attah
Monday 26th of July 2021
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Pam
Tuesday 20th of July 2021
Hi Melanie. I have an 8 year old son who has suffered trauma that has caused some learning deficits. Our school system refuses to hold kids back or, alternatively, to provide students with extra supports. I have worked with him from the start of the pandemic and looked for resources for his printing and spelling. Most sites allow me to download one or two worksheets then will not provide anything further without a paid subscription. As a mom who had to leave work to be at home and do online learning, you have no idea how grateful I am to have found your free downloads. In one sitting I was able to get what I needed without having to stop after one download to do another search for actual free printables. From the bottom of my heart ...... thank you!!
Melanie Thomas
Tuesday 20th of July 2021
Thank you for your comment Pam, it means a lot.