A Complete Guide to Year 2 Spelling: Worksheets & More

16 January, 2025

Spelling in Year 2 introduces more complex patterns and rules as students continue to strengthen their reading and writing abilities. This year, they’ll encounter a wider range of spelling challenges, including advanced blends, digraphs, and vowel combinations. Year 2 spelling worksheets are a great tool to help reinforce these concepts, offering structured practice that builds both skill and confidence. In this article, we’ll dive into the key spelling topics Year 2 students will learn and share engaging, hands-on activities to make practising their spelling words both fun and effective.

Spelling Activities

Word Search: Give your kids a blank grid. Have them ‘hide’ each of their spelling words by placing one letter in each box. Once they’ve hidden all their words, they can fill in the rest of the grid with random letters. After that, they can swap with a partner and see if they can find the words the other person hid. It’s a playful way to practise spelling while sharpening their word-search skills!

Creative Word Art: Let students turn their spelling words into art! They can write each word and decorate it using patterns, drawings, or colours. This combines creativity with learning and helps visual learners retain the words better.

Rainbow Shapes Templates: Give your students a rainbow template sheet and have them write each of their spelling words in rainbow colours along the arcs. A great way to combine learning with a touch of art while strengthening fine motor skills.

Word Sorting: Have students sort words by their spelling patterns (e.g., words with ‘oi’ vs ‘oy’ or ‘ai’ vs ‘ay’). This activity encourages pattern recognition and helps students understand how different letters work together. Find our word sorts below.

Year 2 Spelling Worksheets and Word Lists

1. Short Vowel CVC Words

While Year 2 students are ready to tackle more complex spelling patterns, revisiting CVC words is still valuable. Practising these simple words helps reinforce foundational skills, especially short vowel sounds that can still trip up young learners. Words like sat, sled, and frog provide essential reinforcement. Explore our collection of free CVC worksheets to keep these skills sharp.

2. Final Blends — ‘nd’, ‘nk’, ‘nt’, and ‘mp’

Final blends come at the end of words and continue to be important as students progress. Practise with words like wind, bank, tent, and jump to ensure students can confidently spell these combinations.

3. Diphthongs — ‘ou’ and ‘ow’

Diphthongs, where two vowels combine to create a new sound, are a key focus in Year 2. Words like out, shout, cow, and now help students recognise and spell these unique sounds.

3. Long /e/ Vowel Patterns

In Year 2, students build on their knowledge of long vowel patterns. Focus on the following key patterns ‘e’, ‘ee’, ‘ea’ and ‘y’.

3. Long /a/ Vowel Patterns

In Year 2, students build on their knowledge of long vowel patterns. Focus on the following key patterns ‘a’, ‘ai’, ‘a_e’ and ‘ay’.

4. Diphthongs and Other Ambiguous Vowels — ‘oi’, ‘oy’, ‘oo’, and ‘ou’

Words like point, toy, book, and cloud can be used to introduce students to more complex vowel sounds that don’t always follow the rules, making them a key area of focus.

5. Contractions — Word + ‘are’ and Word + ‘have’

Building on their knowledge from Year 1, students now learn contractions that involve ‘are’ and ‘have’. Examples include you’re, they’re, we’ve, and you’ve.

6. Long /i/ & Long /o/ Vowel Patterns

In Year 2, students build on their knowledge of long vowel patterns. Focus on the following key patterns ‘y’, ‘i_e’, ‘oa’ and ‘o_e’.

7. Triple ‘r’ Blends — ‘scr’, ‘str‘, and ‘spr’

Blends that include three consonants can be tricky, but with practice, words like screw, street and sprain become more familiar to Year 2 students.

By using these year 2 spelling worksheets alongside a variety of spelling activities, you’ll create a well-rounded approach that reinforces key concepts while keeping students motivated. This balanced method helps build confidence, improve spelling accuracy, and foster a genuine love for learning.