18 words · ages 9–10
4th Grade spelling words with definitions
What should a 4th grade child be able to spell?
By the end of 4th grade (ages 9–10), most children can spell words like unhappy, movement and agreement — that is, words built on prefix un-, prefix re-, suffix -ful, suffix -less and related patterns. Spelling develops at very different speeds, and a child a year either side of this is ordinary rather than behind.
- prefix un-
- prefix re-
- suffix -ful
- suffix -less
- suffix -ness
- prefix dis-
- suffix -ly
- prefix pre-
- suffix -er
- suffix -ment
- suffix -ible
- suffix -ship
Word Families
Beginnings and endings that carry meaning of their own.
- unhappy
- Not happy.prefix un-
- rewrite
- To write something again.prefix re-
- careful
- Paying close attention so nothing goes wrong.suffix -ful
- helpless
- Not able to help yourself.suffix -less
- kindness
- Being good and gentle to others.suffix -ness
- disagree
- To think something different from someone else.prefix dis-
- quickly
- Done in a fast way.suffix -ly
- preview
- A look at something before it starts.prefix pre-
- teacher
- A person whose job is helping you learn.suffix -er
- movement
- The act of moving.suffix -ment
- invisible
- Not able to be seen.suffix -ible
- friendship
- Being friends with someone.suffix -ship
- unlock
- To open something that was locked.prefix un-
- replay
- To play something again.prefix re-
- powerful
- Having great strength.suffix -ful
- fearless
- Not scared of anything.suffix -less
- darkness
- The state of having no light.suffix -ness
- agreement
- When people decide the same thing together.suffix -ment
Practising 4th grade spelling words at home
Read the word aloud and have your child write it from sound rather than copy it. The Friday test asks for the harder of those two, and only one of them is practice for it.
When a word goes wrong, say what the pattern is rather than just the letters — “that’s a prefix un- word” gives them something to reuse. Then come back to it tomorrow rather than immediately.
Count a word as learned when it has been spelled correctly on three separate days. That is the rule SpellChirp uses, and it is roughly where a word stops needing to be looked up.
Turn this list into ten minutes a night
SpellChirp reads every word aloud, checks the spelling, and writes these 4th grade words into an adventure story your child chooses — dragons, detectives, deep sea or a dozen more. Free, with no advertising and no account required to start.