NAPLAN Spelling Practice: Year 3

Year 3 NAPLAN spelling tests a range of patterns including consonant blends (str-, cl-, br-), magic-e words (make, smile, stone), common suffixes (-ed, -ing, -er, -est), and high-frequency irregular words like because, friend, and people. Students are also tested on simple homophones such as there/their/they're and to/too/two, as well as silent letter patterns (knee, write, lamb) and common -ough words (through, enough, bought). Words that appear frequently in reading and writing at Year 3 level are the priority.

For well-prepared students, Year 3 NAPLAN spelling is manageable. The words are drawn from patterns that should be familiar by the end of Year 3, though some stretch words require solid phonics knowledge. The trickiest words for Year 3 students are typically the silent letter words (knife, wrist, gnaw), the -ough patterns (through, enough, rough), and distinguishing homophones (there/their/they're). Daily practice with audio (hearing words in sentences before spelling them) is the most effective way to prepare, since that is exactly how NAPLAN delivers questions.

Ten minutes of daily spelling practice in the 6–8 weeks before NAPLAN is enough to make a real difference. The key is using audio, not flashcards. NAPLAN reads words aloud in a sentence and asks students to type the spelling. Any preparation that practises that same skill (hearing a word, then writing it) and is directly useful. Lit Spelling uses this exact format. Start with the Block 1 and Block 2 words on this page (the consonant blends and magic-e patterns), then work through the blocks in order, spending a day or two on each.

No. NAPLAN does not publish its word lists in advance, and the exact words used each year are not released. The 100 words on this page are a NAPLAN-style practice list compiled to reflect the spelling patterns and vocabulary level that Year 3 students should know at the time of the test. They are drawn from Australian Curriculum v9.0 expectations and are organised into pedagogically structured blocks targeting specific patterns. Use them as a thorough preparation resource, not as a guarantee of what will appear in the test.

The manual approach is to print out the list and tick or cross each word after testing. Keeping track across multiple sessions quickly becomes tedious, and words often slip through the cracks. Lit Spelling handles this automatically. Every word your child gets wrong is flagged as a tricky word and brought back in a later session. Words they have mastered appear less often. There is nothing to maintain. See how it works for more.