The Complete Spelling Force NSW Syllabus Resource

The Spelling Force NSW Syllabus spelling lists fully contain the NSW Suggested Instructional Sequences and Sample Words for Enquiry. The result is an enhanced version of the NSW Instructional Sequences with 4,341 words in 501 lists categorized as follows:

• Suggested Instructional Sequence: Early Stage 1 Spelling – 714 words in 74 lists
• Suggested Instructional sequence: Stage 1 Spelling – 1,126 words in 115 lists
• English – Stage 2 Instructional sequence Spelling:
  • Year 3 week-by-week – 806 words in 95 lists
  • Year 4 week-by-week – 578 words in 72 lists
• English – Stage 3 Instructional sequence – Spelling:
  • Year 5 week-by-week – 601 words in 76 lists
  • Year 6 week-by-week – 516 words in 69 lists

Note: Where the Sample Words for Enquiry suggested words that were either age inappropriate or erroneous, they were omitted.

Use solo or in combination

The Spelling Force NSW Syllabus spelling lists can be used solely within Spelling Force or in conjunction with other NSW Syllabus aligned material.

Practical, time saving and classroom-ready

A key strength of the NSW Suggested Instructional Sequences is its emphasis on practical routines: explicit modelling; guided practice; and independent application. However, creating coherent resources to match this pedagogy can be time-consuming for busy teachers. Here the 4,300+ word Spelling Force NSW Syllabus spelling resource offers a significant advantage in that it:

• Provides ready-to-use lists pre-ingested into Spelling Force.
• Reduces planning load while maintaining alignment with evidence-based practice.
• Offers digital practice that reinforces in-class teaching through engaging repetition and feedback.
• Student worksheets can be printed using the Spelling Force worksheet function.
• The combination of sound pedagogy and purpose-built technology gives teachers a ready-to-use, coherent, defensible approach to spelling encompassing explicit teaching in class, cumulative and structured lists, and rich opportunities for practice and application.
• Tracks student progress using the Spelling Force Spelling Lists report function.

Relationship to the NSW Syllabus

The Spelling Force NSW Suggested Instructional Sequences use an evidence-based instructional approach to spelling that explicitly teaches the phonological, orthographic and morphological features of words (Triple Word Form Theory) to satisfy the following outcomes and requirements of the NSW syllabus:

• ENE-SPELL-01: applies phonological, orthographic and morphological generalisations and strategies to spell taught familiar and high-frequency words when creating texts as articulated in – Suggested Instructional Sequence: Early Stage 1 Spelling 
• EN1-SPELL-01: applies phonological, orthographic and morphological generalisations and strategies when spelling words in a range of writing contexts as articulated in – Suggested instructional sequence: Stage 1 – Spelling 
• EN2-SPELL-01: selects, applies and describes appropriate phonological, orthographic and morphological generalisations and strategies when spelling in a range of contexts as articulated in – English – Stage 2 Instructional sequence – Spelling
• EN3-SPELL-01: automatically applies taught phonological, orthographic and morphological generalisations and strategies when spelling in a range of contexts, and justifies spelling strategies used to spell unfamiliar words as articulated in – English – Stage 3 Instructional sequence – Spelling
• The NSW Department of Education’s (DoE) Suggested Instructional Sequences for Spelling: Early Stage 1, Stage1, Stage 2 and Stage 3. The sequences embody a practical translation of the “science of reading” into classroom practice. They are deliberately systematic, cumulative and explicit so that teachers can teach spelling skills in an ordered, evidence-aligned way.
• A scope-and-sequence that moves from simple phoneme–grapheme correspondences to complex orthography and morphology.
• Systematic synthetic-phonics foundations combined with phonological awareness, orthographic mapping and morphological instruction.
• Diagnostic use of assessment to inform pacing and targeted intervention.

Key reasons the sequences were created

The NSW Suggested Instructional Sequences for Spelling were created to give teachers a research-aligned, stage-appropriate pathway—beginning with phonemic awareness and grapheme–phoneme correspondence and moving toward morphological and orthographic complexity—so students systematically build durable spelling and reading knowledge. Specifically, they aim to:

• Reduce variability in classroom practice and ensure consistent, evidence-informed progression across stages.
• Accelerate early accuracy in decoding and encoding, supporting reading fluency and comprehension.
• Give teachers clear progressions that reflect how children acquire orthographic knowledge (single letters → digraphs → vowel teams → syllable structure → morphology).
• Support students at risk of literacy difficulty by embedding cumulative review and explicit instruction.

Underlying research and principles

The NSW Instructional Sequences for Spelling are based on the following principles:

• Systematic synthetic phonics: strong experimental and quasi-experimental evidence supports teaching grapheme–phoneme correspondences explicitly and systematically (e.g., Johnston & Watson studies; National Reading Panel, 2000).
• Orthographic mapping and word-learning: Ehri and Share describe how accurate phoneme–grapheme knowledge enables words to be stored in memory as sight words.
• Phonological awareness: early phonemic awareness training predicts later spelling and reading success (numerous longitudinal and intervention studies).
• Morphology and syllable structure: teaching morphemes (prefixes, suffixes, roots) and syllable types enhances spelling of multisyllabic words and vocabulary development (Carlisle and others).
• Effective instruction design: explicit modeling, spaced and cumulative review, diagnostic assessment and feedback reflect principles from cognitive and instructional research (Rosenshine; retrieval practice literature).
• Synthesis and national reviews: recent reviews and “science of reading” summaries (e.g., Castles, Rastle & Nation, 2018; Australian evidence syntheses) have informed policy direction toward structured, evidence-aligned sequences.

Stage-by-stage focus (practical classroom goals)

The NSW Suggested Instructional Sequences for Spelling use a stage-by-stage design with a classroom focus to build spelling skills.

Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten)

• Build phonological awareness (rhymes, onset–rime, phoneme isolation).
• Teach letter names and letter–sound correspondences for common consonants and short vowels.
• Introduce simple CVC words; practise encoding through writing tasks and invented spelling.
• Use high-frequency (tricky) words as taught items with decoding strategies.
• Emphasise oral language and letter formation alongside spelling.

Stage 1 (Years 1–2)

• Consolidate synthetic phonics: blends, digraphs (e.g., ch, sh, th), vowel teams and common alternatives.
• Systematic practice of spelling patterns and high-frequency irregular words.
• Teach strategies for segmenting and encoding words; increase complexity of controlled word lists.
• Begin teaching morphological cues (e.g., plural -s, past -ed) and simple syllable division.
• Regular cumulative review and dictation to embed orthographic memory.

Stage 2 (Years 3–4)

• Expand to more complex vowel patterns, vowel digraphs, and alternative spellings for phonemes.
• Explicit teaching of spelling rules (doubling, dropping -e, syllable patterns) and unstressed vowels.
• Systematic introduction of prefixes, suffixes and common Greek/Latin bases at a basic level.
• Focus on multisyllabic words, syllable division strategies and morphology to support spelling and vocabulary growth.

Stage 3 (Years 5–6)

• Deepen morphological knowledge: roots, affixes, and derivational patterns; etymology where helpful.
• Teach complex orthographic conventions (silent letters, homophones, orthographic irregularities).
• Apply analytical strategies for multisyllabic and academic vocabulary.
• Use explicit spelling instruction tied to writing across the curriculum and diagnostic intervention for persistent difficulties.