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Spaced spelling practice with five boxes

A few words a day, brought back just before you would forget them. Words you spell correctly move up a box and come back less often. Words you miss go back to box 1.

For teachers, parents and childrenChecked 7 November 2026Method: Leitner boxes

Quick answer

What
A short dictation session of up to 10 words from the statutory lists.
How long
About five minutes.
Saved where
In this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere, and there is no login.
A plant in a pot beside a tower of wooden building blocks.

Start a session

Which words?

How the boxes work

  1. Every word starts as New.
  2. Spell it right and it moves into box 2 (or up one box). Spell it wrong and it goes to box 1.
  3. Each box has a gap: box 1 comes back after 1 day, box 2 after 2 days, box 3 after 4, box 4 after 8 and box 5 after 16.
  4. A session picks the words that are due first, then new words.

Short, spread-out practice usually beats one long session. Five minutes on most days is plenty.

Questions

Where is my progress saved?

In this browser on this device only, using local storage. If you clear site data or use a different device, you start again.

Can a class use this?

Yes. Each child's device keeps its own boxes. For a whole class, use the printable tick-sheets and a teacher-led dictation on the list pages.

More

Years 3 and 4 wordsBrowse the list, hear every wordYears 5 and 6 wordsBrowse the list, hear every word

Spelling lists and grammar terminology: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, Appendices 1 and 2 (Crown copyright 2013), reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example sentences, tips, explanations and questions are by Litlings.