Spelling practice built on how words work
Every word is mapped to its sounds, letter patterns, syllables, word parts and origin. Students hear it in a sentence and have a go. A missed word comes back in a rematch that gives clues before the answer, and teachers see what students actually wrote. Included in the Writing Boost school plan.
What students do
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Hear the word, then the sentence, then the word
Dictation follows the NAPLAN pattern in an Australian voice: the word, a sentence that gives it meaning, then the word again. Proofreading questions ask students to fix a highlighted mistake, or to find one, as NAPLAN’s Language Conventions test does.
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A rematch that gives clues, not answers
Each missed word comes back in the same kind of question, with Coach’s corner beside it. Help unlocks a step at a time: the kind of miss and the student’s own try, then the spelling rule with the word hidden, then its syllables and parts. Recalling a word is what makes it stick, so the answer comes last.
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Word Explorer takes the word apart
Clap out the syllables, read the sound map, build the word from its parts, learn its spelling secret, meet its family and find out where it came from. A tricky spelling gets tied to something the student already knows.
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Words from their own writing
When Writing Boost marks a piece, the misspelt words are listed under it, including the right spelling of the wrong word, like there for their. Students look, cover and type each one from memory, and the words join their list to win back.
Grounded in the science of reading
The research on how children learn to spell isn’t a label on the box. Phonological, orthographic, morphological and etymological knowledge decide how each list is built, how each word is explained and how a missed word comes back.
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Sounds and the letters that spell them
Every word is mapped sound by sound to its spelling. Even an irregular word is taken apart, so only the unexpected letters need learning by heart: in friend, that’s just the ie.
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Syllables and their types
Long words are spelt a syllable at a time. Each syllable is typed (closed, open, vowel team, r-controlled and more), because the type predicts the vowel sound.
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Word parts and meaning
Prefix, base and suffix, the rule when a word changes (drop the e, double the last letter) and the family it belongs to. Spelling often follows meaning: musician keeps the c of music.
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Origins, when they explain a spelling
Word history comes in where it explains a spelling today or links a family: ph from Greek, ject and port from Latin. It’s there to explain, not as trivia.
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Every word in a sentence
Meaning settles what sound can’t. Their, there and they’re only make sense in a sentence, so every word is heard in one, and thousands of questions turn on a homophone in context.
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One focus, then review
Built-in lists name one teachable focus and group their words by it, moving from simpler to more complex spellings across the years. Later lists bring earlier words back on purpose.
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Mistakes explained, not just marked
62,002 likely misspellings are on file, each with why it happens: a sound, a letter pattern, a word part or a word’s history. Coach’s corner uses them to give a clue that fits the miss.
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Retrieval practice, then spaced review
A rematch asks before it helps, so the student retrieves the word rather than copies it. A word counts as retained only when it’s right on another task at least seven days later, and the first attempt always stands.
Every word arrives explained
Behind each list is a word base built for Australian classrooms: Australian spelling, the sounds of Australian English and an Australian voice.
- 12,722 words in the word base, mapped to their sounds, syllables, parts and origins
- 88,567 links between a sound and the letters that spell it
- 62,002 likely misspellings, each with the reason it happens
- 164 built-in lists and tests: 128 teaching lists and 36 NAPLAN practice tests
Each teaching list records the Australian Curriculum v9 English content it addresses. Lists are written for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and every word carries a NAPLAN writing word class, set by the same rules as Writing Boost’s marker.
How it works
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Start with a list built around one focus, or today’s spelling challenge.
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Hear it in a sentence then spell it, or fix it in a proofreading question.
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Win back a missed word in a rematch, with clues that unlock one at a time.
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Take the word apart in Word Explorer: its sounds, syllables, parts, family and origin.
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Keep it when it’s right again on another task, a week or more later.
What teachers set and see
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A library organised by what it teaches
Five shelves for each of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9: Spelling System (sounds, patterns and syllables), Word Building (word parts and origins) and Curriculum Vocabulary with eight lists each, and a Narrative Toolkit and a Persuasive Toolkit with four each. The NAPLAN practice tests sit beside them. Or build a list from your own words.
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Open any word: the dossier is the lesson
Sound buttons, syllables and their types, word parts, the spelling rule, the word family and its NAPLAN writing word class, with what your students actually wrote and a way to teach it.
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Who missed what, and how
The Miss map shows each student’s actual attempt, not just a cross. The word wall shows the words missed in spelling tasks, in their writing, or in both.
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What sticks, a week later
Words that need practice, words won back and words retained. Retained means right on another task at least seven days later. A rematch never changes the original task score.
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On screen or on paper
Students can answer on printed QR sheets. Scan or upload the pages, check the recognised answers against the paper, then publish the result. Spelling is kept exactly as written.
Every missed word gets another go
The kind of miss.
A clue. Another go.
A missed word comes back with its clues unlocked one at a time, so the student recalls it rather than copies it. The answer comes last.
See it in a school demo Frequently asked questions
Is Spelling Boost based on the science of reading?
Yes, in how it is built rather than as a label. Each word is mapped to its sounds and spellings, syllables, word parts and origin. Built-in lists name one teachable focus and bring earlier words back. Words are heard in a sentence. A missed word is recalled with clues before the answer is shown. The lists draw on Australian Curriculum v9 English, the National Literacy Learning Progression for spelling and the NSW spelling instructional sequences.
Is it a phonics program?
No. It is spelling practice that makes the structure of each word visible: its sounds and spellings, patterns, parts and meaning. Lists are written for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Use it inside your school’s own sequence of explicit teaching; a test on its own is not explicit instruction.
What happens when a student misses a word?
It joins their rematch. The word comes back in the same kind of question with Coach’s corner beside it: first the kind of miss and their own try, then the spelling rule with the word hidden, then its syllables and parts. They can hold to peek at the word if they still need it. Once they win it, they see the full tip, the tricky letters marked and where the word came from, and can open Word Explorer to look closer.
How is retention different from a rematch?
A rematch shows a student can spell a missed word again. Retention needs a correct answer on another task at least seven days later. The original task score stays as it was: a word fixed on a retry still counts as missed, because that is what the evidence is for.
Does it diagnose a student’s spelling difficulties?
No. It shows what each student wrote and the features of the words they missed, for a teacher to look into. A pattern across a few responses is a reason to look closer, not a diagnosis.
How does it relate to NAPLAN?
NAPLAN looks at spelling twice. The Language Conventions test asks students to spell a word they hear, correct a highlighted mistake and find the misspelt word in a sentence, and Spelling Boost practises all three. The Writing test marks spelling in a student’s own writing using four word classes, and every word in Spelling Boost is classed by the same rules as Writing Boost’s marker. Spelling Boost does not predict a NAPLAN result.
Can we use our own spelling words?
Yes. Start from a library list, or build a list of up to 30 of your own words. Your students’ attempts come back into the teacher workspace like any other task.
Can students complete spelling on paper?
Yes. Print QR answer sheets, then scan or upload the pages. Teachers check the recognised answers against the paper before publishing the result, and spelling is kept exactly as the student wrote it.
How does practice fit our spelling teaching?
Choose words that fit your school’s sequence of sound–letter relationships and word parts. Explain and model the focus, practise together, then use attempts and rematches to decide what to revisit. Check a later task and independent writing as well as successful practice answers.
What does the school plan include and how do we get a price?
Writing Boost + Spelling Boost in one school plan, from $1,000 per year, excluding GST. Teacher and leadership access and guided onboarding are included. Prep/Foundation, Year 1 and Years 10–12 are included free with a paid plan, where offered. Paid year levels are Years 2–9. Find your school on the pricing page, choose your year levels and check enrolments to see your annual price. No demo or contact details are required to explore.
The Writing Boost platform
- Writing Boost Writing marked on the NAPLAN criteria, with feedback students use in their next draft.
- For teachers Class evidence by criterion, and groups for targeted teaching, made from the writing.
- For school leaders Consistent writing evidence across classes, and each year level in view.
- For education systems Shared tasks and school-by-school evidence across a diocese or network.
