Year 9 spelling words: list and free spelling test

The Year 9 words, by pattern

Ask a grown-up to read the words: say the word, then its sentence, then the word again, while your child writes it down. The list is the answer sheet.

Endings that sound alike: ance, ence, ant, ent

1. appearance The sudden appearance of a koala on the path surprised the hikers.
2. excellent Zara gave an excellent speech at the Year 9 assembly.
3. relevant
4. assistance Lily thanked the shop worker for her friendly assistance.
5. convenient
6. resistant The new hiking jacket is resistant to wind and rain.
7. perseverance
8. occurrence Hail in Parramatta in December is a rare occurrence.

The endings able and ible

1. edible The guide showed us which bush berries are edible.
2. dependable Noah is a dependable goalkeeper who never misses training.
3. permissible Calculators are permissible in the second half of the test.
4. negligible The gap between the two swimmers was negligible, less than a hundredth of a second.

Prefixes that make a double letter: il, dis, un, ir

1. illogical It is illogical to study for the wrong test.
2. dissatisfied
3. unnecessary Packing three jumpers for a summer trip to Newcastle seemed unnecessary.
4. irreplaceable Grandma's old photo album is irreplaceable.

Words that sound the same as another word

1. council The local council fixed the broken swing at Berala park.
2. stationery Ruby bought pens, folders and other stationery for Year 9.
3. compliment Ms Ng paid Ava a compliment on her neat and careful lab report.
4. principle Honesty is a principle that Caleb will not break, even to win a game.
5. current The electric current in the circuit was measured with an ammeter.
6. discreet Please be discreet and keep the surprise party a secret from Hana.
7. complement Mint sauce is a perfect complement to roast lamb.
8. stationary The bus stayed stationary at the lights for three whole minutes.

Words often mixed up with a similar word

1. affect Lack of sleep can affect how well teenagers remember new facts.
2. except Every student except Omar handed in the excursion form on time.
3. elicit Ms Ng asked open questions to elicit ideas from the quieter students.
4. cite In your essay, cite the page number for every quotation you use.
5. practise Kaan needs to practise his lines before the drama performance on Friday.
6. illusion The magician's trick created the illusion that the coin had passed through the glass.

Silent letters

1. column
2. subtle The cook added a subtle hint of lemon that most diners barely noticed.
3. pneumonia Dr Patel explained that pneumonia is an infection of the lungs.
4. psychology Mei wants to study psychology to learn how memory works.

Words from Greek: ch, ph and y

1. chaos When the fire alarm rang during lunch, the canteen fell into chaos.
2. chameleon
3. symphony The Year 9 orchestra played a symphony in the Parramatta town hall.
4. gymnasium The Year 9 assembly was held in the school gymnasium because of the rain.
5. catastrophe

Words from French that keep French letters

1. technique Mr Ali showed Freya a better technique for her backstroke.
2. souvenir
3. silhouette At sunset, Theo saw the silhouette of a gum tree against the orange sky.
4. rendezvous The rendezvous for the bushwalk was the car park at Wollongong station.
5. chauffeur Grace's uncle works as a chauffeur, driving guests from the airport to their hotels.

Words from maths and science

1. perimeter Leo walked the perimeter of the oval to measure it.
2. denominator
3. isosceles
4. circumference Hugo measured the circumference of the circular garden bed with a tape.
5. evaporation On a hot day, evaporation dries the puddles in the playground.
6. ecosystem A rock pool is a small ecosystem full of living things that depend on each other.
7. photosynthesis Leaves use photosynthesis to turn light into food.

Words from geography and civics

1. peninsula The holiday house sits on a narrow peninsula near Newcastle.
2. latitude
3. democracy In a democracy, citizens choose their leaders by voting.
4. archipelago The ferry stopped at every island in the archipelago.
5. parliamentary The Year 9 class toured the parliamentary library in Sydney.
6. tributary
7. legislation The class read the legislation that sets the speed limit in school zones.