Here are 45 spelling bee words for Year 6, in three levels: a warm-up round, middle rounds and final rounds. They work for a class bee, a school bee or a practice bee at the kitchen table, and they use Australian spelling (favourite, neighbour, jewellery) throughout.
By Year 6, spelling bees get competitive. The final-round words (acquiesce, conscientious, entrepreneur, liaison, millennium) are where they're won and lost, so practise those the most.
Year 6 spelling bee words
Warm-up · 15 words
Words most Year 6 children can spell with a little practice.
- telephone
- microscope
- geography
- paragraph
- discussion
- permission
- tension
- library
- history
- factory
- achieve
- piece
- weigh
- height
- company
Middle rounds · 15 words
Words with one tricky part each.
- principal
- principle
- stationery
- accommodate
- embarrass
- necessary
- recommend
- committee
- courageous
- obvious
- jewellery
- laboratory
- separate
- definitely
- foreign
Final rounds · 15 words
Long words, borrowed words and Australian words to sort the finalists.
- acquiesce
- conscientious
- entrepreneur
- liaison
- millennium
- manoeuvre
- occurrence
- phenomenon
- pharaoh
- questionnaire
- rhythm
- privilege
- soliloquy
- pronunciation
- unnecessary
Year 6 spelling bee words · free to print from phonogramfun.com/learn
How a spelling bee works
- The caller says the word, uses it in a sentence, and says the word again.
- The speller may ask for the word to be repeated, used in another sentence, or defined.
- The speller says the word, spells it letter by letter, and says it again.
- A wrong letter is out for that round. Once a letter is said, it can't be taken back.
How to practise for a bee
Spell out loud, not on paper. A bee is spoken, and it's surprisingly different: children who write a word perfectly can lose their place saying it. Chunk long words into parts (acquiesce → acquiesce). Learn the story behind odd words: where a word comes from often explains its spelling. And finish every practice on a word they get right.
For weekly classroom lists rather than a bee, see Year 6 spelling words.
Questions parents ask
What words are in a Year 6 spelling bee?
There's no official list for most school bees in Australia; teachers choose words that suit the class. These 45 words cover the patterns Year 6 children learn, plus harder words for the final rounds.
How do you practise for a spelling bee?
Spell the words out loud rather than writing them, break long words into chunks, and spend most time on the hardest words. Finish each session on a word your child spells correctly.