Filling in missing letters asks a first grader to hold a whole word in mind while checking only the parts that are missing, which is a different skill from copying a word that is fully shown on the page. Children this age often guess from the first letter and a picture in their head, dropping in whatever sounds close instead of the exact letter the word needs. This worksheet shows a row of letter boxes with some letters already filled in and the rest marked with dashed lines, next to a clue sentence that tells your child what the word means.
Support versions blank only the middle vowel. Standard versions blank two letters, and challenge versions blank every letter except the first, so your child has to hold the whole spelling in memory rather than read most of it off the page. Ask your child to read the clue aloud, say the whole word, and check each blank one letter at a time before writing the answer.
What your child will learn
Use a meaning clue to identify the target word
Fill in a missing vowel or consonant correctly
Hold a whole word's spelling in memory
Check a written word letter by letter
Worked example
For a clue about a sock, the boxes show s _ c k. The missing letter is o, so the word is sock.
Common mistake
Guessing a letter that sounds close instead of checking which exact letter the clue's word needs.
Helpful hint
Say the whole word slowly, then match each sound to a box.
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