FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Getting started with Vocabulary and SpellingCity is simple! The easiest way to get started is to watch one of our training videos or use our helpful step-by-step getting started pages. Any other questions can be found in FAQ's. Please feel free to contact us with questions too!
Most Common Questions & Top Feature Questions
|
I've forgotten my username and/or my password and cannot access my account?
If you can not access your account you could be receiving one of the following messages:
1. Incorrect or missing login information:
If you do not have the correct login information, please see I've forgotten my username and/or my password.
2. Your registration process is not complete!
If you did not receive an email with a link to confirm your account, you will not be able to log in to your account until you do so. If you missed your confirmation email, please try to log in and this will prompt another confirmation to be sent to the email address you registered with.
3. You are unauthorized to access this resource:
If you are receiving this message, you will need to clear your cache.
If you continue to have trouble logging in, please contact us with the following information:
1. Operating system, browser, and version: Windows or Mac. IE, Firefox, or Safari.
2. Type of network connection: school network, dial up, cable, or DSL, etc.
3. Detailed description of the issue
|
I did not receive an email to confirm my account.
Your account must be verified by email once you register in order to start saving lists. The verification email is sent immediately after you finish your registration. If you do not receive an email, check your spam filter and send a request to info@SpellingCity.com requesting verification of your newly registered account.
|
| Definitions - how can I use them? |
| What teacher training videos does Vocabulary and SpellingCity offer? |
| What is the difference between a default and alternative sentences? |
| Where can I find additional teacher resources? |
| What are the Sentence and Paragraph Writing Practice activities? |
Definitions - How can I use them?
Vocabulary TestMe, MatchIt Definitions, Word-O-Rama, and Parts of Speech are premium activities that can help your students increase their vocabulary and definition comprehension.
Registered free members can utilize these features from Vocabulary and SpellingCity’s Teacher Resources sample lists or from each activity’s introduction page.
Premium Members have access to all premium activities with definitions once they are logged in.
Premium Members have the option to use provided sentences and definitions for each word saved in a list, or they may write their own customized sentences and definitions.
Learn more about Premium Membership.
What teacher training videos does Vocabulary and SpellingCity offer? (top)
Many teachers and parents learn to use Vocabulary and SpellingCity just by using it; others prefer to start with some training. For those that prefer some training, our videos provide a solid base. Each video takes less than three minutes to view. At Vocabulary and SpellingCity, we believe that powerful software should be easy to use. Our teacher training videos will help you learn how to efficiently use Vocabulary and SpellingCity.
|
| What's New?
| Find out about the release of Vocabulary and SpellingCity’s new definitions feature.
| |
| Getting Started
| Demonstrates how a student enters words and takes a test.
|
Test Results |
Explains the information that Vocabulary and SpellingCity provides after taking a test. |
Saving Lists |
Short clip on how to save your spelling and vocabulary lists.
|
Custom Sentences |
Shows how parents and teachers can add their own sentences! |
Student Writing Practice |
Explains how to use the Sentence and Paragraph Writing Practice activities. |
Handwriting |
Details how to create handwriting worksheets using your spelling lists. |
Users View |
A British teacher provides a rapid overview of how he uses Vocabulary and SpellingCity.com. |
Premium Membership |
Explains student record keeping and the premium games. |
What is the
difference between default and alternative sentences? (top)
The "add your own sentences" feature allows teachers and parents to add or pick alternative sentences. To try it out, just log in and either edit or create a new list.
Alternative sentences are useful for words with multiple meanings. Let's assume that a teacher has a word list about climbing which includes "scale." But when the teacher looks at the Default Sentence for scale, the context is weight: "The scale was used to weigh the food."
The teacher can type in a customized sentence such as: "The climbing teacher taught us to scale the wall." or "The map was not drawn to scale." These sentences are available for immediate use through voice synthesis technology. To learn more, watch the teacher training video.
Where can I find additional teacher resources? (top)
Resources and the articles section of our site is useful for teachers looking for ideas and commonly-used lists. It is great place to find popular resources pages and sample word lists.
You can import any resource lists directly from the resource page if you are logged in.
|
|
| Dolch
Words
| This collection of Dolch or sight words is perennially useful. There is both background information and lists ready-to-use. |
|
| Kids love studying compound words. Teachers love teaching them. Does your school have a Compound Word Day? It should!
|
|
| There are over fifty popular books so far. Email us if you have a list to add.
|
|
| This article reviews homophones, homonyms, and homographs.
|
| Sample Lists
| Sample spelling lists by grade level or subject.
|
| Sound Alike
Words
| All students and many adults benefit from practice distinguishing the right spelling and usage of its and it's; they're, there, and their; and to, too, and two.
|
What are the Sentence and Paragraph Writing Practice activities? (top)
Vocabulary and SpellingCity now has two writing practice activities that teachers and parents can use with their word lists! Both of these new activities will help develop and demonstrate an understanding of word meanings and writing ability. Click here to see a video explaining how the writing practice activities work.
A teacher or parent can also write custom instructions for their students. Remember, any instructions that you submit are a contribution to Vocabulary and SpellingCity. We periodically review the instructions; and when we find some we like, we publish them for the other teachers and parents.
Teachers and parents have the choice of printing these assignments, having the students do them individually online, or working on them as a group on an interactive projection screen.
Also, all members can print the completed writing assignments. Premium Members can have the students' writing automatically submitted to the teachers for grading. In addition, students can now log in and see the feedback from their writing assignments as well as the records on all of their tests and activities.
| General Information About Vocabulary and SpellingCity |
What is Vocabulary and SpellingCity? (top)
Vocabulary and SpellingCity is a new and innovative interactive educational site used to help children of all ages improve their spelling skills and expand their vocabulary. Vocabulary and SpellingCity is widely used by teachers and parents to teach students how to spell by creating and saving individual and unique spelling lists. The approach of Vocabulary and SpellingCity is to enforce the elements of spelling and vocabulary through interactive learning.
Vocabulary and SpellingCity offers over 43,000 words, sentences and definitions. Each of the words is spoken by a "real" human voice to offer the student more clarity. With each created list, a student has the option to: Take a Spelling Test, Vocab Test, Teach Me or Play A Game.
Spelling Test repeats each spelling word with a live voice and uses it in a sentence.
Vocab Test gives a definition for each word, along with a choice of six possible words.
Teach Me spells and displays the word in ways that stimulate memory for visual and verbal learners.
Play a Game uses your word list in educational games that teach spelling, word meaning, vocabulary, and alphabetical order. SpellingCity offers learning games such as HangMouse, Word Search, Unscramble, and many more.
How did Vocabulary and SpellingCity come about?
SpellingCity is a labor of love by a group of web savvy educationally-minded parents who felt there was a need to create a useful educational site. Initial design documents were circulated in 2005, programming started in November 2006, and the site went live in January 2007. The future includes thousands of more words, a variety of new games, simplified list saving, definitions, synonyms, antonyms, capability of saving student records, a comprehensive spelling list/course and so much more. Stay tuned!
What does it cost?
Vocabulary and SpellingCity is a free site and offers a variety of free learning games, printables, and testing features.. We also have a Premium Membership, which, for a small fee, will allow for student-tracking, premium games, definitions and much more.
Where can I find sample lists?
Sample lists can be found under "Teacher Resources". Sample lists are some of the most popular lists on the site. You can find everything from Dolch words to general words divided by grade level, to unique lists like state capitals and big numbers.
If you are looking for an entire spelling
curriculum, it is more than likely that it has already been entered into SpellingCity by another
teacher
or parent. A useful tool to help you locate pre-entered lists- for example, "Abeka's Spelling
Curriculum," is the Google search box in the upper right hand corner.
Once you have located your list, the "Recently Visited Pages" are a good way to always have your
teacher’s page on hand.

What are the Recently Visited Pages? (top)
SpellingCity now tracks the most recent teacher page, school page and list that you visited. Just click on the link to go back to that page.
Note: Recently visited pages will indicate last visited teacher, even if the last viewed profile was a parent. To clear your recently visited pages, you will want to clear your browser cache.
How do I suggest a word?
If you enter a word that is not in our database, an automated message is sent to us to review the word. The word must fit our current programming capabilities. Approved words then go through a series of steps to make it available to SpellingCity users. This process can take anywhere from one to two months.
What is the criteria for word approval?
Vocabulary and SpellingCity seeks to provide a useful program for a wide variety of users. There is a constant underlying question of which words to include. Please understand that since we pay to have sentences written and recorded, there are limits to our resources.
Our source of words to consider including in our system has been the words that users enter for spelling tests on our site. We review the words to see if they are proper American English and if there are multiple requests.
Vocabulary and SpellingCity only includes one use for each spelling of each word. So, there is only one sentence for mayflower (our sentence is about a flower, not a historic ship), Turkey (our sentence is about the country, not the bird), and May (the month, not the verb).
We do include:
- Countries, states, capital cities
- Days of the week, months of the year, all creatures, great and small
We are gradually adding popular requests for:
- Non-capital cities, rivers, mountains or other elements of geography
- Proper nouns, in general, including people's names except as listed above
- Common phrases such as "mashed potatoes" or "school bus" - Abbreviations, such as Mrs., St., Dr., etc.
We don't include:
We also have a category of words that are included on the site but which are marked to not appear because they may be awkward in many settings.
How do I bookmark Vocabulary and SpellingCity?
The easiest way for your students to find your spelling lists is bookmark Vocabulary and SpellingCity or link directly to your homepage. Bookmarking is easy through any browser or for teachers using bookmarking sites like IGoogle or IKeepBookMarks.com.
We can guide you step by step by browser to help you bookmark your homepage to your classroom computers; or if using a computer lab, ask your IT Teacher to bookmark your homepage.
Step-by-Step Guide to Bookmarking
|
Internet Explorer Bookmarking Directions
Pull up your SpellingCity homepage, for example: http://www.SpellingCity.com/BrowardCounty (Your homepage is usually the SpellingCity address forward slash your username).
Locate and select “ Favorites” in your toolbar. You will have two options You can save to favorite which will create a list of favorite sites for when you select the favorite’s option from your toolbar. Or you can link to your “ Favorites Bar.” This is a convenient icon that will appear at the top of your browser every time a browser window is opened.
|
|
Firefox Bookmarking Directions
Pull up your SpellingCity homepage, for example: http://www.SpellingCity.com/BrowardCounty (Your homepage is usually the SpellingCity address forward slash your username.
Locate and select “ Bookmarks” in the toolbar. You will have two options. One will be to “ Bookmark This Page“. This will give you the option to bookmark the page as a link in your bookmarks. Or, you can select the option to bookmark your homepage to the “Bookmarks Menu” that is a convenient icon that will appear at the top of your browser every time a browser window is opened.
|
Safari Bookmarking Directions
Pull up your SpellingCity homepage, for example: http://www.SpellingCity.com/BrowardCounty (Your homepage is usually the SpellingCity address forward slash your username.
Locate and select “ Bookmarks” in your toolbar. You will have the option to bookmark your homepage as a “ Top Site” or add it to your bookmarks menu. The bookmark menu option is a more convenient icon that will appear at the top of your browser every time a browser window is opened.
|
My School's Homepage (top)
Vocabulary and SpellingCity has 90% of the schools in the United States registered. Every time a teacher registers, they are given the option to have their name listed as a teacher under their school. If a school is not in our database, we add it.
Students can easily find teachers in their school by taking the steps through the Find-A-List option. Simply search by state, city first initial, city name, school first initial, and school name.
A schools homepage can be locked by a school when a premium membership is purchased.
What learning activities (games) does SpellingCity offer?
Vocabulary and SpellingCity offers a variety of learning activities to help your students practice spelling, understand word meaning, and improve their writing skills.
Learning spelling and vocabulary are made easy with learning activities that focus on:
Spelling,
Spelling
- LetterFall- Letter Fall teaches spelling via specific letter patterns while also helping with quick word recognition. This game also assists in the strengthening of hand-eye coordination.
- SpeedySpeller–Spelling mastery, accuracy, and speed are all enforced in Speedy Speller. Keyboarding practice is a plus in this game.
- HangMouse- Letter patterns and word identification are stressed while trying to figure out the word.
- Unscramble- This game mixes the elements of spelling rules and letter patterns with the skill of word recognition.
- Audio Word Match- Audio Word Match is an audio-visual version of the traditional Concentration game to help with spelling memorization. The strengthening of memory skills is an added plus.
- Missing Letter- Missing Letter enforces letter patterns for easier spelling success.
Word Meaning,
Word Meaning
- MatchIt!- This is a great game for reinforcing word defining using context clues. It promotes vocabulary building.
- WhichWord?- Word recognition and vocabulary building are enforced when the students decide the correct word using contextually rich sentences.
- Sentence Unscramble- Proper vocabulary usage and correct word order are highlighted as students place words to make a meaningful, grammatically correct sentence.
- Crossword- Clues are given within contextually constructed sentences, so proper use of the vocabulary word is enforced while figuring out the puzzle.
Student Writing Practice and
Student Writing Practice
- Sentence Writing Practice-Students are given the opportunity to practice writing grammatically correct sentences while using their vocabulary words in proper context and spelling them accurately.
- Paragraph Writing Practice-Students can write paragraphs using their vocabulary words in proper form and with correct spelling. This also allows for creativity and imagination as the students think of ways to use multiple vocabulary words within the one paragraph.
Younger Students.
Younger Students
- Alphabetize- Letter order is stressed for younger students to build their spelling, writing, and reading skills.
- HangMouse- Spelling patterns and rules are enforced in our version of Hangman.
- Unscramble- As students unscramble their spelling words, they also learn about spelling rules and patterns.
- Audio Word Match- Younger students can practice pronunciation, listening skills, word recognition, and memory with Audio Word Match.
- Missing Letter- Spelling rules and patterns are stressed in Missing Letter.
| Students Using SpellingCity |
Do I need to register or log in? (top)

Students do not need to register. Only Premium Member students need to log in.
Note: Premium membership is a paid membership that tracks student’s records.
How do I use Vocabulary and SpellingCity?
Students have several different ways to use Vocabulary and SpellingCity:
-
Student can enter their spelling words directly into the note pad on the front page and select the option to Play-A-Game, Teach Me, or Test Me. As long as the student uses the bottom navigations, they can work through as many learning activities as they wish with their original list. These lists are not saved.
-
If your teacher has registered with Vocabulary and SpellingCity they will have pre-entered spelling lists that are saved. To locate your teachers homepage use the Find-A-List search or locate your school on the Find-A-List page by state, city, and school. Teachers: Try our new Vocabulary and SpellingCity Parents’ Letter, available as a PDF for you to print and send home with your students' spelling word lists. It is also available in Spanish.
-
If your teacher or parent has given you a username and password, log into your account in the upper right hand corner and you will be automatically directed to your teacher’s homepage.
- Go straight to the learning activities and game pages and play some sample lists of your favorite games. Or you can visit our resource section for a variety of lists.
How do I find my teachers (or parent's) spelling lists?
To locate a teacher's list, students will need to know at least the teacher's last name and school that the teacher belongs to. Select the "Find A List" option and enter in the teacher's last name. This will bring up a list of teachers. If your teacher has a common name, be sure you are selecting the correct teacher by verifying the school, city, or state.
Students also have the option to locate a list by username or list title. If using the list title option, please be sure that you are entering in the exact list name.
Can I enter my own lists?
Students can enter their own list by simply adding words on the Vocabulary and SpellingCity homepage. For more helpful hints for students see our Student Resource Page.
How do I take a test?
Once you have selected your list to be tested on, select the icon for "Test Me." There are two options to identify the word to be spelled. You can select "Say it" to hear the word or "Sentence" to have the word used in a sentence.
When taking your test, you can use the enter key on your keyboard to move through your test; or simply use your mouse to place the cursor in each field. Each word will be spoken, followed by the corresponding sentence, and then the word again.
Once you have filled in all the blanks with your spelling words, select “Check Me” located at the bottom of your screen to view your results. Click here to watch a short video about understanding your test results.
How do I save a list?
Students cannot save lists; only registered parents and teachers can.
How do I make a game full screen size? (top)
Vocabulary and SpellingCity has the option of full screen mode on all of our games except Word Search and Crossword.
To make your game full screen size, click the arrow icon in the upper right-hand corner of the game. To return to the regular size, either click the arrow icon in the upper right-hand corner again or press the "Esc" key.
Teachers using Promethean boards or projectors in their classrooms find this feature extremely useful. SpellingCity.com has optimized its website for these systems.

What does "Certificate" or "Print Report'" mean?
After the completion of a test, the test results page will open and give the student the option of "Certificate" or "Print Report." The certificate option will print out an official SpellingCity.com certificate with your name and your test results. The print option will give you a report that includes your spelling words, date and score. It will also show a list of the words that were answered correctly and those that were answered incorrectly.
Premium members will have logged in students' scores recorded, including words missed and attempts made.
Will SpellingCity track my progress? (top)
SpellingCity does not track student’s scores or writing assignments unless a teacher or parent is registered as a Premium Member. Students will still be able to print a report or certificate showing the completion of a spelling test.
 
Why can't I play LetterFall and SpeedySpeller?
LetterFall and SpeedySpeller are premium games, usually only available to Premium Members. You can still enjoy these games if you use a SpellingCity list or the list of a premium member.
| Teachers/Parents Using SpellingCity |
How do I register? (top)

Click the "Register" link in the upper right-hand corner, and follow the instructions.
Once we receive your information, a registration confirmation will be sent to the email address you provided. Please verify your email address by clicking the activation link within the email so we can activate your account.
You will then be ready to log in to SpellingCity.
We also offer a step by step guide that will walk you through getting started.
How do I find my school?
Newly registered members that register as a teacher must be listed with a school. After selecting "I am a teacher" (teacher-helper) during your registration process, you have the option to " Find My School." You will not be able to register as a teacher if you do not complete the "Find My School" option.
Your query will begin with selecting the state in which your school is located. Next, you will be asked to click on the initial letter of your city's name; and then click on your school's city. You will finally be given the option to click on the first letter of your school's name and then select your school.
If you do not see the city or initial letter of your school's name, choose the option ”Add my school to this list." You will then have the option for searching through a zip code search. If you still cannot locate your school, fill in all the requested school information. Missing or incorrect information will not be added. It will take 24 to 48 hours to add your school to our database.
Note: This is public information do not include home or personal mailing addresses.
Adding a school to a user profile can take over 48 hours. We encourage you to attempt to find your school within our database during this time period. Our American school listings are very extensive and most schools are already listed in our database. You can log into your account and select "Edit Profile" to add your school yourself once you have found it.
How do I use SpellingCity?
Teachers and parents can register which gives them the option to save lists. Once the registration is confirmed, parents and teachers have the option to create lists that students can use. SpellingCity has a variety of 60 second teacher training videos which can be helpful to new users.
How do I read the results of my student's test?
The "Print Report" option provides a more detailed overview of a student's spelling tests. A student's report includes the date, number of words correct and incorrect, along with and words that were not attempted. SpellingCity has a 60 second video dedicated to explain reading your students reports.
How do I build links directly to my teacher home page? (top)
To make it simple for your students to finds your lists, put a link directly on your school or class website or in your email, linking to your home page.
Your SpellingCity URL is located within your address bar on your homepage. You cannot be logged into your account when retrieving your URL for linking. SpellingCity URL’s are usually the SpellingCity address forward slash your username.
Example: http:/www.SpellingCity.com/Username or http://www.spellingcity.com/BrowardCounty/
SpellingCity also offers a variety of banners ads that you can use if you would rather use a graphic ad to link to us.

<a href = "http://www.spellingcity.com" target = "_blank"><img src = "http://www.spellingcity.com/images/SpellingCity_Banner_468x60.gif" alt = "Spelling tests made easy" width = "468" height = "60" border = "1"></a>
|
How do I create a list and use all of the list options? (top)
We also offer a step by step guide that will walk you through getting started with List Management.
In order to create a list, you must be logged into your account. Your list management is the base for your list controls.
How to create a saved list?
- Log into your account and select List Management from your Teacher Toolbox.
- Select "Create A New List."
- Give your list a name in the specified box.
- Enter the words into the numbered boxes.
- Select "Save" to continue onto the Word & Sentence Verification page.

Publish vs. Non-published- In order for the public to be able to view a list, it must be published.
Edit - To edit your list, log into your account and select the "List Management" option
Import a List - To import a list, you must be logged in. Once logged in, select the "Find a List" option to look up the list, or teacher, that you wish to import a list from. Once you have located the list, click "Import"
|
How to change your list order. |
Note: You will only see the "Import" option when you are logged in.
Group- Grouping is a premium member feature, select "Create a New Group." Give your group a name and then select the spelling lists you want associated with that group. Lists can be in more than one group.
Order - By default, lists are ordered alphabetically and as entered. To reposition a list, click on the arrow image to the left of the list and drag the list up or down to its new position.
Make sure that all of the numbers have the same amount of digits, filling in a "0" if needed, so "1" becomes "01" if using two digits or "001" is using three digits.
Delete a List - Users have the option to delete spelling lists through their "List Management" from within their Teacher Toolbox. Place a check mark in the box next to the list that you wish to delete and select "Delete". If you wish to delete a group, select delete group under "What do you want to do?" Note: Deleting a group does not delete the lists
Batch Entry - To enter several words at once, click the "batch entry" link and type in or paste in your batch of words. Make sure the words are either separated by a comma or entered on a new line.
Group Deleting- Deleting a group does not delete your lists inside of that group.
Your list management page is an important feature to understand to enable to fully utilize SpellingCity. |
How to's of worksheets
SpellingCity has several printable resources, including handwriting worksheets and game pages.
Worksheets can only be created from a saved list. Once a list is saved, the "Handwriting Worksheets" option will appear at the top of the list. If you do not see this option, select "My Homepage" from the upper right hand corner, then click on the name of the list for which you would like to print a worksheet. From this overview you will see the option to select "Handwriting Worksheets."
After selecting the "Handwriting Worksheets" option, a small box will open. From here, you will have the option to print cursive, D'Nealian or sign. You will also have the option of lower or upper case and font size.
The majority of games are printable as well.
What is the Teacher Toolbox? (top)
SpellingCity members have several options available to them within their "Teacher Toolbox." The teacher toolbox is located in your upper right corner. If you do not see your Teacher Toolbox, you are not logged in.
The Teacher Toolbox options available are:
My Homepage- Shows your school information and your lists.
Edit Profile -Allows you to change information such as name, username, email address, password, and school.
This option will allow you to change your message to your students.
Students & Gradebook– Page where you can track your students' records and more (must be Premium Member to use).
Premium Membership & Licenses- Page shows you the status of your order, allows you to share purchased licensing, and control your school's homepag
Lists Management– Location where lists are created and controlled.
Logout – Logs you out of SpellingCity.
Can I hide my lists?
Marking your saved lists as unpublished will make them unavailable to the " Find A List" function. To do this, log in to your list's management and select edit on the list you would like unpublished. The option to publish or unpublish is located at the bottom of list.
How do I leave a message for my students?
Teachers and parents can now leave messages for their students on their homepage. To leave a message for your students, log in to your account and select "Edit Profile;" and you will see the option to enter a message.
How do I link a list to my site or blog?
To link to a list, find the list you want to link to (through the ' "Find A List"' page or through your homepage), and click on the list name. Copy the web address at the top of the page, and paste it where you want the list's link to appear.
Forum- How do I register for the forum?
To view the forum select the ‘ "Forums"’ link. You must be logged in or a registered user of SpellingCity to be able to view the forum. You may post once you are a registered member. You do not need to register for the forum and SpellingCity.
Forum- How do I navigate the forum?
If you are not registered, click the link at the top of the forum and fill out the forum form. You will then receive a registration email where you will need to verify your email address, and then you are ready to log in and post on the forum.
How do I enter a post on the forum?
Click on a forum subject, and then either post to an existing topic or start a new topic. If an existing topic is clicked, click ‘Post Reply’ and type in your reply. To start a new topic, click the ‘New Topic’ button, and type up a message with a subject heading.
| The Benefits and Usage of SpellingCity as a Premium Member |
What is Premium Membership? (top)

Premium Membership allows a teacher, school, school district, or parent to use SpellingCity with value-added features that are not available to the free users.
- Automatic student test results, record keeping, and progress tracking
- Learning activity and game logs
- Access for students to
their
own records
- Premium games
- Student and list grouping management system
- Telephone support
- Securing a school's homepage
- Student writing
recording
and grading
You can find out more about Premium Membership here.
How do we contact support?
Premium Membership gives you the ability to call SpellingCity to receive customer support by phone. If you did not make note of our number when you received your receipt, you may email us at info@SpellingCity.com. Be sure to type "Premium Member" in the subject field to assure faster service.
If you have already purchased, you can locate SpellingCity’s phone number at the bottom of your order history within your student records. If you are interested in purchasing and have questions before you purchase please view our Premium Membership Over-view and, if needed, you can locate our phone number. Phone support is only available for Premium member inquiries or members. Any other questions regarding SpellingCity can be corresponded by email.
SpellingCity Mailing Address: 6300 NE 1st Avenue., Suite 203 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
Fax Number: 954-626-3656
Phone Number: 954-357-1150
How do I purchase Premium Membership? (top)
SpellingCity offers many ways for customers to upgrade to a premium membership. SpellingCity accepts all major credit cards through PayPal, checks, money orders, and purchase orders.
SpellingCity Premium Membership can be purchased in a variety of ways. Here are some purchasing options; all purchases are for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase:
Family- A family unit allows a member up to five student licenses for $24.99
Classroom - A classroom unit allows a member up to 30 student licenses per unit ordered/purchased for $49.99. Additional students are $1.67 per student. For orders of 300 students or more, contact us at 954-357-1150 for discounted rates.
District-
School districts purchase several classroom units and then share the licensing with the teachers in their districts.
To upgrade or purchase your premium membership, please log into your account. Select “Students & Gradebook ” from your Teacher Toolbox.
All purchases must be filled out this way, including purchase orders. Fill out the order form. On the final step, there will be the options of payment.
If the purchase is made by credit card, premium membership will be active immediately.
If paying by check, money order, or purchase order, select the payment option of “Purchase Order.” This will generate a sales quote. Your sales quote will need to be submitted with your payment.
If submitting a check or money order, SpellingCity will activate your premium membership once the payment is received.
If submitting a purchase order, SpellingCity will activate your account once we receive a purchase order.
SpellingCity Mailing Address: 6300 NE 1st Avenue., Suite 203 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
Fax Number: 954-626-3656
Phone Number: 954-357-1150
*Telephone support is only for Premium Members or those interested in purchasing premium membership.
Navigating your Premium Membership as a teacher/parent (top)
Students & Gradebook
Gradebook- Allows you to view your students test scores by list or by the entirety of all published lists from your list management. The view of tests is determined by the order of your list management or how you manipulate your "show" options. (To view an individual student's test scores, click on the student.)

Student Activity- Shows all activities that your student has completed or attempted. Activities can be filtered by time range; and to view an individual student, select the student you wish to view.
Writing Practice- Submitted student sentence writer or student paragraph writer activities are stored here. To grade a writing assignment, select assignment’s list name and grade.
Students-The student list tab is the area within your student records where you can add, remove, and modify your students. To help track your available licensing, there is a licensing summary on this page. If you exceed the number of students paid your account will suspend until the number of students paid equals or is below the number of students you are registering.
Customize- Allows you to customize the writing instructions for Sentence & Paragraph Writer. You can also edit your Homepage message here.
Add Students
Adding students to an account can be done list entry, by batch, or by CSV file.
Batch Entry- Enter a comma delimited list of students to add. Each student must be on a new line. Each student line must have at least a "Username" value to be added.
CSV File- The CSV file must be a comma delimited text file where each record is separated by a newline. There is a sample CSV file available within your upload screen.
Can I change students' names and passwords?
Yes, you go to student lists, click on the students name, and then you can edit it. You must click on save before leaving the page.
Can I substitute one student for another?
Yes, if during the year, you want to make changes in the student roster, you can. Go to the student list, delete the old student, and then add a new student. Note, if you delete a student, the student's records will be lost. Please note, if you delete a spelling list, the student records related to that spelling list will also be irretrievably lost.
How do I review my students test scores?
Gradebook Viewing Options by default is set to show all of your students and your first ten lists. It is up to you to manipulate the view of your reports. To Adjust you view select the adjust view option under lists and select the list to which you wish to view. You can also change the student view and format here.

Sharing Licenses
Purchased licensing can be shared among any registered SpellingCity members. To share additional licensing, a logged in premium member must select the Premium Membership & Licenses from the Teacher Toolbox. To share licenses select the option to "Administer Large Accounts/Licenses Sharing and you can share your purchase student records with any registered SpellingCity’s user's email address or username.
Sharing licenses is managed by the purchaser and they can add or remove users they have assigned permission in using their licensing. There is not a way to limit how many licenses each user uses.
Where do students log in?
Students can log in in the upper right corner like teachers and parents do. Simply switch the login option from teacher to student.
If a student attempts to access a list of a premium member, they will be directed to log in here.
Navigating your Premium Membership as a Student
Once a student logs in, they are directed to their teacher/parent’s homepage. Students should always confirm they are logged in by identifying their “Welcome Username” once they have successfully logged in.
My Teacher’s Homepage- Directs the student to their assigned teacher’s homepage. This helps in list finding.
My Records- Keeps track of students activities, test scores, and writing activities.
Can students see their progress? (top)
Yes, students can see their progress through their “My Records” option while logged in. Writing activity scores and learning activities are also kept in a student’s records.
District Purchasing of Premium Membership?
At times, SpellingCity does offer prices incentives for school district purchasing over 300 licenses.
How Premium Membership works with districts?
District purchases are usually done through the IT department at the school or one well equipped teacher. The IT or teacher fills out a sales quote for the entire school or district
according to the number of student licenses needed. Once this is done, the IT or teacher becomes the administrator of theses license and the school's account.
The administrator then activates these
licenses by sending SpellingCity a purchase order or check. Once the licensing is activated, the administrator then sends out an email or contacts the teachers who will be using the licensing. In order for the administrator to start sharing
licenses, each teacher that wishes to use SpellingCity
premium membership must first be registered for the free membership. The administrator then takes the email address of each teacher and gives them the ability to use the school’s (districts) purchased licenses.
If an administrator wishes to simply just approve an entire school, they can do so by locking their school.
How do I lock my school's homepage? (top)
To secure or lock your school's homepage, you must be a premium member. To request the lock of your school’s homepage means no teachers will be able to be listed as a teacher with your school unless they are approved by the administrator.
The administrator of the school is the purchaser of the school's licensing.
If you would like to request the locking of your school’s homepage, log into your account, select Premium Memberships & Licenses, School Homepage Control, and then "School Access." SpellingCity support will review and process your request.

How to grade student writing lessons. (top)
To grade a student’s writing activity, log into your account and select “Writing Practice” from within the Gradebook. Click on the list name of the writing assignment you wish to grade.
SpellingCity is an authorized vendor for Adopt-A-Classroom.org.
Can I make suggestions on improving how student records works?
We appreciate our teachers' feedback and look forward to hearing any ideas on advancements that we may be able to make.
You can chat in the Teacher/Parent Forum, Contact Us or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.
Technical Issues with Premium Membership
Why is my Gradebook not showing the tests my students just took?
Make sure you students are logged in; their records will not record if they are not logged in.
When a student is having trouble logging in from home who should they contact?
Lost student passwords or issues finding a teacher's homepage or lists are between the parents and the teacher. We cannot give out student information or passwords from teacher's accounts.
| SpellingCity Technical Help or Troubleshooting |
The test never stops loading (top)
If the loading screen never stops, close the site, and open it in a different browser. If you are running a dial-up connection, the load time will take longer. If this doesn’t work, you may need to update to the latest version of Flash player. Click here for more information and/or to update your flash.
I can't print my certificate or worksheets
If you are having problems printing our worksheets, you may need to update your Adobe Reader.
I cannot hear the words or sentences?
Flash is the base technology that we use for audio and visual effects. Sometimes computers need to update or reinstall the Flash player. If you are unable to hear the lessons and/or are unable to see all graphics, most likely your Flash needs to be updated.
Click here for more information and/or to update your Flash player.
In some school networks, the network is set to block MP3 files. If you can hear the "Get Ready for the Test" audio (which is Flash) but cannot hear the words when you click "say it" on the spelling test (which uses an MP3 file), your network probably has a MP3 block in place. You will need your IT department to mark www.SpellingCity.com as an approved site for MP3 files. This should be very easy for them to do.
How do I make the Spellchecker red line disappear?
Safari users can turn off the spell checker by going to the menu on top of the browser, then:
- Click Edit
- Select Spelling and Grammar
- Uncheck Check Spelling While Typing
Firefox users can turn off the spell checker by going to the menu on top of the browser, then:
- Click Tools
- Select Options
- Click Advanced
- Under the General tab, uncheck Check my spelling as I type
- Click OK
Google Chrome users can turn off the spell checker by clicking on the wrench icon in the upper right-hand corner of the browser, then:
- Click Options
- Click the Under the Hood tab
- Scroll down to Web Content
- Click on Change font and language settings
- Under the Languages tab, uncheck Check spelling:
- Click OK
I can't pull up all of my lists and I know that I published them
We are constantly running updates and adding new material to SpellingCity. If you are missing any lists or your page seems to have problems loading, try troubleshooting the issue. You can try to refresh the page by selecting the F5 key on your keyboard. You may also want to clear your browser cache. Your cache, or browsing history, is your computer’s way of tracking the history of sites you have visited online and acts as a memory. Sometimes the computer’s memory gets too full and will discontinue recognizing or differentiating between multiple log-ins and passwords. This means you need to clear your cache/delete the browsing history.
What are the requirements for SpellingCity to run effectively on my computer?
Flash version 9.0.115
Firefox 2.5 and up
Internet Explorer 7 and up (6.0 and up is OK)
Chrome
Safari
Any version of Adobe Reader from the past 3 years should work fine.
I can't register in AOL. What should I do?
SpellingCity is not compatible with the AOL environment. AOL users will need to use an alternative browser. You can do this by logging into your AOL account and then selecting a browser, like Internet Explorer or Firefox, from your Windows options.
Why is SpellingCity is timing out during a test?
This is a common issue that we are looking into fixing. Currently, there is a 15 minute timer per page. If you are on a page for longer than 15 minutes, your session will be timed out. We are hoping to correct this issue soon and appreciate your patience while we do so.
Users are logged in and then instantly logged out
Issue: User is logged in and then logged out after clicking on a link from within the site.
Cause: The user's computer is behind a network which relies on either a Proxy server or content filters. Either the proxy server or content filter configuration uses a round robin process between Internet requests which changes the IP address "seen" by SpellingCity.com. When a different IP address comes up for the connection, SpellingCity cannot associate the logged in user with the new IP address. This causes the session information to be re-created for the connection and the user to be logged out (or appear to be logged out).
Note: Different IP addresses for Proxy and content servers are OK, provided they meet the following criteria:
- A persistent connection is maintained between the original request and subsequent requests (once a session is created), thus IP addresses are not switched during the users connection to SpellingCity.com.
- The IP addresses are unique but only in their last Octet.
- 1.1.1.1 and 1.1.1.2 is OK
- 1.2.1.1 and 1.2.1.1 is NOT OK
- SpellingCity uses the first three octets of the incoming IP address to uniquely identify the connection.
Resolution: For now, the IT department or person responsible for the Proxy server or Content Filters will have to configure them in such a way as to allow the SpellingCity.com site to go through the network bypassing the round robin configuration OR configure the servers to maintain a persistent connection with one of the servers for the duration of the SpellingCity connection. The IT department will have to be given the IP address of SpellingCity.com which is 74.200.197.210.
Note: Any changes to the SpellingCity.com IP address (or the addition of new IP addresses) will require any users who are affected by this issue to be notified of the change so they can update their configurations.
How do I whitelist SpellingCity to receive email?
To ensure delivery of our emails to you, please add us to your whitelist. Follow these instructions:
http://www.isipp.com/whitelistme.php?companyname=SpellingCity.com&email=info@spellingcity.com.
SpellingCity.com uses the following IP addresses and domain to deliver web content and email communication. These should be whitelisted at the network level if possible.
74.200.197.210
74.200.200.130
74.200.229.226
SpellingCity.com uses the Adobe Flash technology and MP3 formatted audio files, these files are identified by the following extensions:
.mp3
.swf
Access to these files should also be allowed for SpellingCity.com.
|