To create these lists I referred to The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists and Dr. Fry's Spelling Book.  The lists include the first one hundred most frequently used words and one hundred picture nouns.  The combination of these words provides a very useful beginning reading and writing vocabulary. 

I introduce the week's words by writing them on a chalk board and discussing each one with my child.  Each day of the week I have my child practice the five words through different spelling activities.  Suggestions follow the word lists.  On the last day of each week I test my child on the word list.  Any words that are spelled incorrectly are put onto a flashcard.  I put the flashcards on a ring and have my child review these words daily till the next weekly test.  When spelled correctly on a test, the flashcard for that word is removed from the ring.
 
 

Week 1: the, of, and, a, to

Week 2: boy, girl, man, woman, baby

Week 3: in, is, you, that, it

Week 4: ball, doll, train, game, toy

Week 5: he, was, for, on, are

Week 6: one, two, three, four, five

Week 7: as, with, his, they, I

Week 8: shirt, pants, dress, shoes, hat

Week 1: at, be, this, have, from

Week 2: cat, bird, dog, fish, rabbit

Week 3: or, one, had, by, word

Week 4: table, chair, sofa, bed, desk

Week 5: but, not, what, all, were

Week 6: cup, plate, bowl, fork, spoon

Week 7: we, when, your, can, said

Week 8: car, truck, bus, plane, boat

Week 1: there, use, an, each, which

Week 2: bread, meat, soup, fruit, cereal

Week 3: she, do, how, their, if

Week 4: water, milk, juice, soda, punch

Week 5: will, up, other, about, out

Week 6: six, seven, eight, nine, ten

Week 7: many, then, them, these, so

Week 8: apple, orange, grape, pear, banana

Week 1: some, her, would, make, like

Week 2: bush, flower, grass, plant, tree

Week 3: him, into, time, has, look

Week 4: sun, moon, star, cloud, rain

Week 5: two, more, write, go, see

Week 6: lake, rock, dirt, field, hill

Week 7: number, no, way, could, people

Week 8: horse, cow, pig, chicken, duck

Week 1: my, than, first, over, been

Week 2: farmer, cook, doctor, nurse, pilot

Week 3: call, who, oil, now, sit

Week 4: television, radio, movie, computer, band

Week 5: find, long, down, day, did

Week 6: pen, pencil, crayon, chalk, paint

Week 7: get, come, made, may, part

Week 8: book, newspaper, magazine, sign, letter

All of the activities I use with my children in Kindergarten can also be used this year.  Here are some more ideas:

~ write the words in alphabetical order.

~ write the words in backwards alphabetical order.

~ draw a picture for each of the picture nouns.

~ write a short sentence with the spelling words for the child to use as copywork.

~ create a wordsearch with the week's words.

~ look the words up in the dictionary.