J Words for Kids - Word Lists & Printable Activities (2024)

Looking for some J words for kids? If so, just take a jaunt with me and I’ll jostle your memory of jovial yet judicious words that begin with J.

While some letters of the alphabet offer more word options for kids, J has a decent amount that we can choose from to use with our students.

Today, I’m going to share J word lists for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary. Along with a free printable J Words for kids Learning pack at the end.

What Sound Does J Make?

The letter J makes the /j/ sound as in joy, jump, and jingle. There are also other letters and letter combinations that make the /j/ sound. Because of this, there can be some confusion around the letter J.

However, with lots practice and exposure to lots of great J words, you students will learn to differentiate.

Other Letters and Letter Combinations that Make the /j/ Sound

Note: there are other letters and other letter combinations that can also make the /j/ sound:

• /g/ as in: giant, genie
• /dge/ as in: hedge, fudge
• /ge/ as in: barge, large
• /dg/ as in: badger
• /gg/ as as: suggest

Easy J Words for Preschool

Work on letter recognition and letter sounds with your preschoolers. (The Preschool Daily Skill Builder is great for teaching and reinforcing these concepts.)

Here are some easy J words for preschool that can be used to teach the letter J and the sound it makes.

Easy J Words for Preschool:

• Jet – A large jet flew overhead.
• Jog – I like to jog in the morning while its cool outside.
• Jam – My grandma makes the best strawberry jam.
• Jump – I can jump over the log.
• Jar – Will you help me open this jar of pickles?
• Juice – I like apple juice more than orange juice.
• Jail – There is a large jail in our town.
• Jeep – My dad drives a yellow jeep.
• Jacket – I’m glad I have a jacket to keep me warm.

J Words for Kindergarten

For kindergarten kids, focus on learning the alphabet and the letter sounds. Then, begin moving into early reading when they are ready. (For more practice in these areas, check out the Kindergarten Daily Skill Builder.)

To build their vocabulary and familiarity with the letter J, here are some practical words that begin with J for kindergarten:

J Words for Kindergarten:

• Jot – I will jot a few things down in my notebook as you speak.
• Jelly – I would like to have blackberry jelly on my toast.
• Jungle – Tigers live in the jungle.
• Joke – Sally told Marcus a funny joke.
• Jolly – Santa is known for being plump and jolly.
• Juggle – The clown at the fair knew how to juggle bowling pins.
• July – We are going on vacation in the month of July.
• June – My birthday is in the month of June.
• January – The month of January is typically cold and snowy.
• Jacket – The lady wore a dark green jacket.
• Judge – The judge gave his verdict to the courtroom full of people
• Junior – He was a junior ranger at the Wildlife Safari.
• Jewelry – Her jewelry sparkled in the sun light.

Three Letter J Words for Beginning Readers

Knowing a handful of three letter J words will come in handy when you have early readers. The following are some of the most common three letter J words for beginning readers:

Three letter J Words for Kids

Four letter J Words for Kids

Equally important as the three letter words, four letter words are often used in early reader books as well. Here are some of the four letter J words that beginning readers might come across:

J Words for Elementary Students

Here are some good J words for elementary students! Not only will learning a list of J words help to build their vocabulary, it will also help to improve their reading and spelling skills as well.

J Words for Elementary Students.

• Job – I have a job interview at three o’clock today.
• Jaw – His jaw was tired from chewing gum all day.
• Jug – She used a large jug to haul water from the well.
• Joy – He found joy in gardening.
• Jail – The county jail was full of prisoners.
• June – My birthday is in the month of June.
• Join – Would you like to join me for church tomorrow?
• Jazz – I love jazz music.
• July – We like to eat watermelon in July.
• Java – Coffee is sometimes referred to as java.
• Jinx – I don’t want to jinx our luck.
• Just – I’ve just met with John, our lawyer.
• Jeep – My aunt owns a blue jeep.
• Jeans – I am going to wear blue jeans and a white t-shirt to the party.
• Jupiter – Jupiter is one of the eight planets.
• Jackpot – We hit the jackpot when we found twenty dollars.
• Jellybean – She has Jellybeans in her candy drawer.
• Jack-O-Lantern – We carved a jack-o-lantern for Halloween.
• Junk – Our junk drawer needs to be reorganized.
• Juice – Grape and orange are my favorite juice flavors.
• Jest– Surely you jest!
• Jade – The curtains in our living room are a lovely jade green color.
• Juice – I like to drink apple juice with my breakfast.
• Joke – Nicole told a joke that made everyone laugh.
• Joker – He was a joker and no one ever took him seriously.
• Jacket – My red jacket is warm and comfy.
• Jazzy – The song has a jazzy feel.
• Jungle – They hiked along the jungle trail looking for exotic flowers.
• Jumper – The baby wore a jumper.
• Junior – He was a junior reporter building his references and experience.
• Jackal – The jackal prowled throughout the night.
• Jersey – He wore a jersey representing his favorite team.
• Jagged – The dogs jagged fangs intimidated this enemy.
• Jewel – The jewel sparkled in the sunlight.
• Joyful – Doris always has a joyful attitude.
• Jolly – The old man who lived next-door was jolly and kind.
• Jubilant – The choir broke into jubilant song.
• Justice– I pray that you will receive justice for the wrongdoing that was done against you.
• Justify – She tried desperately to justify her actions.
• Jerked – He jerked his arm out of harms way.
• Jet lag – We are experiencing jet lag from our international travels.
• Jerboa – There jerboa is a fascinating creature.
• Jealous – She was jealous that her older sister got her own room and she did not.
• Juvenile – I have read all of the juvenile books at our small local library.
• Jeopardy – Her job was in jeopardy.
• Jetliner – The jetliner landed with precision.
• Japanese – He served in the Japanese army.
• Janitor – Gus worked as a janitor at the elementary school in town.
• Jammed – Her cart was jammed with groceries and cleaning supplied.
• January – January is the first month of the year and has thirty-one days.
• Jasmine – The room smelled like jasmine flowers.
• Jaguar – The jaguar crept along the stone wall.
• Jacuzzi – They had a jacuzzi tub on their back porch.
• Journal – Her goal was to write in her journal every evening before bed.
• Jolt – He woke up with a jolt.
• Jury – The jury labored over their decision.

Big J Words for Kids

Do you have upper elementary or middle school students who enjoy using big words? If so, here are some big J words for your kids to try.

Big J Words for Kids

• Jawbreaker – Joel picked a jawbreaker from the candy store.
• Jaundice – The baby was a bit jaundice after a few days.
• Jubilee – They had a big jubilee for their 50th wedding anniversary.
• Johnnycake – The traveling pioneer ate a johnnycake and bacon for breakfast.
• Junket – The people were angry when their politicians took junket to Hawaii.
• Jackrabbit – The jackrabbit hopped over the lettuce.
• Jocund – He found that he was in jocund company.
• Jillion – I have a jillion cousins.
• Jamboree – The renaissance festival was a fun-filled, outdoor jamboree.
• Jovial – Everyone around her enjoyed her jovial disposition.
• Jaunty – The toddler made a jaunty pose for his parents.
• Judicious – It is judicious to as for help in an emergency situation.
• Juncture – They reached a critical juncture in their relationship where they needed to make a decision.
• Jostle – The wagon jostled along the bumpy trail.
• Jocular – She spoke with a jocular tone to her class of eager kindergartners.
• Jeopardize – Unpredictable gas prices could jeopardize my ability to get to work.
• Jaunt – Let’s take an afternoon jaunt around the rose garden.
• Jurisdiction – The government was operating outside of their jurisdiction.
• Jollity – The holiday work party was full of merriment and jollity all around.
• Jettison – The staff jettisoned the leftover paperwork that didn’t serve a purpose at the firm.

Nouns That Start with J

Knowing nouns that start with J can be very helpful while putting together proper sentences. They can also be helpful to parents and teachers who are helping their kids learn the alphabet and are trying to find creative ways of teaching the letters.

The following are the four categories of nouns that start with J that I am going to share: food, animals, places, and objects.

Foods that start with J:

Animals that start with J:

Places that start with J:

Objects that start with J:

Creative Ways to Teach J Words to Kids

(This list of ideas contains Amazon Affiliate Links.)

• Read Books for Letter J – Go to your local library or peruse your bookshelves at home and see if you can find some books that feature J words. You are looking for books that repeat one or two specific J words throughout the book. A couple J word books that our kids enjoy are Sheep in the Jeep by Nancy Shaw and Just in Case you Ever Wonder by Max Lucado.

• Practice J Words with Printables – Worksheets, free letter J coloring pages, and printable activities can be great for reinforcing writing skills as well as, new J word vocabulary. (Be sure to get the free J Word Learning Pack in this post!)

• Do a J Word Craft – As a fun way to learn a new J word, why not make a J word craft. From paper jack-o-lanterns to origami jellyfish there are lots of great J word crafts to try.

• Make a snack using only foods that start with J – Before you begin, sit down with your students and come up with a list of as many foods that start with J as you can. Then, see if you can come up with a simple recipe or snack that highlights these foods. Jicama with jelly? Jalapeños and jerky? What do you think you could come up with?

• J Word Scavenger Hunt – Write J words on a stack of index cards and hide them around the room. See how many J words your kids can find while a timer is ticking. Encourage them to read each word before searching for the next one. To mix things up, add words that do not start with J into the game. This way, your students can work on letter identification and differentiation at the same time.

FREE Letter J Words Learning Pack

Get the free printable J Words for Kids Learning Pack. This pack includes letter J tracing cards, handwriting pages, vocabulary words, and a J words list. To get this resource, join Inspire the Mom Community and sign in with Grow for this exclusive content!

Get it Now!

Free Printable:

Download the Free Printable J Word Learning Pack!

What J words do you like to use with your students?

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.