Spelling Ideas and Activities

Activities:

Air Spelling

This has been a great activity for those students have a difficult time learning their spelling words.

1. Choose a spelling word. With their index finder, students spell the word in the air and say the letters aloud. Tell students they must be able to "see" the letters as they are written in the air.

2. When the students get to the last letter, they underline the whole word as they say the word aloud. Ask them if they can "see" the word in the air.

3. After their response, ask these type of questions:

--What is the third letter?
--What is the last letter?
--What is the second letter?

4. Then, have the students spell the word backwards orally (and with their index finger if they need to). Remind students that the word should be floating in the air in front of them and that they must continue to look at it throughout the activity.

5. When you are done with the word, continue on to the other spelling words. Do this activity daily and have the students practice it at home.

Contributed by Ms. Stamp!
Spelling Task Cards (72 cards)
My Spelling Ring Cover
Spelling Ideas in Alphabetical Order

For the spelling task cards, I print them on card stock paper and then place them in small ziplock bags. The students use these in the Word Work/Spelling Center and also for homework.

More Spelling Activities:

Spell Well Task Cards

Spelling Activities

Spelling Race

1. Divide the class into two teams.

2. On the board, write Team 1 and Team 2 (or the names of the teams).

3. One person from each team goes to the board with chalk in hand.

4. The teacher reads a spelling word. The two students must write that word on the board.

5. The first person to finish spelling the word first gets a point for their team.

6. The team with the most points wins.

Scrambled Spelling

As part of their daily assignment, students are given a number of words that are scrambled. Without looking at their spelling list, the students are asked to unscramble the words within a time-limit and hand it into a basket. Those that correctly unscramble all the words receive stickers in their spelling booklets.

Word Searches or Crossword Puzzles

Using a software or Puzzlemaker from Discovery.com, create word searches and puzzles from the weekly spelling list. This is a fun way for your students to practice their spelling. You can download a free version of Word Search Factory or go to these other websites:

KidsDomain.com Free Software

Word Search Factory

Puzzlemaker

Word Find Puzzle Builder

Make Your Own Word Searches

Spelling Poems

Most spelling words are taught through a common sound, such as short a, long e, etc. Since these words already rhyme, it is easy to create poems using their weekly spelling words.

1. Have students read through the list and ask them what is the sound(s) that is repeated throughout.

2. Have students brainstorm more words that rhyme with the sound being taught.

3. Create a poem using the spelling words and the list of words from the brainstorm.

4. Illustrate the poem and publish it.

**** The poems are created together as a class for the first few months. Afterwards, if the students are ready, they can then create their own poems.

Further Activities: Students keep their poems to create poetry books. Or, create a class poetry book in which the students can copy their favorite poems onto larger sheets of paper.

Weekly Spelling Story

Every Friday, the class creates a weekly spelling story with an illustration. This can be done as a class, in groups, with a partner, or individually. Stories are posted on a bulletin board.

In the beginning of the year, the teacher should create the stories, with the help of the students, in order to model paragraph formation, story writing, punctuation, etc.

Spelling Bee

Last but not least is the Spelling Bee, which can be done as a review before a test, or for fun afterwards. Words from the previous weeks are also incorporated into the Spelling Bee. The winner(s) get a pencil and a sticker!

Spelling Learning Center

1. Put letters in a basket or bag.

2. One student reads a spelling word.

3. The second student uses the letters to spell the word.

4. After the students finish the list, they switch roles and the first student does the spelling while the second does the reading.

Spelling Puzzles

1. Write each spelling word on index cards.

2. Cut the cards so that the letters are separated.

3. Place the pieces into an envelope (one envelope per word).

4. Pass out the envelopes to the students. When you say go, students take out the pieces and put the letters together to create a spelling word.

5. When the teacher yells stop, the students put their hands at their sides. Teacher checks the cards to see if the word is spelled correctly.

6. Students then put all the pieces back into the envelope and pass it to another student.

Newspaper Spelling

1. Give each student, pairs, or groups, a page from the newspaper.

2. Their job is to look for spelling words in the articles and circle them with marker or crayon.

3. Students make a list of the words they found.

Tic-Tac-Toe Spelling

1. Divide class into two teams, Team X and Team O

2. Draw a large tic-tac-toe grid on the board but within reach of the students' arms.

3. Call on student from one team. Have them spell a word (just like a Spelling Bee).

4. If the student spells the word correctly, they get to put an X or O (depending on the team their on) on the grid.

5. If the student spells the word incorrectly, then they lose their chance.

6. A player from the second team takes a turn. Repeat #4 and #5.

7. The team that gets tic-tac-toe wins!

Spelling Train

Read a spelling word aloud and have the students write it down. Using the last letter in that word, students must write another word beginning with that last letter. They continue the train using the last letter of the word. You can put a certain limit on how many words they can create.
Example:
cat
tan
nap
pot

Another great activity that the teachers in my school are using is the Making Words activities:

Making Words is an active, hands-on, manipulative activity in which children learn how to look for patterns in words and how changing just one letter changes the whole word. The children are given six to eight letters which will form a final "secret" word. The lesson begins with small words, builds to longer words, and finally ends with the "secret" word that can be made with all the letters. Then, students sort the words according to a variety of patterns, such as beginning sounds, endings, and rhymes. They transfer the patterns by using the words sorted to read and spell words with similar patterns. (Patricia M. Cunningham, Dorthy P. Hall, and Cheryl M. Sigmon; The Teacher's Guide to the Four Blocks; Carson-Dellosa Publishing Co.; page 142)