Spelling ideas

[Earthmerlin]

I'm looking for quick & interestng spelling ideas, ones that are generic & can be used regardless of the lists. 5 minute games or activities that make it fun for an 8 year old.

[Mommyof1]

Mine is young and doing cvc words from her phonics book but she sometimes does it on her hippity hop,swinging on the swing, bike rides or on car rides.

 

I just thought maybe a scavenger hunt.

[Lori D.]

These are all ones we used:

 

- letter hop

Outside: write the alphabet in big letters on the sidewalk with chalk in about 3 or 4 lines (so 6-8 letters per line) and child jumps to each letter while saying it to spell the word. Inside: write each letter big on an index card, spread in order on the floor.

 

- magnetic letters

Use those plastic letters with magnets on the back and spell the words on the refrigerator.

 

- clay snakes

Make long "snakes" out of clay, then twist each "snake" into the letters of the word

 

- spell by writing letter by letter with fingertip...

...in a tray of sand or cornmeal

...in a tray shaving cream

...on the table top, big, using whole arm

 

- toss it

You say the word, then spell it, then toss child's choice of beanie toy or small stuffed animal to her, then she says the word and spells it back to you, and tosses the beanie back.

 

- color spelling

Student uses choice of colored markers on the whiteboard to write each word.

 

 

More ideas at: 50 Hands-On Spelling Activities (This Reading Mama blog)

 

 

Some online game options:

Spelling Training

ABCya Spelling

Kids Spell

Edited September 23, 2017 by Lori D.

[Pegs]

My 7yo uses a small dry erase board like an old-fashioned slate and chalk, and he is much less hesitant than when I ask him to write on paper. So I'm moving more and more of his work to whiteboard, just because he seems to find it so much more approachable.

[Lori D.]

My 7yo uses a small dry erase board like an old-fashioned slate and chalk, and he is much less hesitant than when I ask him to write on paper. So I'm moving more and more of his work to whiteboard, just because he seems to find it so much more approachable.

 

The whiteboard was a good friend to my young pencil-phobic DSs in the elementary grades. ;)

[eternallytired]

We did a game that I called Snowman Spelling--kinda like reverse Hangman.  (Instead of drawing pieces on the man until he's hanging--which I find a bit macabre--I draw a snowman and he melts away one piece at a time if they guess a wrong letter.)  You can do single words or sentences with several spelling words, and add as many or as few features to the snowman as are appropriate for the level of challenge.  Once the child knows the word, they have to say it and spell it.  You can do several rounds pretty quickly.

 

Rainbow writing is another good way to practice.  The child writes the spelling word repeatedly, using different colors.  They can choose whether to write it on top of itself or several times in a row, based on what "look" they prefer.

 

Typing your spelling words is another way to change things up.

 

Micro-spelling is also fun.  You can have your child hold a magnifying glass and write their words in very teeny print, but large enough to be seen clearly through a magnifying glass.  Along the same vein, you can use disappearing ink (like the lemon juice variety), have her write the words without being able to see them, and then make her words appear and check her spelling.

[alisha]

stair steps: if the word is today, the child writes t on one line, then underneath it to, then tod, toda, today, (when all the t's are lined up, it makes a stairstep)

 

shape words: write the letters of the word around the edge (edge can be invisible) of a circle, or other shape-spiral is fun, too.

 

write it with a dry erase marker on a window or other cleanable surface

 

type them 

 

 

 

[Earthmerlin]

stair steps: if the word is today, the child writes t on one line, then underneath it to, then tod, toda, today, (when all the t's are lined up, it makes a stairstep)

 

shape words: write the letters of the word around the edge (edge can be invisible) of a circle, or other shape-spiral is fun, too.

 

write it with a dry erase marker on a window or other cleanable surface

 

type them

Oh yes! She loves to type!!!

[Earthmerlin]

We did a game that I called Snowman Spelling--kinda like reverse Hangman. (Instead of drawing pieces on the man until he's hanging--which I find a bit macabre--I draw a snowman and he melts away one piece at a time if they guess a wrong letter.) You can do single words or sentences with several spelling words, and add as many or as few features to the snowman as are appropriate for the level of challenge. Once the child knows the word, they have to say it and spell it. You can do several rounds pretty quickly.

 

Rainbow writing is another good way to practice. The child writes the spelling word repeatedly, using different colors. They can choose whether to write it on top of itself or several times in a row, based on what "look" they prefer.

 

Typing your spelling words is another way to change things up.

 

Micro-spelling is also fun. You can have your child hold a magnifying glass and write their words in very teeny print, but large enough to be seen clearly through a magnifying glass. Along the same vein, you can use disappearing ink (like the lemon juice variety), have her write the words without being able to see them, and then make her words appear and check her spelling.

Quite creative ideas! I think she'll especially like the magnifying glass. Since she's into Harry Potter & all that magical stuff, the disappearing ink trick would have her engaged!

[nixpix5]

Quite creative ideas! I think she'll especially like the magnifying glass. Since she's into Harry Potter & all that magical stuff, the disappearing ink trick would have her engaged!

My son loves to use frixion pens for his spelling and then before I can check his work, he holds it for a few seconds over a hot burner to make it disappear. He giggles and never tires of it haha. To "grade" it I have to put it in the freezer to make the words come back. Not sure why that one is so fun to him but it is.

 

 

Spelling Power also makes a huge pack of cards that you can pull daily and have a different way to do spelling each day. They are neat. I looked through them at our curriculum library. The cool part is they are age varied so they can be used for a long time.