© Spell words with alphabet macaroni (can be glued to paper) or alphabets cereal (yummy to
eat!).
© Spell words with magnetic letters on cookie sheets.
© Use alphabet stamps to stamp words on paper.
© Squirt a bit of shaving cream on students’ desks and allow them to “write” their words in
the cream with their fingers.
© Cut letters from magazines or newspaper to spell the words.
© Write words as "stairsteps"
s
sp
spe
spel
spell
spelli
spellin
spelling
It is fun to do on graph paper.
© Use Wikki Sticks to bend the sticks into the desired letters to form each spelling word.
After forming the Wikki Sticks, do a crayon rubbing of each word on piece of paper.
© Sand dig: Bury the magnetic letters in the sand table. The kids have to dig them up and
spell out their words on an easel by the sand table.
© Paint Bags: Fill a Ziploc bag (freezer bags work best - they are heavier) about 1/3 of the
way full with tempera paint. Squeeze out the air and seal it. Tape the top with duct tape
just in case there is someone who might want to make a mess. The students lay the bag
on the desk and “write” their spelling words on it.
© Sandpaper rubbings: Cut each letter out of sandpaper and glue it to an index card. The
class spells out their word and puts a piece of paper over it and does a crayon rubbing.
© Window spelling: Buy a couple packs of Crayola window markers ($3 each at Wal-mart) and
the kids can write their words on the windows.
© Make a word search or crossword puzzle at Puzzlemaker.com with the spelling words.
© Fun Pens: students copy the words in "fun pens". You can find them at the Dollar Store or
Walgreen’s. They light up, or are wiggly, or gooey, etc.
© 30 Second Words: Students fold paper in quarters. Write the spelling word in one corner
of the corner. The teacher gives the students 30 seconds to write the word as many
times as they can.
© Rainbow Words: Students write each spelling word with their pencil. They then go back and
trace each word with a crayon. They do this two more times with two different crayons.
© Sign Language: Students will practice spelling the words with sign language.
© Give each letter of the alphabet a value. The students must find the value of each spelling
word. For example: A=1, B=2, C=3.. and so on.
© Sorry! Write the spelling words on wooden sticks along with two saying SORRY! Put the
sticks in a cup. Students team up and play. When they choose a stick, they must spell the
word without looking to keep the stick. If they misspell the word they must put it back. If
they get a SORRY! stick, they must put all their sticks back. The one with the most sticks
at the end wins. You can keep adding new spelling words to old spelling words as a review
through the year as well.
© Use empty film containers. Put lima beans with each spelling word letter on individual beans
in the container. It is a "hands on" word scramble.
© Write spelling words in white crayon -or any light colored crayon, then paint over them
with watercolor paint. The white crayon acts as a resist and the words "magically" appear.
© Guess the word: One partner "writes" a spelling word with his/her finger on his/her
partner's back.
Sky Writing
Spell out each word using big letters that you print in the air. Quietly say each letter to yourself as you write it. Check to see that you have spelled it correctly. If you did not spell it correctly, erase it and spell it over again.
Take a Stretch
Write your words and then illustrated them.
Tongue Twisters
Using the beginning letter of each word, write same-letter sentences. Have a tongue-twister contest with your sentences. (Jolly Jill jumps rope.)
Puzzle Me This
Write each word on a card. Cut each card in half, using a different pattern or design for each card. Shuffle the pieces and then match each half.
Picture Dictionary
Compile a picture dictionary with your words for the entire year. Each time you have a word that can be illustrated, put it in your dictionary. Besides an illustration, add a definition or use it in a sentence.
Bingo!
Play Bingo with your words. Get at least one person to play with you. Each person writes his spelling words on a Bingo playing card. Place spelling word cards in a common pile. Shuffle. To play: draw a card and call out the word. As the word is called, cover it on your individual Bingo cards.
Match It
This is a partner game that is also known as Go Fish. Work with a parent, sibling, or someone at home. Write your words on cards so that you have two cards for each word. Deal out part of the stack. Ask your partner for a particular word. If he does not have it, draw from the remaining stack. Scoring: 1 point per match if it is your parnter’s word, and 2 points per match for your own word.
String-a-Word
String letter beads on a string to spell each word.
Are You Listening?
Practice spelling your words orally for 10 minutes each day. Ask someone to listen and check for accuracy.
“Cloze” the Gap (“Every Other”)
Exchange spelling lists with a partner. Write each spelling word, but leave out every other letter and put a blank in its place. Write a synonym next to each word as a clue. Exchange lists so that you have your own list. Race to see who can fill in the missing letters first. Check the spelling of each word when you are finished. Misspelled words will not count. The person with the greatest number of correctly spelled words wins the game.
F_r_s_ (woods)
Find a Word
Make a word find puzzle. There are great websites that you can do this on. Making Crossword Puzzles online are a great tool too.
Finger Paint
Cover a piece of paper with finger paints. Roll up your sleeves and begin finger painting your spelling words.
Flexible Practice
Look at your word. Write it in the air, on the carpet (with your finger, of course), on a white board, in the sand. Now cover it up with your hand. Write it from memory. Uncover the word. Check your spelling.
Concentration
Get some 3x5 cards. Cut each of them in half. Pring each of your spelling words on two cards. There should be two cards for each word. Get 2 or 3 people to play the game with you. Spread the cards face down on the table. Be sure that none are covered up. Take turns turning over two cards. If you have a pair of matching cards, keep them turned face up in a pile in front of you. If you do not turn up a pair, turn the cards face down again in that same spot. The game continues until all cards have been made into pairs.
That’s an Order!
Put your words in alphabetical order.
1. adventure
2. beginning
3. either
4. invite
5. mystify
Three Cheers for Spelling!
Develop a cheer for some of your words. Make it snappy, make it catchy, but make sure you spell out the letters of each word.
Jingle Spell
Get a paper and a pencil. Write two line jingles for each of your spelling words. Remember that the last word in both lines must rhyme. Write your spelling word first. Then write the jingle. Underline your spelling word.
For example: green See the big green frog.
He is sitting on the log.