I’ve been trying to make our spelling a little more fun than boring ole’ worksheets and thought I’d share for anyone interested.
We use Abeka spelling, they have 2 worksheets/week that she does to practice spelling, so to give additional practice I type out the spelling words on cards, then cut them out so she can use them as a reference for the other games we play. Abeka gives about 20 words/week, so M-W-F we play a game (I split them up into 7 words/day) and T/Th she does the Abeka worksheet. Friday she also takes a test.
Download the Spelling Word Template here. (The words in RED are sight words.)
We use the cards to spell the words with the Magnetic Letters then she writes them on the board with a dry erase marker.
Letter Tile Spelling: I found these blue magnetic letter tiles at Lakeshore Learning. We use them for spelling practice and other games!
Stair Phonics:
I do this with all 3 kids at the same time. They each get a question and if they get it correct, they may hop down one stair. If they are incorrect, they hop back up one stair. First one down wins!
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Prek: Letter/number flashcards: Name the Letter & Sound
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Kindergarten: I show a word card, he reads the word
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2nd Grade: I say a spelling word, she spells it
Hop Along Phonics
We also do the same type of activities with our Hop Along Balls. I’ll sit on one side of the room and they hop around in a circle. Each time they get to me, they have to answer a question to get through the gate (My arm sticking out).
Some days if they are particularly antsy, I’ll even let them use the balls as chairs at their desks. Just simple movement helps them focus on the work at hand. I found the balls at Lakeshore Learning and I have to say it’s been the best money I think I’ve spent! They love these balls, even when not in school. Our “Jumping Phonics” usually ends like this, with everyone giggling and smiling and knowing their phonics and spelling words!
Spelling Strips: These are are wipe-off sentence strips from Lakeshore Learning. We uses the cards to practice writing the words on the strips.
Alphabet Stamps: I have her use the spelling word cards and she stamps the words on a piece of paper.
Hope that helps give you some new ideas to make spelling more fun!
Happy Spelling!
Fantastic ideas!! We use ABeka, too, and I'm always looking for more spelling ideas…..we usually just go boring and write them! I really love the stair hop – my guys would love that!
Thanks for sharing these ideas. My son does not like writing, and spelling practice is really not his favorite. Hopefully I'll be able to use these ideas and make spelling more enjoyable.
I loved hopping while spelling – what a fun idea. They don't even know that they are learning 🙂
JOELLE: I let my son use colored sharpies for handwriting, he loves them, so the writing doesn't seem so bad :o) (Note: They are special and ONLY for handwriting)
These are great ideas, thanks for sharing!
Fun ideas, thanks for sharing them!
thanks for the ideas! We are using Abeka spelling as well and noticed that we don't have any worksheets in 3rd and 4th grade at all. I am trying to find some other ways to incorporate their spelling words into activities.
That's my kind of teaching!
Oh yeah!!! I love the stamping idea. I completely forgot about that one. We are using All About Spelling and she stresses using a different color for vowels so this would be great to just get 2 diff. colors of stamp pads.When we were doing Spelling Power I've also had them stamp their spelling words in (homemade – not that it matters) play-doh.Love ya!
I LOVE the stair and ball ideas! We have those balls – they can also be found at ToysRUs and sometimes walmart (like around Christmas time). Thanks for the inspiration!