Are you after some fun spelling games to incorporate into your spelling program?

I find that spelling can become one of those areas where you always do the same thing and it can get a bit tedious. In the last few weeks, I’ve been having lots of fun with my students playing different spelling games and I wanted to share my favorite spelling games with you.

Rather than write about the games I thought it would be fun to share a video tutorial with you. In the below video I use a whiteboard to demonstrate how to play each game. If you have some fun spelling games you play with your students, then I would love for you to share them in the comments below.

I hope you enjoy the video!

Can’t see the video, watch it here.

Additional tips for playing spelling games

• These games are not to be used in place of explicit teaching of the skills and knowledge needed in order to read and spell. But they are a fun and motivating way of consolidating and rehearsing what has been explicitly taught.

• To get the most out of the games, introduce them with easy words that all students are comfortable with. When your students have a handle on the rules and how the games work, then move on to include more challenging words.

• Remember you can differentiate each of the games by selecting words that are appropriate for your students, including 1, 2 and 3 syllable words.

• If you have your students complete the games on mini whiteboards, have you thought about taking a photo of the board? This is a great way to keep a record of the student’s work and it will give you important information when you need to write reports. I use Evernote to store digital copies of student work. I have a separate folder for each student and when I take a photo I save this as a new note in the student’s folder.

• These games are also a way for the teacher to find out if there are some common errors that students are making. It is important to remember to analyse the errors students are making and use this information to inform your future teaching and if you need to review some previously learned concepts.

 For more spelling ideas see these:

• 6 Practical Ideas To Help Students Improve The Skills Needed For Reading
• 3 Activities To Help Teach Digraphs
• 2 Wonderful Phonics iPad Apps For Younger Children

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