Spell Well!

Selected Spelling Activities

For Practice at School or at Home

Letter Tiles
Use the letter tiles to spell out your spelling words.
After you have arranged the letters, check to see that
you have spelled it correctly. Cover up each word and try
to spell it from memory.
 Rhyme Time
Make a short rhyme for each of your words. Do you see
any similarities between your spelling words and each of
the rhyming words? The thing I like
most in
my belly
Is a sandwich of
peanut
butter and
jelly.

Headlines!
Cut letters out of newspapers and magazines to spell your
words. Paste them on a piece of paper.
 Color and Cut
Write each word with a thick crayon. Cut out the letters.
Arrange them in the correct order to spell each word.
Paste them on a piece of paper.

Sand in the Hand

Write your words in sand. After you have written each
word, check to see that you have spelled it correctly.
Erase each word and write another one.
 Tic-Tac-Toe
Play Tic-Tac-Toe with a friend. Instead of writing X's and O's,
write a different spelling word in each square. You'll score in
spelling as well as in Tic-Tac-Toe!

of

Code Words
Trade spelling lists with a friend. Write each other's words in a
secret code (make up your own code or use one of the many
common ones). Trade papers and decode the words. Check to
make sure your friend spelled the words correctly.
 Graph It!
Spell each of your words on graph paper. Shade in
squares to form the letters of each word. Check each
word to make sure it is spelled correctly.

c a t

Words of Clay
Use clay to form the letters of each word. Put the
letters in order to spell the word. Say each letter softly
to yourself.
 Practice makes Perfect
Find a friend and give each other an oral spelling test.
The person who misses the most words must be the other
person's slave for the day (or any other appropriate
penalty).

Figure This
Print each of your spelling words. Then draw around each
word. Study the shape or "figure" of each word.

that
going

from
 Let's Talk
Use each word in your conversation sometime during the week.
Put a small check by each word as you use it.
Let's play
together.

Word Art
Paint your words. Make them fancy or funny.
 Now Hear This!
Tape record the spelling of your words. Say each word
and then spell it. Play the tape back and check the
spelling of each word.

Name That Part

Decide what part of speech each of your words is. Then do one
of the following for each word.

Adjective or adverb: What would you describe with this word?

Find at least three things you can describe.

Verb: Find an action word. What are the other tenses of the
word? Add a suffix or prefix. How does it change the meaning?

Noun or pronoun: Is it a person, place, or thing? Is it singular or

plural? What would its other form (singular or plural) be?
 1-2-3
Classify your words according to syllables.

One syllable two syllable three syllable

cat brother elastic
ball friendly correctly

Spin a Yarn
Glue yarn on pieces of heavy paper so that it spells each
of your words. Close your eyes and have a friend hand you
your cards one at a time. Feel the yarn spelling on each
card. Say the word and spell it.
 Design It
Create a graphic design with your words. With a pencil,
lightly outline a design or picture. Outline the perimeter
of your design with your spelling words or fill in the
interior of your design by writing each spelling word
several times. Display your masterpiece.

Guess What!
Play charades with your words. Each person chooses a word to act out.
The person guessing the word must not only guess the word, but must
also spell it correctly. You can score one point for guessing the word
Meow
and one point for spelling it correctly.
 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.

It's a Match
Have a partner read a definition for each word. You
decide which word on your list matches this definition
and write the word. Check the spelling.
The answer
is "tractor."
 Take a Stretch
Write your words and then illustrate 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 This!
Compile a picture dictionary. 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.
Bingo!

Match It
This is a partner game that is also known as Go Fish. Find a friend.
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 partner's word, and 2 points per match for your own
Do you have
word. "from?"
 Categories
Sort and categorize your words according to parts of speech.

Noun Verb Adv Art

Noun Adj Conj

cat run red the

String-a-Word
String letter beads on a string to spell each word.
 Say That Again
Look up each word in the thesaurus. What other words mean
the same thing? Make a list of two similar words for each word
on your list.
angry and
mad

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.
frs (woods)

Find A Word
Make a word find puzzle with a friend. Trade lists of
spelling words and use the list to make a word find
puzzle. Write all of the words on graph paper and then
fill in the empty boxes around the words with other
letters. Trade puzzles, and go to work!
 Crossword Magic
Make a crossword puzzle using your spelling words. Find
someone else who is also making a crossword puzzle.
Trade and work out each other's puzzle.

Fun Food
Select your words from the outside packaging of a product
(candy bar wrapper, cereal box, etc.). Do at least one of the
following activities:
 Keep the package on your desk during the week for daily
review.
 Use these words to design a new package for your product.
 Use these words to write a letter to the manufacturer.
 Cut out the words and paste them on a piece of paper.
 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.
 "Gibberish"
Write your words in "gibberish." Leave them in your desk or
folder for a day or two. Then take out your list and try to
separate them into the correct spelling.

How to write in "gibberish":

Write all of the words together as if they were one big word.
If you have a lot of words, you may wish to divide them into two
or three lines. Divide the letters into new words which may or
may not make sense.
fis hfi ree igh tpla nteye

That's an Order!
Put your words in alphabetical order.
1. adventure.
2. beginning
3. either
4. invite
5. mystify
 Concentration
Get some 3 x 5 cards. Cut each of them in half. Print each of your spelling words
on two cards. There should be two cards for each word. Get two or three friends
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.

Eraser Race
Use the eraser on the end of your pencil to erase each of
your spelling words onto pictures from old magazines.
 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 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. Share it with a friend or with the class.
For example: green See the big green frog.
He is sitting on the log.