5 Spelling Activities That Will Help Your Student Become a Better Speller

Let's face it; it's not easy to get kids to study spelling. Most kids find simple memorization a little boring. Still, knowing how to spell is a valuable skill, as people tend to consider good spellers as smart people, and you may not always have a chance to spell check your message with a computer. Engaging your students with spelling activities is a great way to help your student improve spelling, but also their reading and writing skills.

5. Whiteboard Words

Have your students write their spelling words for the week on a large whiteboard in their room and look at them daily. As they have memorized them, they can erase them. This teaches kids to spend time focusing on learning, and it only takes a few minutes a day.

4. Use Home Spelling Words Practice Section

Create an account at Home Spelling Words, our online spelling program, and then have your students type in their spelling words for the week (or do it for them if they are younger). Then, have your student practice at least three times that week. We've noticed that students who practice at least three times or more can learn their spelling words more quickly because they see the word, hear the word and then type the word in to have it instantly checked. Moreover, no getting off easy. Your student has to type it in the word correctly before continuing to the next word.

3. Make a Book with Your Spelling Words

Use your spelling words to create a story that your student can print out and read over and over. This encourages writing, reading, and comprehension. It also encourages creativity. Imagine our kindergarten list #1 words as a story (cat, she, fun, the, first). They can print out their story, staple the pages together and color it. Isn't this a great way to learn to spell?

2. Use Our Word Chopper Spelling Game

Our Word Chopper game takes the student's list, and as the student gets the words right, they are taken out of the word queue. This means that your students can whittle away at their spelling words until they get them all right. This game is a great way for your students to understand how much more they need to study to get 100% on their next spelling test. By using spelling games as part of our overall spelling program, students can play while learning.

1. Split Words Up & Find Tricks

Some words are just really hard to remember. The best way to remember them is to split them up into two words or find a trick to remember them. For example, the word Connecticut can be split up into Connect-i-cut, or Wednesday into Wed-nes-day. You might be able to find tricks to remember words as well like making a silly sentence to remember a word. For example, rhythm might be remembered by saying "Randy has your teeth half made". The sillier the sentence, the more likely you will remember it. Granted, some of these strategies will stick with you your entire life, while you might forget others. If you are looking for a way for your student to get 100% on their spelling test, then this will help them get there. Also, don't forget about taking the time to memorize the most common spelling rules. Those will come in handy in a pinch.