10 Spelling Activities for English Class. Spelling games provide students with a fun way to learn words, and remember words over a longer period of time, and they give students an understanding of how words are formed.
Here are 10 fun spelling games that you can use in your class.
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Spelling Tic Tac Toe
Draw a big tic tac toe-grid on the board
Make two teams and assign a board marker to each. One person from each team comes to the front of the class. Give them a word to spell, the first student to write it out correctly gets to place an X or an O. Each team only gets either three O’s or three X’s. Once they’ve placed all three, each round after that they place it in a new spot until someone wins.
Spelling Word Relay
Here is an energetic spelling game to play with large classes. Divide the students into teams. Have each team stand in a line in front of the board. Hold up a flashcard or picture of the word you want the teams to spell. The first student in each team runs to the board and writes the first letter of the word. The student then runs back to their team and tags the next person who runs to the board and writes the next letter and so on. If a student makes a mistake, the next student can correct it but cannot write another letter. The first team to spell the word correctly scores a point. Play several rounds. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Backdraw (Telephone)
Arrange the class into teams of an equal number. Have the teams sit down in rows facing the board. There are two actions that the students need to know before playing the game. Tapping the shoulder means the student must repeat the spelling. Nodding the head means okay continue. Show a different word with the same number of letters to the student at the back of each row. That student draws the word, letter by letter onto the back of the person in front of them. If the student in front of them knows the letter, they nod their head. If they are unsure, they tap their shoulder so the student can rewrite the letter on their back. This continues until the word is complete. Then, the next student draws the word onto the back of the person in front of them. When the word reaches the person at the front of the line, the student stands up and writes it on the board. The first team to spell their word correctly scores a point. The student at the front then moves to the back and everyone moves up one space. The game then continues with a new word and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Blind Speed Spell
Divide the students into four teams. Invite one player from each team to come to the front of the class. Give each player a marker or chalk and have them put on a blindfold. Have teammates stand the players a meter or two from the board. Say a word you want the players to spell. The players then find their way to the board and race to spell the word as quickly as they can. You can also have the players spin around a few times beforehand and have their teammates direct them to the board. The first player to spell the word correctly in a readable format scores three points for their team, the second player scores two points and the third player scores one point. A new player from each team then comes to the front and the game continues with a new word. Continue the game until everyone has had a chance to play. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. For higher-level students, you can give the players sentences to write.
Flower Power Spelling Game
Draw three flowers on the board. Each flower should have six petals. Write a letter in the center of each flower and write one letter on each petal of the flower. The three flowers should contain different letters. Divide the students into three teams and have each team stand in a line facing their flower. The first player from each team runs to the board and writes a word beginning with the center letter and containing a letter from one of the petals. The player then runs back to their team and the next student goes to the board and writes another word, beginning with the center letter and containing a letter from one of the other petals. The game continues until one team has written a word for all six petals. Each team scores one point for every letter in a correctly spelled word. Play several rounds using different letters each time.
Spelling Bee
For Younger Learners:
Young students can participate in a spelling bee game without the pressure of competition. This elementary spelling game is for young learners.
One student is the bee and buzzes around the room while the other students chant: “Buzz, buzz, spelling bee, you can’t sting me!”
The bee stops behind a desk and the teacher gives that student a word to spell.
If the bee spells it correctly, he/she sits down and a new student is the bee.
If the bee gets it wrong, the whole class spells the word out together.
Continue until every student has had a chance to spell.
For Older Students:
Spelling Bee is a classic game to review words from vocabulary lists. Divide your class into two teams and let them line up. Give one word at a time to each student, alternating teams. If the student spells the word correctly, she goes to the end of the line until her turn comes up again. If she spells the word incorrectly, she sits down. The last team standing wins. Students who are eliminated must play along by writing out each new word called.
Here is an elimination-style spelling game for students of all ages. Draw an elimination chart on the board for the number of students in the class. Give each student a slip of paper and ask the students to write their name on the paper and then hand it back. Mix up the names. Then, draw the names out one by one and write them on the chart. Each student competes against the classmate they are paired up with in the chart. The competing pairs take in turns to come to the front of the class. Call out a word for the two students to spell on the board. The first student to spell the word correctly moves on to the next round. Continue until there is one ultimate champion. That student is named the class spelling champion until the next time you decide to play.
Invisible Man
Split the class into two or three teams. Draw a stick man for each. Call out a word for the first member of team one to spell. If they spell it correctly, they may erase one body part from the other team’s stick person. Then call a word for the next team. Continue on until only one team’s stick man is left.
They can also challenge each other by asking them to spell a word. Each group makes a list of words so you don’t have to. They call out a word for the other team to spell.
Remember to make it fun by talking about how the man now has to survive without a foot.
Group Spelling
Students stand in a circle. One student says a word, and going around the circle, each student adds a letter to spell the word. Whoever makes a mistake sits down.
Can also do something similar with a ball. Students sit in a circle. Toss it to a student who calls out a word, then tosses it to another student to spell.
Word Jump
Write words on paper plates. Call out a word, and the first student to step on that word, wins. You can also place paper plates on the ground with letters on them.
Call out a word and a student hops on the letters to spell it out – it is like playing hopscotch.
Spelling Bingo
Students write out ten words. Write the alphabet on the board. Each time you cross out a letter, students cross out that letter on the words in their list.
The first person to have all their words crossed out wins.
Watch this following video for ten Vocabulary Activities you can use in your class.