Activities for making spelling fun and challenging in the classroom

How important is spelling today? Is it still important to teach the rules and structure of correct spelling or are we wasting our valuable daily class time? The rise of different learning technologies has caused many discussions on how they could be used to support education in schools. Some people see boundless opportunities for how modern technologies could benefit education, while others only see the negatives associated with technologies or even believe that technology should be banned in schools altogether.

Talking about the relationship between spelling and modern technologies, most of us are familiar with ‘Auto-Correct or Spell-Check’ programs or apps on our computers, tablets and smartphones or other online resources for checking spelling. Does that mean that it is less important today for students to learn spelling at school? Should students today have to learn the rules and structure of spelling in the same was as previous generations?

Having good spelling skills is just as important as it was before different technologies were available. Although technologies provide great alternative ways for practicing spelling, it should not be assumed that learning how to spell is less relevant nowadays. Mobile phones correct our spelling and if we are not sure how to spell something, it is easy to check it online. However, different learning technologies should be seen as opportunities for learning and practising spelling and we should not encourage students to view technology as a replacement for their own thinking as there will always be situations where technology might not be available.

It is clear that it is very important to learn how to spell and it should not be considered less important in the age of technology. However, it might be worth focusing more on teaching spelling in many different ways and helping students to achieve high standards without causing the unnecessary stress that is associated with making them take complicated spelling tests.

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Below are 10 fun and creative classroom challenges which are guaranteed to make spelling less stressfull for our students.

Spelling Challenge

A simple writing and speaking activity that gives students the opportunity to practise spelling words out loud for their classmates. The students have to think of three words not already on the board and write them down in their notebooks. Let them know that they are going to have to spell them out loud later. If they don't know how to spell a word, encourage them to ask you using the dialogue from the sample board. Once they have finished writing, let the students spell their words out for the class.

Alphabet Catch

This fun classroom activity will test your students on the alphabet and vocabulary. You'll need something that the students can throw around the class. Anything from a teddy to a paper ball should work. Tell the students that they must throw the object to another student while shouting a letter of the alphabet. The student who catches it must then say a word beginning with that letter. When students get good at this activity, you can turn it into a fun game.

Noughts and crosses - Spelling

Students must spell words correctly to claim squares on a grid for their team. Divide the class into two teams, draw a 'noughts and crosses' grid on the board and number the squares from one to nine. Assign words to each square, but don't show the students. For example:

1. Pear
2. Book
3. Computer
4. Kite
5. Skateboard
6. Train
7. Umbrella
8. Trousers
9. Ruler

On each turn, a student must spell a word correctly to claim the square on the grid. Make the centre square the most difficult.

I spy

A fun group game where students have to guess an object from its first letter. On each turn, the ‘spy’ informs the other players that they are thinking of a word beginning with a particular letter. The other players have to guess that word. The player who guesses the correct answer becomes the new spy. Easy!

Teacher: I spy with my little eye, something beginning with D.
Student: Is it a desk?
Teacher: No.
Student: Is it a door?
Teacher: Yes.  

Teachers know that one of the things students dislike the most is studying for a spelling test. Memorizing spelling words can be boring, and oftentimes students tend to forget how to spell the words soon after the test is over. Classroom games incorporating spelling provide students with a fun way to learn words, they help students remember words over a longer period of time, and they give students an understanding of how words are formed. Incorporating classroom games about spelling into your weekly schedule will not only reinforce words that students need to learn, but they will also reinforce good spelling study habits.

Here are a few fun classroom games about spelling to incorporate into your weekly lessons.

Classroom Games Spelling Word Relay

Word relay is a fun and competitive spelling game for all ages.

How to Play:

Divide students into two teams. Have each team stand in a line (just like you would in a relay race) one behind the other. When the teacher says go, the first team members of each team race to the board and have to write a spelling word that begins with the last letter of the word that was written on the board. For example, the teacher would draw a line down the center of the board and on each side would write one word. For this example the word is “clock.” The team member that is at the board would have to write a spelling word that starts with a “k” such as knock. If they do not have a spelling word that starts with a “k,” then they move to the letter before, which in this example would be “c.” Once the team member writes the word they quickly pass the chalk to the next person on the team, and so on, until all of the members have gone. The first team to finish wins!

Sink and Spell

Sink and spell is just like the game Battleship. It is a fun spelling game that is played with a partner to help reinforce spelling words.

How to Play:

Pair students together with a partner and give each student a sheet of paper. Have students draw a grid with letters on the top and numbers on the side. Then have students write about five of their spelling words in boxes on the grid they made. Students take turns calling out boxes. If they call out a box and a letter isn’t there then that is considered a miss. The goal of the game is to find the spelling words. The first one to find all of the words wins.

Spelling Squares (Tic Tac Toe)

This is a Tic Tac Toe spelling game to help reinforce spelling words.

How to Play:

Divide students into teams of two. Each team gets a pile of their spelling words, along with a tic tac toe board. The first player draws a card from the deck and reads the word to their partner. The partner then spells the word. If they get it correct they draw an “x” or an “o” on the tic tac toe board. If they get it wrong then they cannot place anything on the board. Then the next player goes, and so on. This continues until someone gets tic tac toe.

Spelling Boom!

Spelling Boom is a fun hands-on spelling game to reinforce spelling words. This game can be played with a partner, in a while group, or with a small group.

How to Play:

To play Spelling Boom you must write spelling words onto popsicle sticks or small index cards. Make sure to write the word “Boom” on a few of the sticks or cards. Each player blindly draws a stick or card and hands it to the teacher or another player to read the word. If they spell the word correctly they get to keep the stick or card. If they answer it incorrectly then they must put it back into the cup or pile. If the student chooses a Boom stick or card they must put back all of the words that they have collected so far. The person with the most sticks or cards in the end of the game wins!

Word Jump

Word jump is a physical classroom spelling game to help students remember their spelling words.

How to Play:

The teacher writes a few spelling words on a piece of paper and places them on the floor. The goal is to have students see how many words they can jump on correctly when the teacher says the word. For example, the teacher would say the word “fox” and students would look on the ground and have to be the first to jump on that word. 

 I certainly hope that these activities will be useful in your classes.

Good luck, and good teaching.

David White
Managing Director English For You Language Institute Trujillo Peru.
Headmaster American School (Bilingual ib school) Trujillo Peru
dwenglishforyou@outlook.com