Pick ‘n’ Mix Spelling ActivitiesMorphologic

alEtymologic

alPhonological Visual Cognitive/memory

Mix and match. If you know how to spell television and headphone you can probably spell telephone

Word derivation Think about how some longer words are built up of parts that we do know how to spell e.g. mis-under-stand-ing

SYLLABLESWorking in twos, pupils split their spelling words into syllables e.g. beau-ti-ful.Again close attention to details is needed so it helps them to retain more difficult spellings.

WORD SEARCHCreate your own word searches using your spelling words. Or use this link to get your computer to do it for you. http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp

PYRAMID POWERSort your words into a list from easiest to hardest. Write the easiest word at the top of the page near the middle. Write the next easiest word twice underneath. Write the third word three times underneath again until you have built your pyramid

Create a paper chain of all the words which children can think of that contain the root word. This helps them to see how the words link together.

Use ICT to research the origins of words. N.B. Typing ‘…etymology’ into google provides excellent results.Children can also see how the original word was spelled and its original meaning.

Clap the syllables- can pairs of children guess the word based on the clapping pattern?

Draw your words on Lite-Brite. http://www.sfpg.com/animation/liteBrite.html#%7CHERE

Ask your partner to write out one of your words loads of times on piece of paper, but each time they have to miss out a letter or two. Then you have to fill in the missing letters. After you have checked them all try it again with another word.

Brainstorm- how many words contain ‘phone’

Find the etymology of homophones and create illustrations of both meanings and their historical meanings.

Word sort- provide children with your weekly word list. Ask them to sort the words into groups. The more they do they, the better the groups. You might need to prompt them at the beginning: number of letters, number of syllables, number of sounds/phonemes, number of vowels, number of letters.

MEDIA SEARCHUsing a newspaper or magazine you have 15 minutes to look for your spelling words. Circle them in different coloured crayon. Which of your spellings words was used the most times?

Write a sentence for each of your words. Remember each sentence must start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.

Use jigsaw pieces to show the links between words which are morphologically connected. E.G. if you can spell ‘know’ you can also spell ‘knowledge’, ‘knowing’, known’ etc .

Use the internet to research a group of spellings which are connected via an etymological link apart from one word. Challenge the children to find the odd one out.

SHAVING CREAMAn easy way to clean those dirty tables is to finger paint on them with shaving cream. Squirt some on the table (with your parents’ permission and supervision!) and then practice spelling your words by writing them with your finger in the shaving cream.

STORY TIMEWrite a short story using all your words. Don't forget to check your punctuation!

Investigate how the meaning of a root

Provide children with a group of

SCRABBLE SPELLINGFind the letters you need to spell you words and then

SIGN YOUR WORDSPractice spelling your words by signing

word changes when certain suffixes and prefixes are added e.g. less, ness, ful.

words from your spelling focus but challenge them to find out Which of these words only has a historical meaning when you look up its root word?

mix them up in the bag. Get your partner to time you unscrambling your letters. For extra maths practice you could find out the value of each of you words.

each letter.

Provide children with a group of words from your spelling focus but challenge them to find out Which of these words does not originate from the same language?

RANSOM NOTECut the letters needed to for your words from a newspaper or magazine and glue them down to spell the words.

ABC Order: Write your words out in alphabetical order. Then write them in reverse alphabetical order.

Provide children with a group of words from your spelling focus but challenge them to find out how the words are linked.

ANAGRAM MAKER- Make your spellings into anagrams and get the children to solve the anagrams.http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

MEMORY GAMEMake pairs of word cards. Turn them all over and mix them up. Flip over two cards, if they match you get to keep them, if not you have to turn them over again. Try and match all the pairs.

SLOW REVEALUsing flashcards and a piece of card, cover up the flashcard and slowly reveal the word. Children guess the next letter(s) and the word.

SECRET AGENTWrite out the alphabet, then give each letter a different number from 1 to 26. (a = 1, b = 2, c = 3 etc.) Now you can spell out your words in secret code.

GUESS THE WORDPupils work in pairs. One pupil chooses one of their spelling words, and then writes one letter on a whiteboard at a time. They can begin anywhere in the word – it does not have to be at the beginning. The other pupil tries to guess the word after each letter is added. If they guess correctly, they must spell the whole word to win the points. The fewer letters that have been given – the more points to be won.

Make up a chant e.g.’ double c, double ‘s’ for success’Endings – ‘o u lucky duck’ to remember the ending for words such as would, could, should.

DESIGN A WORDPick one word and write it in bubble letters. Colour in each letter in a different pattern.

THE SALAD BOWL GAMEAll children need to know the basic definition of the spellings:Round 1: children describe the meaning of the word without using the actual word.Round 2: children can only use three words to describe the word.

Round 3: children must mime the meaning of the word.

WATER WASHUse a paintbrush and water to write your words outside on concrete or pavements.

Mnemonic e.g. because – big elephants can always understand small elephants. Pupils learn them more easily if they are funny or if they make them up themselves.

COLOURFUL WORDSUse two different coloured pens to write your words. One to write the consonants and one to write the vowels. Do this a couple of times then write the whole word in one colour.

Memory hooks These are usually personal e.g. Chihuahua hua ‘hairless underarm animal’ -forming a picture in your head that helps you to remember.

X-WORDSFind two of your spelling words with the same letter in and write them so they criss-cross.

DRAGON’S DINNERPupils have counters, one for each of their target words. They take turns in spelling. If they make a misspelling, they lose a counter to the dragon. The dragon can be a pupil with a list of the words or all other pupils can have a list to check the words and the dragon can be a picture/model. How much dinner does the dragon get?

ACROSTICUse words that start with each letter in your spelling word. You’re more likely to remember it if it makes sense!

Grammar – A word’s function in a sentence may help with its spelling e.g. practice is the noun and practise is the verb

SPELLING STEPSWrite your words as if they were steps, adding one letter each time. (It's much easier doing this on squared paper)

CROSSWORDUsing squared paper, pupils make a crossword using their spelling words. Definitions are written below to form the clues. The children may have already written the definitions during a previous spelling session.During a further session, crosswords are swapped and completed by another member of the group. These would then be checked by the pupil who created the crossword.

WORDS WITHIN WORDSPupils try to find smaller words inside each of their spelling words without rearranging the letters. E.g. using the word ‘practising’ , you could find – ‘act’ ‘sing’ ‘in’ ‘is’. Set a time limit, say 10 minutes, for them to work individually to find as many as possible using all their spelling words. Finish off with an oral feedback session to pull all their suggestions together.

SPELLING ALOUDUsing flashcards, as above, one pupil reads a word aloud. Their partner spells the word out loud. If they spell correctly, they ‘win’ the card. If they are incorrect, the card is put to the bottom of the pile. Pupils take turns and the ‘winner’ is the one who has most cards at the end of the game

FLASHCARDSPupils quickly write out words on flash cards making sure that they have the correct spellings. One reads aloud from a card and the other pupil writes the word on a

SPELLING TENNISYou may have seen this one on the television programme ‘Hard Spell’. Pupils work in trios. One takes on the

whiteboard. This time when they say ‘show me’, one shows the correct spelling on the card and the other shows their attempt on the whiteboard. Pupils take turns reading or spelling.

role of both ‘reader’ and ‘checker’. The other two pupils spell the word by saying alternative letters until the whole word is spelt. If a mistake is made, the checker stops the game and shows them the correct spelling. The word is then spelt again and then put to the bottom of the pile. Correct words are discarded. Pupils take turns to be the checker.

MUDDLED LETTERSPupils rewrite each of their spelling words in a muddled up fashion e.g. ‘beautiful’ could be written ‘ befitualu’. It is better if they always put the initial letter in the correct place. This is a great activity, as pupils have to scrutinise each word to make sure they have got all the correct letters. These muddled lists are then swapped with someone with same spelling words. Without looking at the correct list, pupils have to rewrite each word correctly.

DICTIONARY RACEPupils work in threes using a dictionary each. They take turns to call out one of their spelling words which is then hidden. The idea is to be the first to locate the word in the dictionary. This not only helps them to remember how to spell, it is also excellent for practising dictionary skills. You can turn it into a game by giving them counters to win.

KIM’s GAMEThis game can be played in groups of 4 to 6. Spelling words are written on cards and laid out on the table. The pupils study the words. They then look away and a nominated person removes one of the cards. Pupils turn back, look at the remaining cards and have a certain amount of time to write the missing word on a whiteboard which they keep hidden. All the guesses are then revealed at the same time. If they are correct, they win a point, but only if it is spelt correctly!

LUCKY DIPThis is a game best played in twos or threes. Pupils take turns to pick out 12 plastic letters from a bag. They mustn’t look into the bag, as it is ‘lucky dip’. The picked letters are placed in front of them and the rest of the letters are left in the bag. The idea is to make one of their spelling words out of the letters. The pupils take turns to pick one new letter out of the bag and discard one that they don’t want any more. This carries on until someone has the right letters to make one of their spelling words. The others check that it is indeed spelt correctly. The game then starts over again.