Fun Ways To Practice Spelling Words
+30 Activities To Make Spelling Practice Fun For Kids!
We supplement our homeschool spelling curriculum even though I genuinely believe it is THE cat’s pajamas of spelling curriculums.
If spelling is a struggle bus in your household, let’s take a second to narrow down possible reasons…
Consider these 2 steps if spelling is a struggle
Make it less boring - Spice up your lesson plans & see if supplementing your curriculum adds just enough excitement to keep kids engaged (if they enjoy what they’re doing, they will more likely remember it!)
Reconsider your child’s needs - Are there any learning difficulties lurking under the surface? Is your curriculum using proven methods for teaching spelling?
I’m gonna be frank here… if you’re not using an actual curriculum designed for spelling instruction, then your child will *at some point* run into spelling issues. Unless they have a foundational understanding of the language structure, then it’s going to get frustrating as writing becomes more complex.
If 1. is your problem, read on because I have SO many fun ideas for you to use with your spelling lessons!
If 2. is your issue, I’d highly suggest looking into curriculums. We use All About Spelling, and it is GOOD, folks. Sometimes dry, but I supplement to combat that and I don’t get any pushback.
Avoid Spelling By Memorization
I've seen some terrible programs that make ZERO sense over the years, both in and out of the classroom. Random spelling lists that have no pattern or reinforce memorization don’t work! They are a hindrance to your child’s learning.
That doesn't work. You may have a natural speller; that's cool. But, in general, memorization alone is a terrible way to approach spelling. As I said earlier, it won't fly past basic vocabulary and can set your kids up for failure as they get older and have more complex writing needs.
We use All About Spelling as our homeschool spelling curriculum and love it! It is very effective and (as a terrible speller myself) makes knowing how to spell words make sense. It works for all learners - which I love!
All About Spelling Works for Learners with Dyslexia
I 100% chose this curriculum given the struggles we face with dyslexia since it uses the OG (Orton-Gillingham) approach to learning, which is a proven approach to teaching dyslexic learners. All About Learning has this free guide about the Orton-Gillingham Approach that explains what the heck it is and why it’s awesome. They use it for reading and spelling instruction.
I won’t try to explain it because I’m not trained in it so I’d end up blathering on - learn about it from the trained professionals, ha!
If you’re wondering about dyslexia and any of your kiddos, they have a free Symptoms of Dyslexia Checklist that’s super helpful! They also have an entire dyslexia resource library available for anyone who needs it! The image below will take you there if you want to check it out.
Seriously, I love how much they actually care about kids. I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that if THIS was how reading and spelling were approached in public school classrooms, literacy and comprehension scores wouldn’t be as abysmal as they are.
Make Spelling Fun And Increase Engagement by Supplementing!
Even though I think All About Spelling is incredibly effective, I still supplement it with fun games and worksheets. Some of the games I get for free from the curriculum like this Popcorn Party Spelling Game, and others I've created to keep the kids motivated and engaged.
Every few lessons, I like to change up the routine and have them choose from fun spelling activities to practice their spelling words.
The kids love the novelty of the fun activity, and I will tell you, they complete the spelling lessons with a smile! I get zero pushback, and their brains are better engaged (receptive) to absorb the lesson.
Another bonus is that we can take these worksheets with us when we school away from home! I toss art supplies like colored pencils and markers in my bag, the All About Spelling teacher's guide, and a worksheet for each kid, and boom! we're doing homeschool at Panera
***I do not supply the spelling words; I supply the spelling fun***
Quick side note… this resource will work for ANY spelling curriculum or ANY spelling list! I have created multiple PDF versions for any spelling word list of:
You can use your own words or even your vocabulary word lists! The sky’s the limit! You can buy the Spelling Activities & Word Work at my TPT Store, or click any image to connect to my store.
Benefits of Supplementing Your Lessons
Attitudes towards a mundane subject improve because of added novelty.
Kids stay engaged with the lesson because it’s fun.
Focus improves when students enjoy what they’re doing.
Spatial awareness improves with certain worksheet styles.
An effective learning tool to reinforce cross-curricular lessons:
Word structure, consonants, vowels, syllables, creating tables and graphs (a little math, eh), using the dictionary, forming sentences, etc.
I created this resource to have two different styles of worksheets
One chunk (12 pages) of activities asks the child to write (or rewrite) a spelling word into determined spaces.
The other chunk (18 pages) of activities involves using the spelling words in a gamified manner or practicing a cross-curricular skill. These types of activities are typically called Word Work.
Writing or Rewriting Spelling Words
There are 12 of these cute, themed pages. Kids should write (or rewrite) their spelling words inside the graphic space.
Work on Spatial Awareness
These worksheets force kids to practice spatial awareness as they navigate how to fit their words into the given pictures.
This is a significant skill! Kids start to learn how much space they need to write the whole word and plan their sizing and placement accordingly.
You KNOW you’ve had a kid who runs out of room on their writing line or starts their word an inch from the right side of the paper and runs out of space.
These worksheets help develop that skill!
Practice Dictation or Tracking
Your student can copy the words from a list to practice eye tracking, or they can write them down as you dictate one word at a time, like a spelling test.
We love to work seasonally with these! The kids can write their words into ghosts and pumpkins in the fall, snowballs and marshmallows over winter, and rainbows in the spring!
There are fun summer beach pictures for those who like to continue the fun year-round - or have Summer Dreamin' parties when it's freezing outside.
There are also the non-seasonal sheets such as spelling on bananas, avoiding snakes, dragons and tacos, candy pages, etc. that my kids enjoy.
With 12 different pages to choose from, you can go WEEKS without having any repeats!
These simple but engaging worksheets can be the little bit of fun that keeps kids focused on their lessons and motivated to finish their work. My daughter loves coloring the fun pictures when she’s finished the lesson!
Word Work
The other 18 activities in the spelling resource have students work to manipulate the words, like writing them in a silly way (thinking about them abstractly) or taking a deep dive with “word work.”
The word work games and activities allow your student to write the words in a gamified fashion (making repetition fun!) or to practice another skill alongside the spelling words - I even sneak math in!
Deeper Connections To Help Spelling Word Memory
When kids take words and use them in an unusual way, they activate new connections allowing for a deeper level of understanding.
For example, by writing a word in both print and cursive, they have to pay attention to details of the same word, but in different ways.
It’s more memorable. Same as when you ask a kid to write it with their eyes closed, or even backward! They are still concentrating on word order with the spelling words, even if the outcome looks abstract.
Variety To Last The Entire School Year!
The 18 different word work activities are all different. They each cover a different skill set.
This makes for lots of variation! You only need to jazz up your lesson every few times. I will use a fun activity only once or twice a week. Keep it novel!
If you're constantly using the fun stuff, it'll be nearly impossible to go back to regular lessons without a revolt.
You could easily use the entire resource (30 pages) over the whole year (180 days!) without having to repeat anything!
My kids like to pick their favorites and repeat. That’s all good, too! Nobody everybody loves to pick the ABC Order or Dictionary Guide Words activities (HA!)
Word Work & Word Games Overview
Here's some of what's included with the WORD GAMES activities:
Rolling a die to determine the rainbow colors for your spelling word
Using a pencil and paperclip spinner to write words in different styles like curly, giant, etc.
Write spelling words with right and left hands.
Write spelling words with eyes open and closed.
Write spelling words in different sizes (Monster & Mini sizes)
Using different writing utensils to write spelling words, such as colored pencils (we LOVE the Crayola Erasable Pencils seen below) markers, pencils, and pens
Writing secret spy words (write the word in white crayon, then color over with a marker to reveal the word)
Writing words forward and backward
Here's some of what's included with the WORD WORK activities
ABC order
Sorting by syllables
Counting vowels and consonants
Graphing words by the number of letters
Putting words into sentences
Finding dictionary guide words for the spelling words
And more
Different Ways to Use Spelling Supplements
Print and go!
Place in page protectors and use dry-erase markers.
Print at 85% and glue it into a spelling notebook to keep track of your work
Use erasable colored pencils or erasable pens.
Use for assessing mastered spelling concepts (spelling tests)
Cross-teach with other language art lessons – learning ABC order, identifying syllables, graphing information, etc., etc. Use one of these activities!
Have fun with it! Let me know if there’s a specific theme or page you’d like to see! I can try to create one and add it to my email freebies for you!
Other Ways to Make Spelling Practice Fun!
Variety! Spelling is the BEST subject to practice on the go because, with a few simple supplies, you can practice spelling words anywhere, anytime! Let's dig in!
Play games like hangman
Use pipe cleaners to create letters and form words from their spelling list.
Finger-paint those letters into shaving cream on a cookie sheet
A fun way to build fine motor skills is to mold the letters from their spelling word with play doh or Crayola Model Magic (which I HIGHLY prefer over play-doh)
Take advantage of bath time and finger-paint the letters in shaving cream.
Use magnetic letters on a cookie sheet or other magnetic surfaces.
Have kids write their spelling lists with a paintbrush and water paint the driveway or sidewalk
Have your child spell words using letter stamps to practice
Use Letter Tiles to spell the words - we use the All About Spelling Letter Tiles App since it works on any device and the kids can use it while sitting in Starbucks. What’s cool is that it has a feature to let kids hear the phonogram if they need the support which is awesome-sauce. Read about AAS Letter Tiles Tips!
Dot markers or polka-dot painting with a q tip is a fun way to work on word lists
Window writing with window markers is a favorite in our house. Dry Erase markers work too!
Use DIY tactile letter cards and have the student put them in the correct order to spell the new word, then have the child trace their finger over for kinesthetic input
Use this tutorial to make super cute DIY fabric letters to spell words! I have NOT done this since I don’t do these types of cute things (sorry, kids!), but I could see using fabric glue working if you don’t sew! These letters would have SO many fun uses for kids beyond lessons!
Supplementing Spelling Is Common
Supplementing would be very similar to, if the kids were in a classroom setting, the teacher setting up a Spelling Center, giving them an activity sheet to practice their spelling words, or some other type of independent work.
I’m not saying recreate the classroom – I’m saying use what teachers know to be effective when teaching or reinforcing a skill, by enhancing the lesson with fun supplementation.
The point is, you can supplement your homeschool spelling (no matter the list or curriculum!) to add variety and fun to an otherwise lackluster topic.
Spelling is crucial but can sometimes cause behavior issues and pushback. Luckily, it’s also a super easy problem to fix and an excellent subject for adding some pizazz into your routine.
Turn up the fun, keep the kids engaged, and prevent the eye rolls when spelling lessons roll around. You got this!
If you’re looking for a change in curriculum, suspect reading problems, or are curious about teaching kids with learning difficulties such as:
…check out All About Spelling. Seriously, their spelling AND reading curriculums address all of those learning differences and work phenomenally for kids without those issues.
