Teachers are always on the hunt for easy spelling activities. You want something fun that students will enjoy. But it has to be simple to implement. No one wants to clean up sand or shaving cream every week. You also want it to be effective at helping students learn their spelling words.
So, we created a FREE resource to help. This new resource includes FREE Spelling Activities for students in grades 2-5. These activities are all easy (no cleanup required). They can be used with ANY spelling list. Best of all, because these activities help students focus on parts of words, they also really work.
Spelling Activities That Develop Spelling Skills
In order for students to become better spellers, they have to do more than memorize the letters in a word. Memorizing may help them pass the test on Friday, but it doesn’t teach them how to spell.
If you’ve ever lamented the fact that your students forget how to spell the words as soon as the test is over, you’ve experienced this.
If we want students to remember their spelling words after Friday’s test (and we do), and we want them to be able to spell not just the specific words on their list but other similar words, then we need to help them develop spelling skills and strategies.
The activities in this post are all designed to give students the opportunity not just to practice weekly words but to consider the building blocks of words, including:
- Consonants
- Vowels
- Digraphs
- Trigraphs
- Syllables
Anchor Charts Make Teaching Spelling Rules Easy
To make it easy to teach students about these fundamental building blocks of spelling, we’ve added 6 ready-to-use anchor charts to this resource.
These done-for-you anchor charts include the following topics:
- Spelling strategy
- Digraphs
- Syllables
- Consonants and vowels
- Long vowels
- Short vowels
They can be displayed in the classroom to introduce or review these important concepts, and students can refer to them throughout the year as they work on spelling activities.
We’ve also included a mini-version of the anchor charts. These are great to store on a binder ring for easy student access. If your students are working independently on the spelling activities, they have an easy resource to refer to for a refresher.
Easy Spelling Activities
Each of these activities is easy to use in the classroom. All you need are a spelling list (they work with any list), the activity sheet, and some simple classroom supplies (like paper clips, crayons, dice, etc . . .).
- Spin a Word
- Five in a Row (2 versions)
- Word Detectives (2 versions)
- Consonants and Vowels
- ABC Order
- Writing Sentences
- Roll a Word
- Repeating Words
How to Use the Spelling Activities in the Classroom
These spelling activities can be used during your spelling lesson. You can also place them in centers to work on during your reading block.
These spelling activities also make great bell-ringer activities. And because they only take a few minutes, you can have students work on them before or after lunch, specials, recess, or any time you have a few extra minutes during the day.
Differentiation
These FREE Spelling Activities are designed for grades 2-5. They can be used with any spelling list. Most of the differentiation will occur based on the list that students are using. Advanced spellers can work with more challenging words, while lower spellers will have easier words.
We have also provided two variations of some of the activities (Five in a Row and Word Detectives). The second version includes trigraphs in addition to digraphs. A definition and examples are provided in the activities. These activities can be used with more challenging word lists.
Other ways to differentiate include allowing students to use the mini anchor charts for assistance or to work with a partner. You can also reduce the number of spelling words a student has to learn each week and/or reduce the number of sentences they write.
Get your FREE Spelling Activities Now!
Help your students in grades 2-5 become better spellers who remember the words after the Friday spelling test with these FREE spelling activities and anchor charts. Students will practice writing their words and learn about the building blocks of words. These activities can be used with ANY word list!
Here’s everything that’s included:
- 10 spelling activities designed to be used with any spelling list
- Anchor charts explaining important spelling concepts (consonants, long and short vowels, syllables, digraphs)
- Mini student anchor charts
- The Not So Wimpy spelling strategy
- Simple teacher directions
Help your students become better spellers today!
Have a Not So Wimpy Day,
Sounds like a neat idea. I am working with Special Education third grade students. Some our Letter Name, while others are Within Word stage of DSA. I think the Spelling Actvities for Students in Grades 2-2 may work with some of my students! Thanks for the opportunity.