4 Spelling Games & Activities to Make Learning English Fun
Spelling can be quite challenging for English language learners. There are many examples of English words that included silent letters or sounds that can be written in a variety of ways.
In class, it might be helpful to focus attention to spelling developments and irregularities as they appear. You might also use Canvas Child Phonics Stories to work on certain sounds and spellings.
Giving students plenty of chances to learn to spell in class makes it important for them to practice and make learning English fun.
In this article, I’d like to look at 4 of my favorite spelling games and activities that make learning English enjoyable for kids of all levels. I’ve successfully used these spelling activities with both adults and children. You may need to modify them somewhat for your class.
Let’s start!
1. Spelling relay
This spelling relay activity is a great way for students to work together and support each other.
Divide students into teams and ask them to line up at the whiteboard. Make sure that you provide one marker to each team. Then instruct students to spell words using only one letter each before handing the marker to their teammate. The first team to spell the word correctly (without cheating) wins.
Shout the word you’d like them to spell (or ask a student to do it). Ensure that every student only writes one letter before passing it on to their teammate. Encourage teams to work together to help each other spell the words properly.
2. Spelling circles
This fun game is a great way to improve spelling and pronunciation.
First, have students stand in a circle. Then call out a word and have them spell it out loud as a group. Moving from one student to the next, each says a letter until the entire word is spelled.
For example, to spell “pin,” the first student says “p,” followed by “i” and “n.” You may ask the fourth pupil to pronounce the word “pin.” The fifth student can then suggest another term, and the process will continue.
If English learners select the incorrect letter, ask them to spell the word from the beginning. Ask the class to support them in this, and make the circle as collaborative as possible.
3. Phonics spelling scrunch
If you’ve been practicing many different kinds of sounds in class, write them down on a piece of paper and reduce it into a ball. For example, you might hear /ay/, /sh/, /ch/, /th/, /ee/, /oo/, and so on.
Give one ball to each student (you might have duplicates of the same sound). Then have one student throw their ball to another student. That student picks up the ball, opens the scrunched paper, and says a word with that sound (for example, if /ay/ is written on the paper, they could say “day”).
Continue this activity until all of the students have thrown their scrunched-up paper balls and shouted a word or sentence.
4. Tactile spelling
This tactile spelling game is ideal for students who are improving their handwriting skills. There are two choices:
Option 1: Bring some sugar, salt, and flour to class. Give every student a dish and a pile of your chosen powder. Ask students to spell words in English with their fingertips.
Option 2: If your students are familiar with one another, invite them to work in pairs and spell words on one other’s backs. One student writes a word on the back of another student, and the other student must guess what it is.
