At this stage, students are adept at games, riddles, brain teasers and puzzles that both help them learn and are pleasurable activities. Assign students partners and designate each pair a week of the school year. On that given week, that pair of students will create a word search, crossword or riddle using class vocabulary to help their classmates practice. Students will work on the activities individually. This will help them practice spelling and identify word meanings.
During your designated language arts time, divide students into pairs. Call out a category such as "rhyming" or "words beginning with s." One student will say a word. The partner will spell it and say another word in keeping with the category. The first person will spell it and continue the game. If a partner is unable to spell a word or think of another word to fit the category, that team is out of the game.
Hold board races using vocabulary words. Divide the class into two teams and play hangman. Play several games and award the winning team a few bonus points on the next spelling test.
As another activity, write a list of one-syllable words on two sides of the board and split the class into two teams. Assign the students a specific playing order. Using a timer, students will take turns running to the board and writing another word next to the one-syllable world to form a compound word. The first team to form a complete list of logical words on their side of the board wins.
Host a class or grade-wide spelling bee. Begin with words the students learned in previous grade levels. Slowly increase the difficulty to words the students may not know yet but can sound out or attempt. To challenge students further, ask them to give a short definition of the word before they spell it. This is beneficial practice before a test.