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Spelling Games for Elementary Age

Children of elementary school age can get bored easily by too much lecture-style teaching. The way to grab their attention and teach them almost by accident is to involve them in games. One of the established methods for teaching spelling and vocabulary is through spelling games, which can be active as well as educational.
  1. Traditional Spelling Games

    • Spelling games like "hangman" and crossword puzzles have been shown to work well for this age group. Using large flashcards makes this an activity where the whole class can play along. A classroom game of Scrabble, putting children in pairs or teams holding a series of letter cards can also help with group learning. Spelling Bees are a traditional method than can be made more fun by putting kids in groups and letting them collaborate to spell a word.

    Active Spelling Games

    • Flash cards can be an aid in many games

      Permitting children to run off excess energy is a side benefit of active spelling games. A game of "Duck, duck, goose" can be combined with with hangman, allowing each child to add a letter when they are chosen as the goose. Or do a bean bag toss and each child who scores can get a letter card to add to Scrabble, hangman or whichever traditional game they chose. An alternative would be to require a child to correctly spell a word before being accepted on a team and then have the teams compete.

    Online games

    • Older elementary students enjoy playing on computers.

      For older elementary school children, the use of computers in the classroom is a treat. There are many free games available which include vocabulary building as well as spelling. Online use of spreadsheets allows students to print out their own word search puzzles; other games are more arcade type games, which students can work on independently, or form teams to compete for high scores.

    Making Their Own Games

    • Engaging children to come up with their own games, make tools such as flashcards or modify existing games are inventive ways to help them think creatively while contributing to a group activity. Challenging older children to invent games for the younger grades, and then allowing them to teach the games, encourages leadership as well as enhances their own spelling acuity.

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