Organize a spelling activity in your classroom that mimics traditional spelling bee format. Give each student a word to spell in front of the class. If a student misspells a word, he or she is out of the competition. Keep giving students progressively more difficult words until you have a winner. Reward the first-, second- and third-place students with simple prizes such as gift certificates or extra credit toward their final grade. You can also organize a spelling bee with other classes in your students' grade level. Have each class bring their top spellers to compete for a grand prize.
Have students spell select words from a sentence in this alternative to the standard spelling bee. Write several sentences on the chalk board, but omit key words from the sentence. Read the whole sentence out loud including the omitted words and ask your students to spell the words missing from the board as best they can. Students who spell the word correctly can stay in the game for another round. Reward the winner with a fun prize and give all of your students a list of the correctly spelled words to study.
Play a spelling game called "Around the World" to help polish your high school students' spelling skills. Have students stand in a large circle. Pick a starting person and give him a word. If the student spells the word correctly, he moves to stand behind the next person in the circle. Give the next student a word to spell. If he misses the word, the person behind him gets a chance to answer it. Whoever gives the correct spelling progresses to stand behind the subsequent student in the circle. Continue the game until one student makes it all the way around the circle and back to his original spot.
Your students can use online spelling resources at home and in the high school classroom. Several educational websites offer free interactive games and activities to help make spelling fun. On the Spelling Bee The Game website, students listen to words and type them into the response box, progressing through several rounds. Scholastic, a children's book publisher, offers a free activity called Spelling Bee Wizard in which teachers choose the words students have to spell. Enter up to 10 words, then let students choose from a word search game or a spelling scramble.