For many the weekly spelling test is a slog…
For some it feels like pushing water up a hill...
Hopefully, some of the suggestions here will make it a more enjoyable experience and remove some of the stress.
Most primary aged children will bring home a spelling list most weeks, and for many families this is; an inconvenience that doesn’t get done, is done quickly in the car on the way to school or when is undertaken at home is an arduous task to say the very least.
Hopefully these five ideas given below will help the task become a more enjoyable experience and take very little time to prepare and at no additional cost to yourself.
SPELLING TIP 1: HANGMAN
Use the child’s words to play hangman. By doing this, the child is having to think carefully about the letters in each word and the order in which they go. Have the list in front of the person in control of the board so that the child is spelling it correctly, but the other person can’t just immediately guess the word from reading the list.
SPELLING TIP 2: MAKE A WORD SEARCH
Make a grid each that is roughly 10 squares by 10 squares depending on the length of words the child is learning. Each of place the spellings in the grid; each word has to be in a straight line though it can up or down, forwards or backwards, left or right. You then exchange grids and seek out the other person’s words. This can be done one way, with just you creating a word search for your child to solve.
SPELLING TIP 3: SNAKES AND LADDERS
Again, make a grid, this time roughly 6 by 5. Write one word on various squares around the grid and roughly 4 snakes and 4 ladders in various places around the board. As with the traditional games you move around the board going up the ladders and down the snakes. This time however, each time you land on the word you need to write it down, spelling it correctly.
SPELLING TIP 4: NOUGHTS AND CROSSES
Again, this game is like any other game of noughts and crosses, except in each position on the grid is a number. Each number relates to one of the spellings. As you choose your number, the other person will tell you the word that this number relates to. You then have to try and spell the word correctly.
SPELLING TIP 5: BATTLESHIPS
I hope I have saved the best until last. You each have two boards with 1-9 across the bottom and a-I up the side. Place the words in the grid, one letter in each square and again, the words must go in a straight line. Then, taking it in turns, choose a co-ordinate to try and find where the other person has placed their words. The first person to find all the other persons words wins.
There are several reasons why it is beneficial to present your child’s spellings as games:
If it is fun, hopefully your child will be more receptive to taking part
Each time you play a different game, you are creating a different memory. The wider range of memories you have the more likely it is that you will be able to recall the relevant information when it is needed.
We all have different learning styles; visual, audio or kinaesthetic or a combination of 2 or more. Again, the more variety of games we play, the more likely you are to cater towards the learning style of that individual child, again helping them to recall the information when required.
This is the philosophy upon which Clara James Tutoring was built.
I hope you have found these ideas useful, let me know what you think.
For more suggestions on supporting your child with their learning, you may want to check out the 'Clara James Approach' which offers more ideas and templates of games you could use at home to support your child.
Our goal is to make learning fun and accessible to everyone. If children are engaged in what they are doing they are more likely to want to participate, if they are enjoying it, they are more likely to relax and retain the information.
If they are retaining the information it will help boost their knowledge and with knowledge comes confidence.
If you have a child who enjoys learning through games and being more creative, and you enjoy spending time with them, you might be interested in the Clara James Approach, the membership group we have put together to support you in supporting your primary school aged child with their maths and English.
Interested?
Click here to learn more: The Clara James Approach
