Spelling Activities for Upper Elementary Students

When we think of spelling activities, we usually think of younger school aged children. However, you can implement some engaging spelling activities in your 4th grade and 5th grade classrooms. Incorporating fun games and activities will get your students excited to practice their spelling words.

My suggestion when incorporating these activities is to first go over the spelling pattern you are teaching for the week. Once you’ve done that, incorporate a pretest. Have students identify which words they missed and those they had difficulty with.

You can have students work only with the words they missed (especially when it comes to repetition activities).This will save valuable classroom time and not overwhelm students by going over words they already know how to spell.

Once you and the students have figured out which words are challenging for them, they can now work on a few activities. You can have them work with these activities at a center, as homework, or as an early finisher activity.

Two Column Spelling Activities

First, have the students write their spelling words on the left side of the paper. On the other side, have them write their spelling words using a different technique.

These techniques can be to write their spelling words:

• with the other hand
• in cursive
• in bubble letters
• from shortest to longest
• with their eyes closed
• in all uppercase letters
• using a pen or marker
• left hand / right hand

Categorization

Having students analyze the words can be very beneficial. Placing them into categorizes can help with that.

Some categorizing techniques are grouping them by:

• parts of speech (ex. noun, verb, adjectives)
• number of letters in the word (ex. 5 and under, 6 and 7, 8 and 9, 10 and more)
• amount of syllables in the word

Kinesthetic Spelling Activities

Many students learn best through kinesthetic activities. Through movement and manipulation of materials, they tend to learn information better. Some of the kinesthetic spelling activities will require extra materials, but some can be done with just a word list available.

Some kinesthetic spelling activities include:

• providing the word list and an American Sign Language letters key. First, have the students write the words. Next, have them spell them out using the ASL letter forms.
• provide students with magazines, paper, scissors, and glue. Ask the students to write the spelling words, and then have them create them by cutting out letters from magazines.
• having the students “type” the words. This can be done by having students type them on the computer, type them using an old keyboard, or type them on page that has the keyboard letters on them.
• stamping the word. You will need to provide the students with alphabet stamps and an ink pad. Have students write each word. Then, have them stamp them out.

Repetition

Repetition is a proven way to learn something new. This is how we learn to most things we have mastered…practice and repetition. 

Some repetition activities include:

• simply having the students write the word multiple times. According to Education and Behavior, “Encourage children to review their work carefully and rewrite a word five to ten times when they find a misspelling (ten times is recommended but this may be too much for some children).”
• Spelling Stairs which means the student writes the word in stair or pyramid formation. First, they begin with the first letter (ex. b). Then, they rewrite the letter on the next line and add the second letter (ex. bo). Finally, they continue until they get to the completed word (ex. box).
• Roll It! Write It! In this repetition activity, students roll a die. Students write their word the number of times it states in the die.
• Traffic Light Words. Have the students write each word 3 times each. The first should be written in red. The second should be written in yellow. The third should be written in green.

Color for Visual Learners

Visual learners master skills by sight. Using color helps both kinesthetic and visual learners. 

Some color activities include:

• writing the word using blue for consonants and red for vowels.
• rainbow words. Rainbow words can be done in two different forms. Students can write each of their spelling words in a different color, or they can use a different color for each of the letters in each word.

Incorporate in Writing Activities

Being able to use the word in writing is the ultimate goal. Having students incorporate them into their writing is a great way to have them use them in a real-world setting.

Some writing activities are:

• writing a paragraph and having the students incorporate them. Students can make their own writing or you can provide a topic for them.
• using each word in a sentence. Have students write a sentence for each word.

Gamify the Spelling Activities

Gamifying these activities is a great way to get students even more excited about practicing their words. Creating Spelling Choice Boards with a variety of activities is an engaging option. Challenge students to get 4 in a row for the week. These are great options for centers, early finishers, or home learning.

 

For some ideas on how to implement spelling activities in your classroom, you can watch the video below.

As you can see, there are a variety of engaging spelling activities for upper elementary students. If you are looking for an “already done for you” resource that incorporates these activities and more, check out the Spelling Activities for Any List of Words. It includes over 30 print and go resources.