Help With Spelling For Middle Grades

You may recall that back in August Angie wrote an article on ideas to help your children learn to spell easier. She had some amazing ideas. One of our favorites to do with the younger kids is to spell out words in various mediums… shaving cream, sand, beads scattered over the table. The kids really seem to enjoy doing more hands on activities than just writing lists over and over again. While writing does have it’s benefits (practicing handwriting being a big one!) the act of spelling out words on something other than paper seems to really inspire my kids to learn.

While these have been good for the younger kids I have been at a loss for the older ones. They enjoy writing in shaving cream and cutting out letters from magazines to make new words but sometimes they complain that it’s just too young for them. I realized that if I wanted to keep them motivated and having fun with spelling lists I needed to find new and interesting ways for them to practice their spelling words.

One way I found my children really enjoyed was to have a spelling beach ball. You write the words on small index cards and then use clear packaging tape to attach the cards to a beach ball. Once the cards on securely on you inflate the ball. Toss the ball to the kids (this works particularly well when you have multiple children close in age and/or grade level). When one of them catches it they look at the word under their left thumb (or that their left thumb is closest to). They then get to choose (or you can choose) an activity for them to do.

say the word 10 times as fast as they can

spell the word

use the word in a sentence

divide the word into syllables

give the definition of the word

give a synonym or antonym for the word

They love to do this activity and it not only fosters love of learning but helps them learn the lesson you are teaching.

Another great idea to help kids learn their spelling words is to initially give them their spelling test and then instead of checking off which are wrong only put how many they missed at the top of their test. Have them go back and compare the words to their master list. When they find the wrong word/s have them correct them. This helps them review the words and learn to proofread at the same time.

Using spelling words in journal writing is always a great idea as well. They are practicing writing the words while using creative thinking/writing skills at the same time.

One last idea is to have your child look through professional publications for spelling errors they may find. It’s always makes the kids feel great when they find an error that was missed by professional proofreaders! My kids always come away glowing, feeling very smart, when this happens.

Spelling doesn’t have to be a chore. Like Angie had said before, some families might not even use spelling lists and that is just fine. But for those that do having some back up ideas to keep spelling fun and interesting is always a good idea.

You can read more about Michelle and her family at Pass The Flu Bug Please.

Image found at Cartooncottage.com

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