Improve your Students’ Spelling

Made a spelling mistake?

Why not write the word you’ve made an error on down 30 times to remember?

This might have been an effective way to teach in the past, but at the end of the day you’ll leave your students feeling defeated. Today, teachers have become more creative and fun with their teaching techniques, and it works! Students are much more likely to stay focused for longer if you add some colour and think of ways to make practicing spelling a little more fun.

Here are a few ideas and activities to improve your students’ spelling!


1.    Word search race

Word search is a great activity for young English learners.

You’ll need to prepare your own word search worksheet for this one. Use vocabulary words that have been mentioned in previous, but recent lesson plans.

Students can work in pairs or individually. Let them complete the word search as quickly as possible and the winner gets a prize. You can also ask them to create a sentence of each word they’ve found as a bonus.

2.    Spelling bee

Inform your students ahead of time that you’ll be having a spelling bee and get them excited! This competitive activity is a great way to improve your learners’ spelling in a fun manner.

Prepare a list of words and try to make each word slightly harder than the previous. Work alphabetically or assign each student with a number. Start with the easy ones and move your way up to the more difficult ones. Give them a minute or two to think about it and provide them with the definition of the words, you can also use it in a sentence if needed. Students that spelled correctly get to advance to the next round and the last one standing should get a prize!

 
3.    Crossword Puzzle race

Another great racing game to practice spelling!

You can easily create your own crossword puzzles relevant to your lesson plans. It’s a fun and effective activity to help students practice building their vocabulary. Let your students work in pairs to determine which words fit in the correct corresponding boxes with the clues you’ve provided. The first duo to finish wins the game!

4.    Letter hunting

You’ll need the following:

-A container
-Colour scented rice
-Letters (magnetic letters or scrabble tiles work well)

Fill the container full of coloured scented rice and hide the letters in-between. Provide your students with a list of spelling words and ask them to complete the list (they need to return the letters into the container after spelling each word).

5.    Word unscramble

Once again, this activity works well in pairs. You’ll need to prepare another worksheet. This time add scrambled letters that make vocabulary words with a little rearranging.  A good example is to write Toys as Yots or write Car as Rac. The first team to correctly unscramble and spell the words wins!

Learning to spell is crucial for a young student’s development and we recommend ESL teachers keep it as simple as possible, while making it fun. We hope you’ve found this article useful for your classroom.