Spelling Ideas–Spotlight Blogger–Christina from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge

Welcome back to Raki's Rad Resources for our latest Spotlight Blogger.  My family and I are camping right now, and we are taking a break from all screens in an effort to recharge our batteries and get ready for the new school year.  While we are gone, I hope you are enjoying the spotlight bloggers who have agreed to guest blog for me.  Be sure to pin the posts you like, as the spotlight blogger with the most pins on their post will win a special prize!  And then, please stop by their blogs and see all the awesome things they have to offer you.

 

 

 

It's me- Christina- from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge and I'm so excited to be guest blogging over here today while Heidi is off enjoying some vacay! 

If you have seen my blog lately, you know that I'm moving from a 1st/2nd split class to a new position teaching 3rd grade ELA in a new district. It's been an exciting summer for me as I'm setting up my room and thinking about how I'm going to teach reading & language arts to 120 3rd graders all throughout the day.

Our blocks of class time are going to be about 50 minutes long, so I've been thinking about how I'm going to fit it all in... especially spelling.  I didn't do enough with spelling when I had a 100-minute block with my little people... so thinking about quick, meaningful practice that I can only budget a few minutes for is tough!  But I've come up with a few ideas (and some good oldies too!) that I wanted to share with you.

*First up is your generic old "quiz each other". In true old school style, pairs would take turns quizzing each other on their words. This would be fun for them to do every once in a while... but I like things a little more fun and exciting!

*Who doesn't love Play Dough?!  My first and second graders always loved making their words with that gooey stuff! This little guy just spelled "complete" with his Play Dough!

*Do you have desks with shiny surfaces? Did you know that dry erase markers will erase off of them quickly and easily? I thought about putting five minutes on a timer and having my kiddos write their words on their desk tops!  I know they would love it!

*This one is one of my favorites and my kiddos LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I have my kiddos fold a piece of paper in half and then into thirds so they have six sections.  They number each section and choose one spelling word that is tricky for themselves and write that word once in each section. So, the kiddos get to differentiate this activity for themselves! Give each kiddo a dice and have them roll it.  Whatever number comes up, they'd have to write that word in the "sixth" on their paper.  Do this for about 5 minutes and they LOVE to see which number "wins"!

*One more... this is a whole class spelling game.  I know there are lots of people who play "Sparkle" and lots of ways to play, but this is how I play... the kiddos sit on their desks and you start at one side of the room. Announce a word. The first student gives the first letter, next student gives the second letter, and so on. When the last letter is given, the next student says "Sparkle" and has to sit down- they are out. This is a good game to help students practice paying attention since you have to know what letter was just said and what the word is! It's fun, but does take more than just five minutes.
So, there you have it! A couple quick spelling activities to jazz up your spelling routines!

*Sometimes my kiddos also do a quick independent handwriting practice by choosing 8 of their words and writing each word in their best handwriting, then choosing one or two to use in a sentence.
I'd love to share that freebie with you!  Just click the picture to download it in Google Docs! I included primary lines and something more intermediate!

I'm also going to link my blog button below to all of my spelling posts on my blog... from there you can even snag my monthly "Speller's Choice" packet for free!
Thanks, Heidi, for having me!
:)
Christina