Techr I reele need hlp wif bein a good spelr! Can you read this? If so, you must be an elementary teacher with students that do not always apply spelling rules in their writing! Not many, thankfully, but a few of my students are still struggling with using accurate spelling when they write. This year, I’ve decided to focus on phonics skills and on correct spelling of all high frequency words from the first through the third grade Dolch word list. These are the words my little writers need to use most often and the ones I need to be able to read!
Spelling and Sight Words as a Word Wall!
My word wall is a visual reference that I encourage my students to use daily! The words are placed under the letter of their beginning sound so students can locate them quickly. These same words are also my spelling words.
They go on the wall only after a week or so of daily practice in a variety of ways.
I use my cabinets in the background to display the words since there is plenty of room.
They are printed on colored cardstock and laminated to last.
The Words of the Week:
When I introduce the ten new words of the week, we look at spelling patterns and talk about word families and all of that good phonics stuff. Then we PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE in a variety of ways ~air writing, using pom-poms to cheer, march and spell, looking at the shape of the word (as in letter boxes) and of course, lots of written practice.
To Give a Spelling Test (or NOT)?
I am not giving a weekly spelling test! That’s not to say that I won’t resume regular testing some time in the future, but I’m giving it a try. Students often memorize well for the test, but then go back to their comfortable ways of writing. Their creative minds are busy thinking of other things.
The true test of spelling, for my students, is being able to apply the rules and demonstrate accurate spelling (age-appropriate of course) in the context of their writing. I assess spelling in their written work. My hope is that with regular written practice, the correct spelling of these words will become more automatic in time!
Favorite Spelling Practice Printables:
There are lots of favorite written practice activities I’ve used for years. Writing silly sentences with spelling words, and they are the kid’s favs too! Sadly, some of my copies were old, dirty, outdated and probably passed along for twenty years from teacher to teacher. I refuse to send home an ugly paper 🙂 so I made a new and much cuter packet for my kiddos! I included wide primary lines on the pages to encourage handwriting practice at the same time.
If you are looking to update your spelling and sight word practice pages or just want to add a different twist to your sight word routine, you can grab a copy of this set at my TPT store! Just click on the picture to download a copy!
The worksheets are created in a bee theme. I hope they will help your class “bee”come more fluent spellers and writers too!
Happy teaching!
