Websites for Spelling Practice

The following resources can be used as spelling practice by parents or teachers for their students and children:

1.

Spelling Bee

http://www.quia.com/pop/13123.html

Spelling Bee is an activity that will help learners improve in spelling. This activity is very simple and it addresses words that are most commonly misspelled. The activity covers 25 words; therefore, 25 questions at a time. Each question will ask the learner to pick the correct word out of a choice of 2 different spellings, one word will be the correct spelling and the other word will be the incorrect spelling. If the learner picks the correct word first, he/she may move onto the next question. If the learner chooses the incorrect word, then the program has the learner review the correct spelling and then he/she may move onto the next question. This activity is a great way for students to quickly recognize the correct way to spell words. Also, it gives students practice in spelling words they may have a difficult time with; repetitiveness is key to learning how to spell words. A limitation to this activity is that the words are a little more difficult and probably would only be used for older students. Also, unless the teacher creates his/her own activity with different words, there is only a limited amount of words for the students to review. If the teacher creates his/her own activity using the same concept as Spelling Bee, this activity would be great for students when they are studying for a spelling test. If the teacher creates a specific word bank, which relates to the student’s spelling test, then the students could use the Spelling Bee activity to help them study for their test. This activity would be useful for a multiliteracy classroom because the teacher has the option to choose the words that apply to his/her lesson plan. The teacher could choose words that relate to the students cultures and backgrounds, but still make them relevant to the curriculum. This activity is effective because the teacher is able to manipulate the activity to apply it to his/her class and this gives the students practice in spelling in a more entertaining way.

Evaluated by: Jeana Sorrels

2.

Skillswise: Syllable Factory

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/soundandspell/syllables/game.shtml

Break words into syllable chunks.

The Skillswise: Syllable Factory game encourages the development of spelling by emphasizing sound spelling relationships through syllable recognition. Set to a third-grade level, students will work to decompose provided words into syllable units. If the child correctly identifies the number of syllables contained in a term, a piece of a robot, which is being constructed in the syllable factory, will illuminate. Thereby, the goal is for the student to light up (or build) the entire robot figure.

This online exercise is a valuable and interactive game that can be used by elementary school teachers or parents who may be in search of spelling resources to facilitate student practice. The learner can select from one of three levels, which are determined by the complexity of the robot being constructed. This feature can help to customize the activity to meet the needs of diverse children. Furthermore, the game offers a section that explains how to play and presents examples to teach what syllables are and how words can be decomposed. However, the greatest resource utilized by the game may be the audio reading and segmentation of each term. Whether or not a student correctly identifies the number of syllables, a voice will ultimately break the word into corresponding units, while the learner can follow along with the divisions that appear on the computer screen. For example, following a student’s answer, the word, “gradually,” will be verbally stated and visually represented as grad-u-al-ly. As a result, the computer can provide audio support where such may be absent. By hearing and seeing the correct word in chunks, the student can practice applying sound-spelling relationships to decode words while writing and even reading. Also, when the decoding is reviewed to automaticity, reading fluency will be advanced.

At the games conclusion, a results sheet will list the words that have been correctly identified and the terms that the student missed, along with their equivalent syllable segmentations. Therefore, if homework or in class assignments were given using the syllable factory, the student could print or email their results so that future instruction can be developed to target any specific difficulties. In this manner the game also functions as an assessment tool.

Labels- Spelling, Games, For Parents, Reading

Evaluated by: Katie Armitage

3.

Magnetic Letter Game

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/mag/spelling.html

The Magnetic Letter Game offers practice for students to exercise their spelling skills. The game begins with a blank, black, “magnetic board” lined with word endings (such as –ink, -ace, -ate) and each letter of the alphabet. The goal of the game is to form as many words as you can using the word endings provided on the board. You can use the different word endings as many times as you wish.

This is a great game for parents and teachers to use if they are seeking spelling practice, with an emphasis on similar word endings, for their children or students. If teachers have a list of spelling words with the same endings, they can have their students practice their spelling words at home with this game. Another great aspect about the magnetic letter game is that students can not only practice their spelling words, but they can come up with all new words that aren’t on their spelling list using the same endings. This game is also helpful for English language learners, because is visually breaks up the words into two different parts (prefixes and suffixes). With this, ELL students can easily differentiate the different parts of their spelling words and this may help them remember how to spell their words.

The Magnetic Letter Game offers many great benefits for students, but it also proves to have some negative aspects. Such as, it does not offer any type of reward or even a gesture when a student forms a correct word. With this, students will not be able to check their own work to make sure they have completed the word lists accurately. The game may also be confusing as it instructions are not clearly labeled for a student to find easily. Thus, a teacher or adult will have to assist any young children attempting to play this game.

Labels: Spelling, For Parents and Teachers, Prefixes and Suffixes

Evaluated by: Brooke Ellis

4.

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/

I picked this website because unlike any of the other websites I have looked at/picked for the blog, this one is incredibly interactive, and has many pages to it. The homepage is very colorful with many links and pictures. The site is mainly intended for children, who have many links to games that allows them to fill in poems helping create vocabulary as well as rhythmic schemes. The kids are able to use their brain as well as other resources on the website. The site provides the prior knowledge that they need to play the game, as well as very clear instructions, which I found very interesting. The other sites I’ve seen don’t go into detail like this, so I was very surprised when I opened this website. It shows what poems are, how to make poems, and any knowledge needed for any skill level on poetry. This builds the child’s vocabulary as well as creates a foundation for types of written compositions. The kid can receive feedback, as well as test what they have learned, or what they think they already know before starting any of the lessons. On the right side of the homepage, there are popular children’s books’ covers, which are very useful for enforcing what the child learns from the website. Clicking on the cover takes the viewer to a website with details on the book as well as the price and other information pertaining the book. There is a page that allows the child to read and rate books on the site that allows the creators to read and analyze the viewers and user’s thoughts and feelings so that they can adjust accordingly. Teachers and principals have links on the homepage that gives them lesson plans and ideas to create a more literate room as well as a class that is more enthusiastic about the writing and learning process. Also the site gives good deals and discounts on books and other resources for parents and teachers. One thing I really like about this site, is that it shows teachers how to create book drives for discounts or free as well as shows the teacher how to invite authors to come to their class as well as the students to help and communicate with their favorite authors. I really don’t have any complaints or issues with this site, it helps children of all skill levels, including children with varying literacy levels, and language skills. It can be used by children, their parents, principals, school districts as well as classroom teachers. I found this site entertaining and fun, and I'm sure any child would too.

With this site I focused on ensuring the child learns how to spell, and spell effectively from any skill level or language proficiency. The child's previous knowledge of spelling is tested and built upon. Children are able to guess how something would be spelled by looking at the rhyme schemes, and fill in the blank. Teachers can use many activities from this site to test children's spelling, as well as teach more spelling words that could be used many times in the future. I find this site to be very useful for all aspects of the classroom, but I think it has a special link with spelling and composition.

Evaluated by: Jordan Farmer