New Spelling Activities

This week I wanted to work on expanding my activities that I put in rotation for spelling practice.  I had a few in mind that I wanted to try out after exploring different blogs and a few that I thought up last minute.  

The first thing I wanted to try was getting or making some play dough for my kiddos to use to form letters and spell out the spelling words.  I never quite got around to making my own play dough last weekend so I popped into Target to pick some up.  As I was cruising the aisles I spotted a tub of Crayola Morphix on sale for under a buck.  I've actually never used this before but I figured for the price I'd be insane not to try it, right?!  We've been using it for a couple of days and it seems to hold up just fine.  The packaging does state that it will dry out if you leave it uncovered, so make sure to have students seal it up tight! It has a very interesting texture and consistency.  It's almost a mix of sand and play dough, with a little bit of stretch to it.  It packs up firm and holds shape, but most importantly, it doesn't leave a residue on desks or hands!  

My second activity that I have thrown in the rotation is using moldable wax strips to form letters and spell out words.  I found a killer deal on Amazon, a 500  pack for just over $12.00!!!  These are fun because they have a little bit of stick and texture to them which gives them some sensory input but, again, no residue is left behind which makes for quick transitions after spelling practice.

This last idea is something that I whipped up last minute.  I wanted to incorporate some more visual/motor activities with my spelling practice.  I have a stack of pegboards and some rubber bands that I use for specific visual/motor activities but they haven't quite been getting as much use as I would like them to.  The students have really loved doing this one and I think it really helps them to slow down and connect the individual letters in a word together.  

To start I used a label maker to print out each letter of the alphabet.  I then cut them out and placed one below each peg.  I was short a peg so I had to combine y and z, but I don't think that will impact them since there are not many words that have y and z next to each other.

I store my rubber bands on a metal book ring which helps minimize tangles.

Students will take rubber bands and go from letter to letter until they have spelled the given word.  They then remove the bands and start over with the next word.  The example below is the spelling of the word cat.

  

So far I am beyond pleased with how well my students are responding to the activities.  When we were practicing spelling the same way every day I found that they were easily distracted, chatty, and not having as much success as I knew they were capable of on their weekly spelling tests.  Since changing up our spelling practice routine they have generally worked for the whole 15 minute time period with no reminders to stay on task.  But the absolute best part is when they verbalize how much fun they are having while they are working or say things like, "you're so nice for giving us all these fun things to do".  Moments like that make me love my job even more!!!

   

Spelling Strategies

Spelling is consistently the hardest thing for my kiddos.  Kids with dyslexia and other learning disabilities are known for this.  The battle for me is that I have 4 students working on the same spelling list, but they are all having trouble with achieving success for different reasons.  These reasons could range from typical dyslexia issues to attention issues to short term/long term recall issues.  

To tackle this problem I have developed a pretty successful routine for my students to practice their spelling every morning as a quick and quiet activity when they come in to start their day.  This involves several components, so bear with me.  I am lucky to have 1:1 iPads in my classroom which makes this much much easier.  If you don't have an iPad for each student but you have a few of them, this would be great as a center rotation.  If you don't have iPads at all, you can do the same activities with the students referencing a paper list.  Here's a preview of what my room looks like first thing in the morning with spelling all set up.

The reason I started using the iPads was because my students weren't always reading the words correctly as they were practicing.  When it came time for the spelling test I would say the word and they would look at me very confused because they had been saying a different word in their heads all week.  With the iPad I can record my voice saying each word so that they hear the correct pronunciation as the practice.

First, I use the Educreations app to create a slideshow tutorial of the weekly spelling list.  My one critique of the Educreations app is that when you insert a text box you only are allowed to use blue font.  This is not good for a special educators, we like to make different letters different colors.  My solution to this is to handwrite my words (consonants = blue, vowels = red).  The downfall of this, however, is that my handwriting is not good.  It's the best I can do for now.

After I make the presentation I go online (with my laptop) to the Educreations website.  From there I login and access my lesson.  There is an option to copy a direct link to the lesson.  Select and copy.

Next I go to QRStuff.com to create a QR code.  In all honesty, I googled "QR code generator" and this was the first one that came up.  It works great but I'm sure there are a million of options for this out there.  It's very easy, just paste your Educreations link into the "website URL" window and a QR code will pop up.  

Next, I copy the QR code and paste it into a word document.  You can then copy and paste to make as many as you need.  I do one for each student.  And.....PRINT!

That's truly the hardest part about this whole process.  Now the fun stuff!

After printing, I stick the QR code into a library sleeve that is secured to the side of their desks.  If you're going to do it this way, be sure to leave a long tab on one side of your QR code, otherwise it will not stick out of the sleeve properly.

I downloaded a template to make these sleeves for free from this website and printed it on colorful card stock.  And of course, after looking at them in pictures I decided they needed a little flair so I made some buttons to add to the front.  Available in my TPT store.

When students come in every morning, they know the drill:

1) Get iPads
2) Scan QR code to open lesson link
3) Practice spelling

The fun part is step 3.  I have several different options for them to practice their spelling.  Usually I have the option I want them to use already waiting for them on their desks.  Sometimes I let them choose which one they want.  Below are the options that I am using right now and after those are some options I have found online that I'm planning to incorporate.

Rainbow Writing - Students write each word and trace over it several times using a different color each time.  My spelling practice/test sheets are free downloads in my TPT store.  I found that my students took too long numbering their pages or would make mistakes and then have to start over.  This saves A LOT of time for everyone.  

Velcro Letters - Students pull letters from the top (extra letters on the back) to spell the words on the velcro strip.  My letters are from the dollar store with velcro dots added to the backs.

Sand Writing -  Students trace the words in sand on a sand tray. Side Note: My sand trays are lids to tupperware boxes.  They have a nice lip on them that keeps the sand in. 

Mom 2 Posh Lil Divas has 75 ways to practice spelling and they are all really good!  One of her ideas is to spell the words with play dough.

 

My next project is to make this play dough to use.  My mom made some for my niece using this recipe and she said it holds up great without drying out.   

Scribble Doodle and Draw has some great ideas, Im planning on implementing the paint in a ziploc baggie.

Happy Spelling!!!