Spelling Games
Here is a spelling game that I have used that the kids really enjoy. Do you know of the game Heads up 7-up? If not, here's a little explanation Choose 7 students to come to the front of the room. Rest of the students put their heads down, close their eyes, and put one hand in a "thumbs up" position on their desk. The 7 in the front of the room each choose one person and touch their thumb. When all have chosen, the 7 say "Heads up 7 up." Those who were touched stand up and try to pick who touched their thumb. If they are correct, they trade places, if not, the game continues. Anyway...using these rules I add one more When they stand to pick who chose them they have to first spell a word correctly. If they do they get to pick. If not they don't get to choose, or you can let them choose but it won't count if they pick the right person.
Cheri G cheri@mpks.net
The Game of SKUNK
First of all, you may use any word you like. A five letter word works the best. Have the children make 6 columns on a piece of paper. Each column contains one letter of your word. The 6th column is labeled Grand Totals. You use 2 die or number cubes. If you want your class to work with numbers higher than 6, make number cubes with the desired numbers.
The number 1 acts as the SKUNK (or whatever word you choose.) It is best to have 2 different colored die as only l die can be the SKUNK die. All the children stand and the dice are rolled by teacher or a student. The numbers and be added or multiplied. The children must enter the answer under the first column. Teacher needs to keep a record of the answers on a separate sheet or on an overhead so students can check for the correct answer.
The object is to continue rolling the die for each column until the skunk appears. Children decide when they want to sit down, because if you are standing when the skunk is rolled, you get 0 for that column. You do this for each letter. The totals for each column are listed in the GT column. The winner is the one with the highest total of the GT column. This is the basic game, but there are many other variations.
This game comes from Rachael McAnallen from the Institute for Math Mania, P.O. Box 910, Montpeiler, VT 05601-0910.
Students line up and stay in that order. Choose a vowel , consonant, or one of each. The students spell the words saying buzz in place of the letter chosen. When the word is spelled correctly the next person needs to pronounce the word correctly. A student who misses can miss one turn and then come back in.