Spelling game offers fun review the day before the weekly test.
Objectives
Students will
spell and write words from a list of spelling, vocabulary, or high frequency words they should know.
participate in a two-team spelling game.
shoot a ball into a hoop as a reward for spelling a word correctly to earn extra points for their team.
Keywords
spelling, language arts, basketball, high frequency words, vocabulary, sight words, game
Materials Needed
small plastic or portable basketball hoop
plastic basketball
2 clipboards with pencils/markers and paper
chalkboard or chart paper
a list of words -- selected from students' spelling or vocabulary lists or from a list of high-frequency words
-- for students to spell
The Lesson
Before the Lesson
Set up a small portable basketball hoop; obtain a lightweight plastic or foam rubber basketball.
Establish on the floor a shooting line using tape or chalk; the line should be at a distance from the hoop that
is appropriate for students.
Divide the class into two teams.
Make a scoreboard on the chalkboard or chart paper.
The Activity
Call up the first student from each team. Provide the two students with clipboards with paper and a pencil/marker. Say
a word from the determined list and have the child use the clipboard to write it on the paper. When the students have
written the words, they can share them with classmates by showing their written response.
If the student spells the word correctly, he/she will make a tally mark representing a point on his/her team's
side of the scoreboard.
If the student spells the word incorrectly, he/she earns no point. Show that student the correctly spelled world
before he/she sits down.
Students who spell a word correctly get an opportunity to score a bonus point for their team: They stand at the
shooting line drawn or taped on the floor and shoot the basketball two times at the hoop. They score an additional
point/tally mark for each basket they make.
Repeat this activity until all team members have had a chance to spell a word. Have one student from each team count
and record the final number of tally marks so you can determine the winning team.
Adapt the Game
At the end of the game, you might give students who misspelled a word during the game one final opportunity to correctly
spell the word they missed. If they spell the word correctly, they earn a point for their team. They do not,
however, earn an opportunity to shoot the basketball for extra points.
Note
You might play this game the day before each week's spelling test. That will provide students with one final opportunity
to see and hear the word spelled correctly.
Assessment
The game ends any time after each student has had one opportunity to spell a word. Have one student from each team count
and record the final number of tally marks so you can determine the winning team.
Submitted By
Cynthia Mackel, Rosemont Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland
Spell, Shoot, and Score