Fun Free No-Prep Grade 1 Spelling

Hi Everyone!

One of the lessons I teach every single day is spelling. Although I don’t call it spelling; I call it Word Work.

There are lots of different things we do involving our word wall, but whatever it is, I like to keep it as fun and engaging as I can.

Here’s a small sampling from last year.

Rainbow Spelling (top left)

This is my version of rainbow spelling. I give the kids a blank piece of letter-size paper and we fold it into 8 sections. That alone is a worthy skill to practice. Ask any Grade 1 teacher! 🙂

Then I dictate phonics words we’ve been working on. In this case it was short vowels we were practicing.

What made this fun? The felt pens of course! There’s nothing earth-shaking here, but if you haven’t tried this, you’ll be surprised at how much the kids loved writing each word in a different colour.

Shaving Cream Spelling (top right)

This is an oldie but goodie and it’s especially fun to do when the desks are grubby. I don’t do this one too often ’cause it DOES take a little time for the clean up but it’s always a huge hit!

Just squirt some shaving cream on everyone’s desk and then start dictating spelling words for the kids to print in the cream.

Mix It Up (bottom left)

When we’re doing simple dictations from the Word Wall, I like to mix up the materials as much as I can. Here we’re using white boards. But sometimes we use notebooks, sometimes fancy spelling paper, sometimes mini chalkboards. I’ve also used ripped brown paper bags, post-it notes, large foam shapes, wrapping paper, paint, play-doh … pretty much anything that’s a little out of the ordinary!

Spelling Murals (bottom right)

A spelling mural is another option and it’s always a huge hit. I spread a huge piece of paper onto some grouped desks (or a large table) and 6 to 8 kids practice spelling wall words they’re having difficulties with. I leave it up to them to choose. The challenge is to make each word look colourful and funky.

You Might Also Like (and those links lead to freebies):

1. Tic tac toe spelling (scroll down a bit once you get there). We use spelling words instead of x’s and o’x to write in the squares.
2. Word Wall Bingo which is always a huge hit!

What fun stuff do you like to do during Word Work (or Spelling)?