Word Building Activities

How it came to be…

I think these Word Building Activities are still some of my favorite games! Many moons ago, when we actually taught spelling – we would do a WHEEL OF WORD Game before our spelling “test”.  Here’s how it worked:

1. I had a wheel and a pocket chart – my leader would pick the word that they wanted the students to try and spell.
2. I would put the letters (facing backwards) in the pocket chart.
3. Leader would spin the wheel (for points) and then pick a student to say a letter.
4. If the letter was there, the leader would turn it around (like Vana)
5. Then that child would spin and guess another letter 
6. We would do that 6 or 7 times with different spelling words

Then of course, they got rid of spelling all together.  So… we came up with another game called GUESS THAT WORD where students could play this one either during centers or after a lesson as an Early Finisher Activity.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:

I’ll explain my Word Building Activities as an early finisher, but you can do the same for centers.

1. Students finish their work
2. You have the looped PPT/Google Slide up on your Activboard/whiteboard
3. Press play
4. Students look at the picture for a few seconds
5. Then letters start popping up (just like in the speed part of Wheel of Fortune)
6. Students try to solve the word before all of the letters pop up

Now it can end up getting loud because they get SO EXCITED!  You can also do this as a team activity.  Students stand in two rows – two people are up.  They have to see who can figure out the word first – and then that team gets a point.

This is just a fun way to practice all kinds of different skills, from CVC words, to long vowel words, to blends, and digraphs.  I promise, your kiddos will HAVE A BLAST, and they will be learning as they go!

Distance Learning:  You can also do this while zooming or share through Google Classroom™ for your kiddos to practice on their own.  So many different opportunities for your kiddos!