Quick and Easy Word Game

Our school has started a new intervention program with the kids in the school that will help us track students progress ~ Istation.  I am not sure if any of you have heard of it or used it, but if you have, I could use some serious pointers!

Anyway, I have been playing around with it since I am in charge of getting reports for our Leadership Team as well as delivering lessons face to face some of the time.  I had a group of third graders who needed some help with spelling, so I looked at some of the lessons given for intervention. 

Now, I have to admit that I hate giving lessons that are scripted.  I went to school for an extra five years just to create my own lessons that work for students.  As a reading specialist, I feel like I am capable of saying the right thing.  Luckily, I don't have to use the lessons word for word, but I do need to present lessons based on the assessments in the program.  I do look at the lessons to give me an idea.

So, with that being said, the lesson was a game that I had thought of before and used in my word study groups before!  It is a simple game that can be played with any words you want your students to work on in spelling.

First, I used these cool plastic cards that we got years ago from a credit card factory.  I wrote the targeted words with Sharpie (long vowel words) and had the students read them all after reviewing the "magic e" rule.  The first student read the card aloud and hid it.  To get a point, the word had to be read correctly.

All of the other students had to spell the word correctly on their dry erase boards.  The word caller was the official checker.  If the word was spelled correctly, the player received a point.

The player with the most points won the game!  And to think, all the kids were doing was spelling words!  I love when playing a game is truly learning!

So, you can do this with any list of words at any time, both in small groups or at centers.  Just use sight word flash cards or spelling words on card stock.  I can guarantee that your students will have fun!

So, how do you make learning fun?  And, if you use Istation, how does it work for you?  Any pointers, especially for the younger kids (K-1)?