Spelling Pack Full

© P2P Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied or transmitted without written permission from the publisher. Printable worksheets are for the personal use of the purchaser. Contributors: Jackie Cosh, Clare Winstanley (selected games extracted from Spelling Made Magic), Camilla Chafer, Elena Dalrymple Published by: P2P Publishing Registered office: 33-41 Dallington Street, London EC1V 0BB Registered number: 06014651 Tel: 0845 2591418

Visit us online at www.theschoolrun.com for more educational worksheets, articles, books and packs to help support your child’s learning.

SPELLING – WHAT EVERY PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW Are you a confident speller, or do you find yourself slipping into textspeak when you’re emailing your boss? Our parent’s guide to spelling tells you everything you need to know to support your child’s learning at home – and polish up your own skills, too!

In many ways spelling appears to have become less important. Most of us use the spellcheck facility on our word processing package, making poorly spelled work much less likely (though we might still cringe at the thought of a bunch of banana’s in a shop). At the same time spelling seems to be becoming more a focus of early education, with spelling tests a regular event from as early as the age of four.

Why is spelling so important? Spelling is different from reading, although obviously the two are connected and one helps the other. Very young children may be able to read many words from memory, giving a false impression of their abilities – but spelling is more than this. Spelling provides the basic building blocks for writing. Correct spelling helps us pronounce new words and ultimately enables us to be able to learn new languages. When we learn to spell we learn the different strategies needed to be able to read at any level. In the English language spelling is made up of many different decoding strategies and rules. But English contains too many homophones (words pronounced the same way, but which have a different meaning, spelling or both

– for example, ‘here’ and ‘hear’) to rely on this. That is why it is important to build up knowledge of different spellings. Poor spelling creates a bad impression. Teachers, examiners, prospective employers – all notice poor spelling. Whether consciously or not, poor spelling can result in teachers and examiners giving lower marks, and can be the difference between job hunters being offered a job interview or not.

Why is English so difficult? The English language is often cited as one of the hardest languages to learn. As native speakers we don’t realise how hard it is, explains Jack Bovill, chair of the English Spelling Society. ‘There are a number of factors which contribute to making English as difficult as Chinese ideograms – but we are used to it. For example, if a foreigner heard the word “read” being spoken (as in “I have read that before”), he would spell it “red”. It is the common-sense way to spell it.’ Research suggests that children in the English-speaking world take on average three years longer to read and write than those who speak other languages. Not hard to believe when you realise that we have 185 spellings for 44 sounds! ‘English is full of inconsistencies,’ confirms Jack Bovill. ‘What we speak can’t be reliably written accurately and what we write can’t be accurately pronounced. Spelling is no guide to how we speak.’ Ian McNeilly, director of the National Association for the Teaching of English, agrees. ‘The problem is that the English language isn't as phonetically regular as many other languages. Plus lots of traditional spelling rules have plenty of exceptions which make things even more confusing. You can teach phonics and rules, but at the end of the day there are plenty of words which rebel against both of these methods!’

English is a language which has developed slowly over hundreds of years. If you have read documents or letters from three or four hundred years ago, you will know that the spelling of words varied. Later, some words were purposely changed to make them more like their Latin derivative, so for example ‘ile’ became ‘isle’, and ‘det’ became ‘debt’. Nowadays these spellings only make the words harder to learn! Today the Americanising of English, like the increasing use of the spelling ‘center’ instead of ‘centre’, suggests this is an ongoing process. Jack Bovill certainly thinks our spelling is evolving. ‘Spelling is slowly changing under pressure,’ he confirms. ‘People will adapt spelling and pronunciation will follow.’

How is spelling taught in schools today? Teaching spelling begins in the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) with the development of speaking, listening and phonological awareness. Children need to be able to differentiate between sounds they hear before they transfer their knowledge to sounds they read. They need to have a good awareness of rhyming and alliteration. This lays the foundation for the beginnings of phonic teaching. While many of us may have learned spelling through rote learning when we were at school, the big thing in schools today is phonics. Phonics is all about connecting the sounds of spoken words with letters or groups of letters and teaching children to blend the sounds to create words. In 2005 results from a seven-year study in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, found that children who were taught to read and write using synthetic phonics were seven months ahead of their

peers in reading and nine months ahead in spelling. Since then phonics has become the main method of teaching in all schools. Children begin by learning what are called CVC words – consonant vowel consonant. For example: bat, cat, lot, beg, set. From this they are taught a mixture of memorising strategies and basic spelling patterns. While they will be taught that the letters ‘ai’ make a long ‘a’ sound, and that this works for many words, they will also be taught tricky words such as ‘any’ and ‘people’. Once a child has mastered the phonics side of spelling, they are moved on to more complicated words, and strategies such as clusters (‘str’ or ‘gr’), digraphs (two letters used to represent one sound, like ‘sh’ ‘ch’ ‘th’ ‘ph’) and graphemes (letters and groups of letters making one sound, for example ‘igh’ and ‘ough’). While some memory aids are no longer used in schools (it is thought that there are too many exceptions to the classic ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ rule) mnemonics (such as ‘Oh U Lucky Duck’ for could, would and should or ‘Big Elephants Can’t Always Use Small Entrances’ for because) are still used, as are analogies (‘bright light’). Your child might also learn visual tricks to help them with specific words (for example, ‘you hear with your ear’, ‘there is an e in pen and in stationery’ or ‘one collar, two socks’ to help them spell necessary). As children get older they move on to more complicated spellings – words containing affixes (letters or groups of letters added to the beginning or end of a word to make a new word, for example dis-cover) and words which are more than two syllables long.

By the end of Key Stage 2 (year 6) children should have built up a considerable bank of words which they can spell.

But it doesn’t end there, as Ian McNeilly explains. ‘It is a myth that English teachers in secondary schools don't teach spelling. If they don't, they aren't doing their job properly. But it won't be as systematic as what many parents were used to in their day and one of the reasons for that is that accurate spelling is not particularly well rewarded in exam mark schemes. What with league tables driving classroom practice to a certain extent, teachers concentrate on the things that improve grades. In infant schools, with children learning to read, good teachers use a mix of phonics work and other strategies.’

What is expected of pupils in primary school (year by year, Reception to Year 6)? Spelling is one of the Primary Framework for Literacy Learning objectives, both under ‘Word structure and spelling’ and ‘Word recognition decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling)’. The chart on the next page illustrates what your child will be expected to achieve at each level.

YOUR CHILD’S YEAR-BY-YEAR SPELLING LEARNING JOURNEY

School year Targets for attainment in spelling EYFS

a good knowledge of the sounds and names of each letter, and being able to link the names to the sounds. being able to read simple words and make a good attempt at more complex ones.

Year 1

being able to use phonics to spell unfamiliar words. beginning to move from CVC words to common digraphs. being able to use common graphemes such as ‘ai’ or ‘ee’. being able to spell two- and three-syllable words.

Year 2

being able to use less common graphemes. being able to spell words using a variety of strategies and methods already taught.

Year 3

being able to spell common and very common words. beginning to use prefixes and suffixes. spelling unfamiliar words using strategies.

Year 4

being able to distinguish between common homophones. building up personal strategies for learning new words.

Year 5

being able to spell words containing unstressed vowels. being able to use less common prefixes and suffixes such as -cian, im- and ir-. being able to group words according to their spelling pattern.

Year 6

being able to spell familiar words correctly and use a variety of strategies to spell unfamiliar and difficult words. using a variety of strategies to correct work.

21 practical ways to get your kids enjoying spelling Spelling – it’s boring and useless, right? Not so, say millions of crossword fans, Scrabble enthusiasts and spelling bee contestants (not to mention teachers, employers, writers and readers!). We’ve gathered their tips and tricks to suggest 21 easy ways to get your child enthusiastic about spelling, whatever their age.

1. Build on what your child already knows. Even before they can read children will recognise corporate words and brands such as ASDA, Tesco, and Pizza Hut. Praise them for recognising the words and take it forward. For example, “Yes, that’s right, it is Pizza Hut. What’s the first letter in each of the words?” 2. Do simple crosswords with your child. Pick up a crossword puzzle book for children their age and sit and work through it together. Read each clue and talk about what words might fit. Don’t take over and give the answer away but carefully lead your child onto the path for the right answer – “No, that doesn’t fit, what else could we try?” 3. Let your child help you with more complicated crosswords. They might not be able to do something at teenage or adult level, but thinking aloud about what the answer could be will encourage them to think of how words are made up. So if the clue states ‘An Australian fish – 10 letters’ and you already have some of the letters, work through the possibilities with them. (The answer is Barramundi, in case you were wondering!) 4. Play hangman. This simple game has been around for years and can be played anywhere as long as you have

pen and paper. Choose a word at your child’s level, and encourage them to go through the vowels first of all. But join in and don’t always be the hangman. Allow your child to come up with a word, and don’t get annoyed if it is spelled wrong. Take the opportunity to explain the correct spelling, but do it in a light-hearted manner so they don’t feel as if they’ve done anything wrong. 5. Respect good mistakes and praise; don’t criticise. There are so many spelling rules in the English language that it can get confusing. If your child uses a rule they’ve learnt for a word which does not require it, praise them for noticing it but explain that this case is an exception. 6. Get out the Scrabble board. Or go and buy one! Junior and character-branded editions are available if you’d rather use a children’s board, and you can even play on your mobile phone (sure to be of interest to older kids!). You don’t have to stick to short words even if that is all your child can do; demonstrate how big words are sometimes made up of smaller ones (for example, cat-astrophe). 7. Is alphabet pasta on your usual shopping list? Use it! Don’t rush dinner. Stop and spell short words on your child’s plate. Make the word ‘hat’. Help your child look for a ‘c’ with their spoon to turn it into ‘cat’. 8. Do wordsearches together. They can be helpful and fun for children of all levels and reinforce correct spelling. 9. Play ‘I spy’. Children love this traditional game and it can be enjoyed from the age of four upwards. Even if your child can’t read or write yet they will be developing a knowledge of sounds and phonics and will be able to come up with their own suggestions. Older children love

the challenge and enjoy the competition the game brings. 10. From the age of five, get your child letter writing. Sit down together and pen a few lines to aunts, uncles and grandparents. If your child is still learning the basics, sit with them so they’re able to ask you how certain words are spelled rather than attempting their own spelling. And if Grandma can stick the letter on her fridge when you all go to visit or write back, even better. Your child will love seeing their writing displayed with pride, and few things are more exciting than unexpected post through the letter-box. 11. Do you read your child a bedtime story, or do you encourage them to read to you? If they feel a bit too tired to read aloud suggest that you read the book but that they read one word per line. Choose words which slightly stretch them so that they’re learning from each word they sound out and read. 12. If you are out for a walk, waiting in the doctor’s surgery or even on a long car journey, play ‘How many words can you thinking of beginning with the letter…..’. This is a variation of ‘I spy’ but it’s not restricted to nouns or to things all the players can see. Challenge the whole family to see who can come up with the longest list. 13. Don’t be negative. Making mistakes is part of learning, and criticising can make a child not want to try. Allow your child to spell words wrong and know when to correct and when to leave it. Focus on what they have got right; the opportunity to show the correct spelling will come at a later date. 14. Buy fridge magnets (suitable from the age of three). Have fun with the letters – leave each other short

messages, use them to write shopping lists of your child’s favourite foods, make words together and change words into other words. There are loads of different letter colours and sizes available, so turn your fridge into a huge white board and enjoy! 15. Offer your child positive reinforcement by showing them how much they can read and spell already. If they ask what type of biscuits they’re eating, don’t tell them, read the packaging together. Encourage them to spell out words on the packaging. 16. Set and stick to an achievable vocabulary level so that your child doesn’t get disheartened. (There’s no point in asking them to spell ‘rhinoceros’ when ‘camera’ is more at their level.) 17. When your child has moved on from the simple words, usually by the age of six or seven, teach them some classic mnemonics such as ‘oh you/u lucky duck’ for remembering the OULD in ‘could’, ‘would’ and ‘should’. 18. Take a step back. If someone asks your child how they spell their name, let them speak for themselves. Teach them to spell out their street name and town, too. 19. Don’t make your own shopping list. Get your child to write it for you (maybe by promising that they can add a few requests of their own if they’re spelled correctly!). Dictate the list of items you need, then check it together. Encourage your child to look at each word and correct the spelling together. 20. Is your child always clamouring for screen time? Agree that they can use the computer to write stories, poems, blog posts or status updates. Be available to supervise

and offer spelling consultancy! The spellcheck facility will highlight discrepancies and you can discuss what mistakes they might have made. You can also proof read for errors the spellcheck doesn’t pick up. 21. Decode words together whenever you can. Read the back of the cornflakes box together. Read road signs and directions. Read and talk about ads you see when you’re out and about, or the headlines on the front pages of newspapers. When your child is looking for a DVD on the shelf, help them look at the words on the spines instead of just finding the right one yourself. Yes, it will add a few minutes to every task, but every day your child will feel more in control of the words around them and more confident about using them correctly.

Game 1: Dragon’s Gold Suitable for: KS1, KS2 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... any list of spellings

You’ll need:

Two pencils, paper, two counters and the Dragon’s Gold game board.

Prepare the game Compile lists of words to play with. You could use the words from a spelling test, high frequency words or words from a list you choose yourself.

How to play Players take turns to choose a word from the list and write it down or spell it out loud correctly. Correct spelling allows the player to move their counter a number of spaces corresponding to the number of letters in the word. Players must act on the instructions given if they land on a hazard square. The aim is to be the first player to reach the dragon’s gold.

www.theschoolrun.com

www.theschoolrun.com

18

19

20

ravine – miss a turn to build a bridge

1

37

23

quicksand – miss a turn while you struggle to get free

35

singed by the dragon’s breath – lose a turn to recover

22

start

4

15

16

26 27 28

6

fallen tree – go back one space

32

13

31

Creep past on tiptoe to steal the gold from the dragon’s cave.

12

crack! – you step on a twig and disturb the dragon – lose a turn

Dragon’s 29 Gold

bats fly at you – go back one space to escape

33

24

3

34

2 waterfall – go back one space and get dry

11

10

landslide – step back one space to safety

8

7

Game 2: Climb-down Suitable for: KS1, KS2 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... any list of spellings

You’ll need:

Two copies of the Climb-down game board and two sets of 26 Word Cards.

Prepare the game Compile 52 Word Cards to play with, choosing two words that begin with each letter of the alphabet. (You could ask your children to help you make up this word list as a pre-game game!) Each player will need their own set of 26 cards, one card for each letter of the alphabet.

How to play Players take turns to pick a card from their own piles. They each place the first word they pick in the top space (marked Start) on their Climb-down board. Players continue, in turn, to pick up words. They should place them on the descending rungs in alphabetical order, if they are the right ones to follow the sequence, or discard them if not. When all the cards from their initial piles have been used, the players should try all the cards in their discard piles again, until the first ladder is complete. The winner is the first player to climb down, having found and placed their words in the correct alphabetical order.

www.theschoolrun.com

Climb-down

Start Start

finish finish www.theschoolrun.com

Climb-down

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k

l www.theschoolrun.com

Climb-down

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x www.theschoolrun.com

Climb-down

y

z

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j www.theschoolrun.com

Climb-down

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v www.theschoolrun.com

Climb-down

w

x

y

z

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 3: Stop thief! Suitable for: KS1, KS2 Number of players: 4 Helps practise... any new spelling rule

You’ll need:

The Stop thief! game board and pencils, paper and a counter for each player.

Prepare the game Decide what words you’d like to play with – for example, a list of words with ‘ie’ or ‘ei’ in them, to practise the ‘i’ before ‘e’ rule. Players should be asked to learn the words on the list before beginning the game.

How to play Players decide who will be cops and who will be robbers. The two robbers should have the cops’ list, and vice versa. The robbers should start first. In turn, they are each asked to spell a word on their lists. If correct, they move the number of places corresponding to the number of letters in their words. Next, the cops are each asked to spell words on their list by the robbers, and move accordingly. The aim is for both of the robbers to reach ‘Freedom’, using the correct number of moves. If a cop lands on the same space as a robber, then the robber is sent to prison. If both robbers are in prison, then the cops have won the game.

www.theschoolrun.com

Cops

➔ prison

➔ ➔ ➔➔

➔➔

➔➔➔➔

➔➔ ➔ ➔

Robbers start here

£ 

➔➔

➔➔

Freedom



➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔➔

➔➔

➔

Stop thief!

➔➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

➔

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 4: Clue Cards Suitable for: KS2 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... u  sing a dictionary

Prepare the game

You’ll need:

A Clue Cards game board, blank definition cards, a counter for each player and pencil and paper for scoring.

Ask the players to write out 12 dictionary definitions each on the blank definition cards. They can use a children’s dictionary. Show them how to look words up and help them copy the definitions (but not the words they define) onto the blank cards.

How to play Players take turns to throw the dice and move the corresponding number of places on the board. If a player lands on a coloured square, they must pick up a definition card and keep it. When the first player reaches number 40 the game stops and each player scores one point for each card they have collected. A time limit is now placed on the players (to be agreed with them). Using the same dictionary, the players have to find and correctly spell each word, from the definitions given on the clue cards. When the time limit is up, players check each other’s words. If words are correctly spelt, two additional points are scored for each. The winner is the player with the highest number of points.

www.theschoolrun.com

www.theschoolrun.com

1 2 4 5 7 8 16 14 12 11 9 18 19 20 22 23 32 30 28 27 25 33 34 36 37 39 40 Clue Cards

★ DEFINITION ★

Clue Cards

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

www.theschoolrun.com

★ DEFINITION ★

Clue Cards

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

www.theschoolrun.com

★ DEFINITION ★

Clue Cards

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

★ DEFINITION ★

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 5: Cat-beetle You’ll need:

Suitable for: EYFS & KS1 Number of players: 2 to 4 Helps practise... spelling simple words

Prepare the game

A Cat-beetle guide for the players, a pencil, piece of paper and personal word bank for each player and a dice.

Print out the Cat-beetle guide. Compile a personal word bank – a list of words to play with. You could use the words from a spelling test, high frequency words or words from a list you choose yourself.

How to play Each player draws a main circle for the cat’s body at the start of the game. Players take turns to throw the dice, needing to throw 1 in order to draw a cat’s head. Once the head has been drawn, a player may spell words and draw other parts of the cat according to the throw of the dice on each turn as indicated on the guide. For example, a throw of 4 will require the spelling of a four-letter word taken from the player’s personal word bank or another list of words. If the word is spelt correctly the player may draw a set of whiskers on their cat. The winner is the first player to complete their cat.

www.theschoolrun.com

Cat-beetle 3

1

3 5

2

5 4

Draw my body first Throw 1 to draw my head Then throw and spell: 2 for my nose 3 for each ear 4 for a set of whiskers 5 for each eye 6 for my tail

6

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 6: Crossing the river Suitable for: EYFS & KS1 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... spelling compound words

You’ll need:

A Crossing the river board, a set of Beginnings cards and a set of Endings cards and two counters.

Prepare the game Print out the Crossing the river board. Print out the compound word pictures provided and cut each one out separately. Pictures marked with B are Beginnings and pictures marked with E are Endings.

How to play Place a pile of Beginnings cards on the shaded area on the left of the board and Endings on the right. Each player must put their counter on the Start position. Players take turns to pick both a Beginning and an Ending (one card from each pile). If a compound word can be made from the two cards, that player keeps both cards and moves their counter one step across the stepping stones. If not, the cards are replaced at the bottom of each pile. The winner is the first player to reach the other side of the river, having correctly matched the appropriate number of cards.

www.theschoolrun.com

www.theschoolrun.com

Start

Beginnings cards

Start

Cro s s ing the riv er

finish

Endings cards

finish

E E B

B

E E



✴

B

B

E B E B

I



E

B

B

E

Beginnings and Endings words

www.theschoolrun.com

E B

E B

E B

E

E B

E B

B

E B

R

B

E

Beginnings and Endings words

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 7: Initial blend rummy Suitable for: EYFS & KS1 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... s pelling words with initial blends

You’ll need:

Magazines and old catalogues to cut up and at least 16 blank playing cards to paste pictures on to.

Prepare the game Cut out pictures of objects starting with initial blends. You will need at least four pictures for each initial blend – for example, a cl-own, cl-ock, cl-oud and cl-othes for cl- – and at least four different blends to play with. Prepare at least 16 pictures in total. Paste the pictures onto the blank playing cards provided.

How to play Deal four cards to each player, placing the rest in a pile. The aim is to collect a family of four pictures, all beginning with the same initial blend. Players should take turns to pick up/discard new pictures, trying to build up their own sets. The winner is the first player to complete their family of four initial blend pictures correctly.

www.theschoolrun.com

Initial blend rummy

www.theschoolrun.com

Initial blend rummy

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 8: Spell plus one You’ll need:

A Spell plus one scorecard for each player.

Suitable for: KS1 & KS2 Number of players: 2 to 4 Helps practise... spelling longer and longer words

How to play Each player has to come up with a two-letter word. If it is spelled correctly, the player gets two points. Then each player has to write a three-letter word, then a four-letter word, then a five-letter word and so on (use the scorecard provided). The winner is the player with most points at the end of the game. You could give the game an extra dimension by challenging your child to research the longest words in the English language. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, anyone?

www.theschoolrun.com

Spell plus one

Player: 2 letter-word: 3 letter-word: 4 letter-word: 5 letter-word: 6 letter-word: 7 letter-word: 8 letter-word:

Player: 2 letter-word: 3 letter-word: 4 letter-word: 5 letter-word: 6 letter-word: 7 letter-word: 8 letter-word:

www.theschoolrun.com

Spell plus one

Player: 2 letter-word: 3 letter-word: 4 letter-word: 5 letter-word: 6 letter-word: 7 letter-word: 8 letter-word:

Player: 2 letter-word: 3 letter-word: 4 letter-word: 5 letter-word: 6 letter-word: 7 letter-word: 8 letter-word:

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 9: Silly number plates Suitable for: KS1 & KS2 Number of players: a car-full Helps practise... w  riting creative sentences (and spelling!)

You’ll need:

A pencil and a blank number plate template.

How to play On your next car journey, give each player a pen and paper. Everyone has to write a sentence using all the letters from the number plate in front. For example, for KL55 TTY you might write: Kick Lollipops Til They Yawn. The winner is the one with the funniest answer – but it must be spelled correctly.

www.theschoolrun.com

Silly number plates

www.theschoolrun.com

Silly number plates

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 10: Dropping the e Suitable for: KS1 & KS2

You’ll need:

50 blank verb cards, Connect 4 (or a similar counters Helps practise... T  he spelling rule – game), paper and Drop the ‘e’ when you add ‘ing’ pencils.

Number of players: 2

Prepare the game Help your child prepare a list of 20 verbs that end in e – for example bake, like or ride. Then ask them to write a list of 30 verbs that don’t end in e. Write one verb on each of the 50 blank cards provided and cut them out. Each player must fold their paper into two columns headed ‘Drop the e’ and ‘No e’.

How to play Shuffle the 50 verb cards and put them face down on the table. The players take it in turns to take a card, then write down the verb+ing in the correct column. For every word they write correctly in the correct column they can drop a counter into the Connect 4 grid and try to make a row of four. If you run out of cards, shuffle the pack and use the cards again. The winner is the first player to make a row of four.

www.theschoolrun.com

Dropping the e

www.theschoolrun.com

Dropping the e

www.theschoolrun.com

Dropping the e

www.theschoolrun.com

Dropping the e

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 11: Spelling dice Suitable for: KS1 & KS2 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... blends and endings

You’ll need:

Two spelling dice (made from the dice template on the next page), paper and pencils.

Prepare the game Use the template to make two spelling dice cubes. One the faces of one die write initial consonant blends like bl-, cl-, fl-, br-, tr- and shand on the other die endings such as -ack, -ick, -ock, -ank, -ink and -ash.

How to play Players take it in turns to shake the dice and try to make a (real!) word from the initial blend and ending. Set a word target; the first player to write down the targeted number of words is the winner.

www.theschoolrun.com

Spelling dice

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 12: D is for dominoes You’ll need:

Suitable for: KS2 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... recognising correct opposites

A set of Opposites dominoes.

Prepare the game Print out the 20 Opposites dominoes and cut them out.

How to play Place two dominoes in the centre of the table, then divide the remaining dominoes between the players. They then take it in turns to add a domino to make a legitimate word. The winner is the first player to have no dominoes left.

www.theschoolrun.com

D is for dominoes

cember

de

story

de

scend

de

serve

de

sign

de

sire

de

spair

de

spise

de

spite

de

scribe

de

believe

dis

obey

dis

www.theschoolrun.com

D is for dominoes

organised

dis

able

dis

agree

dis

appear

dis

appoint

dis

honest

dis

loyal

dis

cover

dis

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 13: My aunt went to market Suitable for: EYFS, KS1 & KS2 Number of players: More than 3 Helps practise... a  lphabetical order and memorising a list

You’ll need:

Nothing! This game is perfect for car journeys.

How to play You can adapt this game to suit your family, the age of the individual players and a specific learning objective, but the general principle is that the players take it in turns to add items to a growing alphabetical list and then recount it. For example, player one starts with: ‘My aunt went to market and bought an apple.’ Player two follows with: ‘My aunt went to market and bought an apple and a banana.’ Player three continues with: ‘My aunt went to market and bought an apple, a banana and some cherries.’ To make the game more challenging for older children, ask them to add an adjective to each item on the list – for example, bruised bananas or crimson cherries.

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 14: Spelling stepping stones You’ll need:

Suitable for: EYFS & KS1 Number of players: 1 or 2 Helps practise... the weekly spelling test words

A4 scrap paper and some floor space.

Prepare the game Go through your child’s spelling test words and list all the letters they contain. Write one letter on each piece of paper (a stepping stone), then spread the pieces of paper over the floor.

How to play Spread the stepping stones out on the floor and ask your child to spell each of the words they have to learn by stepping from one letter to the next in the correct order. They could also hop, jump or leap between letters! You can make the game progressively more challenging by spreading the letters further apart after each correctly spelled word.

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 15: Silent letters Bingo You’ll need:

Suitable for: KS2 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... s pelling words which contain silent letters

A Silent letters Bingo scorecard for each player

How to play Each player will need a board and some bingo dabbers. The caller reads out the following words, some of which contain silent letters, and the players dab the ones they have, aiming for a complete line across or diagonally. knee aim

gnome knight

team bag with people knowledge fudge

spread

sign

flip

rain

pneumonia

great

are grim high comb tomb guard wind sword man guide which silent sound

juice

builder no

badge

film

know thumb

guest ring same column lamb scene wrong toe book

shadow join

knot

aisle sun bridge daughter plumber through chalk right

tie

debt

scissors wrap

night write tomb knife

The winner is the first person to get a complete line – but they must have circled the correct silent letter in all the words in their line.

www.theschoolrun.com

www.theschoolrun.com

aim no through write

knee

builder

plumber

night

tomb

chalk

know

gnome

Silent letters bingo

knife

debt

thumb

knight

www.theschoolrun.com

scene guard tie ring

lamb

tomb

right

guest

same

scissors

wind

wrong

Silent letters bingo

column

wrap

sword

toe

www.theschoolrun.com

sun great grim bag

aisle

flip

are

team

with

high

rain

bridge

Silent letters bingo

people

comb

pneumonia

daughter

www.theschoolrun.com

spread

fudge juice

knowledge

sound

badge

which

guide

man

join

shadow

book

Silent letters bingo

film

sign

silent

knot

Game 16: Syllable pairs Suitable for: KS1 & KS2 Number of players: 2

You’ll need:

12 Syllable picture cards and 12 Syllable number cards

Helps practise... counting syllables

Prepare the game Help your child look through catalogues and magazines and cut out small pictures of different things. Each picture will need to be stuck onto one of the blank Syllable picture cards. For each picture card you will also need to prepare a Syllable number card with the number of syllables contained in the word (so for example, a picture of a football would have a corresponding 2 card to match the two syllables in foot/ ball).

How to play Spread out all the picture cards, face down, on one half of the table and the number cards face down on the other half. Players take it in turns to turn over one of the picture cards and then try to find the matching number of syllables in the word from the number cards. The player with most pairs at the end of the game wins.

www.theschoolrun.com

Syllable pairs

www.theschoolrun.com

Syllable pairs

www.theschoolrun.com

Game 17: Spelling bee scorecards Suitable for: EYFS, KS1 & KS2 Helps practise... the weekly spelling test words

How to play

You’ll need:

This list of words your child has been asked to learn and a scorecard.

Make spelling-test prep a bit more fun by staging a kitchen-table spelling bee. Ask your child to fill in the ‘My list’ with their weekly spelling test words, or a list of tough spellings that they need extra practice with. They will also need a scorecard to complete. As their performance improves you could assign points to each correctly spelled word, decorate each completed scorecard with copious ticks and display it on the fridge for all to see. For interactive spelling bee games go to The Times Spelling Bee (http://www.timesspellingbee.co.uk/).

www.theschoolrun.com

www.theschoolrun.com

5.

5.

10.

9.

8.

6. 7.

3. 4.

10.

9.

8.

6. 7.

3. 4.

2.

1.

2.

1.

Name:

My list:

Spelling bee scorecards

10.

9.

8.

6. 7.

5.

3. 4.

2.

1.

Name:

Game 18: Rhyming cards

You’ll need: A set of Rhyming cards.

Suitable for: EYFS & KS1 Number of players: 2 Helps practise... rhyming words and sound patterns

Prepare the game Print out the Rhyming cards and cut them out. (You could also make your own cards by cutting out pictures from magazines and catalogues.)

How to play Place your Rhyming cards face up on a table, in any order, so the players can familiarise themselves with them. Turn the pictures face down and mix them up. Players take it in turns to turn over pairs of pictures, trying to find the ones which rhyme. The winner is the player with the most number of pairs at the end of the game.

www.theschoolrun.com

WELCOME

Rhyming cards

www.theschoolrun.com

m x b c j s c f h v y y f i h v p o g n c b i k b u e g s l b t k s h v g i e v i o h v i d h f x e r o e r a e n a t o l e s e s t e a r e l i q u e d o l u p t e s t r d p t a t e v o l o b s p i c a e s e d i t e a n e t e s s i n a t e j u e g j d f h k n g i h f o d a y v j h s i v a l w o r d s e a r c h e s r i o k h g d s i c x r g y h j i k q o v b f r e f l k c j h g t f g f r e d k j o u y f h q p o p s i k j u y h r t r f d e d s s r e t i c t n b k u o l f s a w a o k h u e y f s s h u l m t r p x t n v f r w a e y f s y f c d u k i u t d k s 1 r s e u n n c g n e x z i h u l o r n v s t p r g k s a n d o l u d a u g m m b j k i u y g k s 2 e h p o u k j a s i r k x w l p g d e s l w e u h g y f d s s o p l m v n u y h b n v c z p k s b m d o e o k h f d e t u i h g e a a n i t r j a s d i n b c i t p s k b c m s a h o l j r g n x y s b d www.theschoolrun.com

Reception Puzzlesearch 1 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid.

COME WANT MUM AWAY DAD

CAN GET SAID CAT BIG

LIKE DOG SEE

www.theschoolrun.com

Puzzlesearch 1 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

Reception Puzzlesearch 2 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid.

YOU DAY LOOK AND THEY

PLAY ALL THIS THE YES

FOR WAS SHE

www.theschoolrun.com

Puzzlesearch 2 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 1 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid.

COULD

ANOTHER

MONDAY

CALLED

BED

TWENTY

BACK

SCHOOL

MUCH

AFTER

JUMP

MANY

HOUSE

BROTHER

JUNE

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 1 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 2 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid. Remember, they might appear diagonally!

FRIDAY

SISTER

THEIR

THIRTEEN

PEOPLE

WOULD

GOOD

WHERE

PURPLE

MUST

THREE

YEAR

NIGHT

SHOULD

DOWN www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 2 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 3 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid. Some of them might appear backwards, so watch out for them!

THEM

EIGHT

DECEMBER

WHEN

ORANGE

WHITE

BECAUSE

THESE

TREE

MADE

WEEK

NEXT

SATURDAY

CAME

HOME www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 3 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 4 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid, but they might appear backwards, diagonally or the wrong way round. Good luck!

BEEN

TOOK

TAKE

FIRST

FIFTEEN

ELEVEN

HIM

ONCE

BLACK

WANT

NIGHT

LAUGH

NOW

FEBRUARY

WATER

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 4 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 5 Find the months Can you solve this puzzle? All the months in the year are hidden in this grid, but they might appear backwards, diagonally or the wrong way round. Good luck!

JANUARY

MAY

SEPTEMBER

FEBRUARY

JUNE

OCTOBER

MARCH

JULY

NOVEMBER

APRIL

AUGUST

DECEMBER

www.theschoolrun.com

KS1 Puzzlesearch 5 SOLUTION

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 1 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid. Remember to check forwards, backwards and diagonally!

ASKED

MIGHT

LIGHT

SISTER

BROUGHT

TURNED

BETTER

LADY

FOUND

AROUND

ALWAYS

SLEEP

IMPORTANT

BABY

BETWEEN

RIGHT

SWIMMING

SPADE

DIFFERENT

NURSE

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 1 SOLUTION

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 2 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid. Remember to check forwards, backwards and diagonally!

OUTSIDE

DURING

NOISY

FRIGHT

RIGHT

JUMPED

CAUGHT

FIRST

WHERE

WRITE

THERE

OTHER

MEAT

STOOD

ROOM

THOUGHT

SOMETIMES

ROUND

KNOW

SUCH

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 2 SOLUTION

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 3 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid. Remember to check forwards, backwards and diagonally!

THROUGH

TOLD

HAPPY

GOOD

TOGETHER

USED

BIRTHDAY

TUNE

SEAT

WRITE

CHILDREN

GOOSE

EARTH

SOMETHING

DOWN

PARK

HEARD

BALLOON

ROSE

BEING

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 3 SOLUTION

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 4 Find the words Can you solve this puzzle? All the words in the list below are hidden in this grid. Remember to check forwards, backwards and diagonally!

INSIDE

WHITE

THOSE

WHY

FOLLOWING

LEAVE

WITHOUT

BEING

SUDDENLY

ALMOST

ALONG

MORNING

WHILE

MUCH

SHARE

ROUND

WINDOW

CLOTHES

SNORE

AGAIN

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 4 SOLUTION

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 5 Find the words Fiendishly difficult, you’ll have to be a puzzlesearch expert to finish this one!

FATHER

UNTIL

BELOW

HARD

LIGHT

WHOLE

NEVER

TRAIN

BOILING

HEAD

GREEN

TODAY

BROWN

SHOW

THINK

OFTEN

GREAT

FLOOR

DOES

EVERY

STILL

YOUNG

PURPLE

MONEY

WATCH

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com

KS2 Puzzlesearch 5 SOLUTION

¢¢

www.theschoolrun.com