Ways to Practice Spelling Words: 14 Activities

We make a typing game, so some of these are typing activities. The rest need paper, a pencil and a few minutes. Use the list the teacher sent home.

A plan for the week

Day	Activity	What it is for
Monday	Read the list aloud, then copy each word once	Meeting the words
Tuesday	Type the list with every letter in view	Every letter, in order
Wednesday	Put the words in ABC order, or hide them in a word search	Looking closely at each word
Thursday	Look, say, cover, write, check	Spelling from memory
The night before	A practice test, then one more go at the missed words	Finding the last tricky ones

Change the days to suit your week. The plan goes from seeing the words to covering them.

With paper and pencil

Look, say, cover, write, check. Look at the word. Say it. Cover it. Write it from memory. Uncover it and check, letter by letter.
Three times each. Write each word three times, saying the letters as you go.
Stair steps. Write the first letter, then the first two on the next line, then the first three, until the whole word stands at the bottom.
Rainbow writing. Write the word in pencil, then trace over it in three colors.
A sentence each. Write one sentence for each word and underline the spelling word.
ABC order. Write the list out in alphabetical order. The ABC order page checks the answer, and has a game that asks for the next word.

On a keyboard

Type the list. Spelling practice turns your list into a typing game. The game waits for the right letter, so every word is finished correctly.
Take a practice test. The spelling test shows each word, covers it, and asks for it from memory. Missed words come back for another round. Where the device has a voice, it can say the word instead of showing it.
Type them in ABC order. The game on the ABC order page shows six of your words out of order and asks for the first one.

Games and puzzles

Word search. The word search maker hides your list in a grid, with an answer key.
Bingo. The box on the bingo page takes your own words. Call a word and spell it aloud together before covering it.
Flash card flip. Print the list as cards. Look at a card, turn it over, spell the word aloud, turn it back to check.

Out loud and on the move

Spell and bounce. Bounce or catch a ball once for each letter.
Quiz each other. Take turns being the teacher. The teacher reads a word and checks the spelling against the list.

When a word keeps going wrong

Find the tricky part. Circle the letters that went wrong and say them on their own: the "ie" in friend, the "au" in because.
Give that word its own round. After a practice test, the spelling test offers a round of just the missed words.
Come back to it tomorrow. A word that was right today is worth one more check on another day.

Your lists stay on your device. The tools here save nothing you type and send nothing to us.

Questions

What is the best way to practice spelling words?

There is no single best way. The plan on this page goes from seeing and copying the words, to typing or writing them with the word in view, to covering them and spelling from memory.

What is look, say, cover, write, check?

Look at the word, say it, cover it, write it from memory, then uncover it and check letter by letter.

How can I make spelling practice fun?

Turn the list into a game: a typing game, a word search, bingo, or a ball bounced once for each letter.

Can I use my own spelling list in these tools?

Yes. Spelling practice, the spelling test, ABC order, the word search maker, bingo and the flash cards all take a list you type or paste in. Nothing is saved or sent.