Hands on spelling activities

25 Hands-On Spelling Activities That Feel Just Like Play

We all know that spelling is the ability to correctly string a series of letters together to make a word, but do we recognize its importance? When students can correctly spell words, it improves their overall reading and writing skills. As students learn to spell, they make connections between letters and their sounds, which spills over into being able to sound out new words. Spelling is also a key component of teaching sight words, which aren’t usually decodable following traditional phonics rules. Recognizing spelling words can also boost comprehension skills and improve writing. While simply copying spelling words is usually quite boring for students, there are many ways to build spelling practice into your lesson plans. Here are 25 spelling activities that your students will love.

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1. Stamp out words in play dough

Give students some dough and letter stampers and have them stamp out their spelling words. Letter-shaped cookie cutters are an alternative to letter stampers. Provide a cookie sheet to help keep the mess to a minimum!

2. Spell words with a stamp pad

Provide students with a stack of index cards, a stamp pad, and some letter stamps. Encourage them to stamp out each of their spelling words, one on each index card. This activity also allows students to use their index cards as flashcards so they can practice their spelling words during free time or at home.

3. Put old keyboards to use for spelling practice

Keep a few old keyboards on hand to build in some fun spelling word practice. Younger students especially love to pretend to do “work,” and allowing them to type their spelling words is a great paper-free way to build in some extra practice.

4. Stick and spell with alphabet stickers

Purchase inexpensive alphabet stickers at discount or dollar stores for your students to stick and spell onto index cards, which can double as flashcards.

5. Trace words in shaving cream

This is one of the most hands-on spelling activities. Squirt shaving cream on a cookie sheet or large tray and have your students trace their spelling words right in the cream. After each word, they can swirl the shaving cream around to create a canvas for their next word.

6. Jump and spell with sidewalk chalk

Write the letters of the alphabet on the cement using sidewalk chalk. Call out a spelling word and your students can learn to spell it by jumping on the letters in the correct order. Even better, write several sets of letters and put kids in groups so they can work together to practice their words.

7. Use blocks to build words

Gather several building block mats and blocks in many sizes. Students can spell their words using the blocks to create the letters.

8. Spell words using dot stickers

Write individual letters on dot-shaped stickers. Students can peel off letters and stick them to index cards or post-it notes.

9. Lay out words using letter cards

Use a fun font to create individual letter cards. Print or copy the letters large enough for students to easily move them around and cut them out. Encourage them to lay out their spelling words.

10. Spell with alphabet erasers

Check dollar and discount stores for novelty erasers shaped like letters. They are a quick and easy way for students to practice their spelling words.

11. Have fun with letter magnets

Letter magnets are easy to find in discount and dollar stores and are a terrific way to encourage spelling word practice. Provide magnetic cookie sheets or small magnetic white boards and your students can get in some good practice.

12. Collect the right letters using tweezers

Not only is this a fantastic way to practice spelling words, but it also helps build fine motor skills. Lay out plastic tweezers and small letter beads or magnets and students can pinch the letters one-by-one to spell each word.

13. Spell with letter tiles

Use letter tiles to have students spell each word. Letter tiles often have numbers printed on them, as well, which you can have your students use to add up and find the “value” of each spelling word for a little math with their spelling!

14. Cut and paste from magazines

Stash a few old magazines in your classroom and your students can practice their spelling words by cutting out letters. Like a few previous activities, students can glue the letters to index cards to create flashcards.

15. Rearrange some noodles to spell words

Cook up a batch of spaghetti noodles and bring them to school with you. Your students can use the cold noodles to create the letters that make up each of their spelling words.

16. Bend pipe cleaners into letters and words

Stock up on pipe cleaners in a variety of colors, and your students can use them to form letters. They can line these letters up to spell out their spelling words.

17. Use pompoms to trace the letters

Pompoms are cheap and can be used for so many things, including spelling activities. Your students can use the pompoms to create letters to spell out their spelling words. This can work with any number of small objects, such as buttons or novelty erasers.

18. Hold a spelling bee

Turn spelling practice into a friendly competition by holding a class spelling bee. Outline the rules ahead of time, give your students some time to review their words, and then get spelling. This is also a fun alternative to the traditional spelling test.

19. Hunt for letters in sand

Fill a container with something like colored sand or rice. Throw in some letter beads or magnet letters and stir them into the sand or rice. Have your students go on a word hunt by digging through the container to find the correct letters to spell their words.

20. Rearrange mixed up letters into the right word

Cut strips of card stock and use a marker to divide the strip into sections – one section for each letter of your spelling words. Write each spelling word on a strip, mixing up the letters so they are scrambled. Your students will cut the letters apart and put the puzzle together by arranging them to spell words.

21. Flip words and give students a mirror

Gather a bunch of colored index cards and write a spelling word on each one but write each of the letters backward. Give your students the cards and a mirror. They will hold each card up to the mirror to be able to read and spell the word they see aloud.

22. Have students test each other

Write each of your spelling words on index cards. Then, write each spelling word again, but spell it wrong this time. Mix the cards up and have your students “grade” the words by sorting them into two piles – one with correctly spelled words and one with incorrectly spelled words.

23. Go on a scavenger hunt for spelling words

Give your students a list of their spelling words and challenge them to go on a scavenger hunt to find as many of them as they can. You can do this in your classroom by having them read books to find their words, or you can take them on a walk around the school to see how many words they can find.

24. Make a bracelet with letter beads

Set out alphabet beads and string and have your students make bracelets that spell out their spelling words. To save on cost and repeated trips to the store, let the students wear their bracelets for the day and then take them apart so they can be used again during future spelling practice times.

25. Spell words with lettered pop-its or bubble wrap

Use these trendy little learning tools to help your students learn their spelling words. Write a letter on each pop and let your students push them down to spell out their words. Bubble wrap will achieve the same goal!

Every time you provide your students with some hands-on learning, you’re showing them that learning can be fun! Introduce a few of these spelling activities into your classes and you’ll see better spellers, happier students, and higher spelling test scores.

25 Hands On Spelling Activities for Any List

Memories flash back to me standing alongside my peers in Elementary School.  My fingers are crossed behind my back, standing stiff as a board.  Hoping and wishing for an easy word.  I didn’t want to be the first one to sit down if I spelled it wrong.  The exercise is called our “spelling practice” to prove how well we’ve been studying… the result is pure anxiety torture!  

I promised myself I would never do a spelling activity like that in my classroom!  I want students to feel comfortable and able to express that they don’t know something and not feel shamed by it.  How will I address this goal and promise of mine?  Why hands-on spelling activities of course!  

Below you will find 25 Hands-On Spelling Activities that you can use with ANY spelling list.   Either 10 words, 12 words, 15, or even 20!  The number doesn’t matter and the materials needed for most of these activities are found in almost every classroom!  Numbers 15, 17, and 19 are my favorite off of this list!!  I cannot wait to hear what yours will be…

1 ~ Pattern Block Spelling 

Build your spelling words with pattern blocks.  My students love to look off of their paper to create their words with pattern blocks.  Once they create their words they go in and color in the blocks how they built it.

2 ~ Stamp and Spell

All you need for this activity are some letter stampers.  Feel free to switch this activity up a bit using different mediums.  You could use ink pads to stamp your words onto paper.  Next time you bring out the stampers feel free to use play-dough instead.

To make this a cross-curricular activity and make your own play-dough in the classroom!  Here is a recipe for you to use and feel free to adapt it by adding glitter or a few drops of your favorite essential oils!

3 ~ Play Dough Activities

Besides stamping in the play dough, you can create letters and words manipulating the dough itself.   My Type A personality really shines through making sure that each student has their own playdough cans… because MIXED COLORS are a BIG NO-NO for me!

4 ~ Clothespins

Have any extra clothespins lying around?  Write some letters on them with a marker.  Students can work individually or in small groups to spell a word using the pins.  A great fine motor activity from OT Toolbox and SugarAunts to have them pinch the pin open to clasp onto a board or paper spelling the correct word.

5 ~ Spelling Strings

Wow!  Another great fine motor activity here! You can use a few different materials for this activity. Using alphabet beads you could string your word.  Also, if beads are not readily available for you to use, the string is drawn for you, have your students use letter tiles, letter magnets, letter anything!

6 ~ Egg Hunt Mix Up

Who Doesn’t love an egg hunt?!?   I like to cut up spelling words and include the letters inside an egg.   Hide the eggs throughout the classroom and when it is the group’s turn, they must find all of the eggs and spell the words correctly using the tiles inside.  Hey… you don’t even need to do this around Easter time either.  No judgment here! 

7 ~ Spin It & Spell It

My students love and often request this particular activity.  Using a pencil and a paper clip the children use the spinner to decide what words to write below.  Once they spin the paper clip holding it in place with their pencil, it will land on a number.  Whatever number they land on is the word they write in a box below.

8 ~ “Graffiti Wall”

Depending on the weather outside, sometimes we conduct this activity outside or quietly in the hallway.  I use a large piece of bulletin board paper that I tape or pin to the wall.  Next, I provide each student a different spelling word.  In their best “graffiti” style they would write, color, and provide their own artistic take to their design.    After we all stand back and take a look at our spelling list, noting and spelling each word individually.

9 ~ Multi-Sensory Writing Without a Pencil Activities

I had the opportunity to write a different blog post on 13 Fun Ways to Get Reluctant Writers Writing.  So many of these activities and materials fit well within spelling.  #1 and #11 are my favorites to do in the classroom!  Who doesn’t love writing in shaving cream?!?

10 ~ Lego “Build A Word”

This activity has a similar setup to the clothespin activity.  To start, This Reading Mama suggests writing letters on individual lego blocks.  Students could work individually or in small groups to connect their blocks to spell the word correctly.  You can differentiate this activity to have each letter in the word on the same color block or mixed up.

11 ~ Typing Spelling Words & Tablet Spelling

Students are able to type their words on the keyboard or tablet before writing them in the box or speech bubble.

12 ~ Hopscotch Grid

Here is another activity to do either inside or outside.  Outside, you can draw a large hopscotch board.  Inside I usually write the words on pieces of paper and organize them in a way to resemble a hopscotch board.  Students can toss a bean bag or a crumbled piece of paper to a word.  Hopping to the word using the board, the student must spell the word that their object landed on before hopping back.

13 ~ Flashlight Spelling

I love (and so do my students) our “Flashlight Friday” moments.  We use our flashlights to read in the dark and now I found another activity to use for all my flashlights! Students can begin by tracing the words with their flashlights first.  Then they can go to a blank space and “write” their words on the wall.

14 ~ Spelling Memory Game

Played as a typical memory game, where students have to flip over two cards at a time until they receive a match.  However, this time it is with their spelling words.   I like to have my students create their own cards for extra practice writing their words.  They write them in two blocks and then cut out their cards to play in pairs.

15 ~ Spelling Relay Races

One of many on this list that is in my “favorites” category!  The students enjoy this game because it is played in two teams.  In a bucket, at the end of a table, all the letter tiles are placed.  One person at a time from each team must run to the end of the table and grab ONE letter tile.  Once they run back and place the tile on the table, the next student goes to grab the next tile or letter in the word.  The team continues until the entire word is spelled.  

16 ~ Sign Language Spelling

Students are able to learn a little bit about sign language with this awesome resource!  This activity introduces students to ASL and the alphabet.  By spelling their spelling words they are able to sign each letter as they go.  Once they finished the word, they are able to check off the box before moving on.   This activity could easily be individual, pairs, small group or whole group!

17 ~ Spelling Go-Fish

Remember those cards that I had my students make back in #14’s Memory Game?  Well, I have another use for them!  Spelling Go-Fish!  Another student favorite!  Students have a select number of cards in their hands (e.g. 5).  Played as a typical game of “Go-Fish”, students ask their partner if they have a spelling word that they have in their hand.  I have them say the word, spell it, then say it again in the question.  “Do you have sure?”  “S-U-R-E” “Sure?”.  The partner replies either “Yes/No”, “I do/do not have sure, s-u-r-e, sure”.  If they don’t have the card the student needs to pick from the pile of other spelling words.  The game continues until all matches are collected.

18 ~ Jump & Spell

A great spring activity! While outside write all the letters of the alphabet in chalk.  Provide a student a word and they must jump from letter to letter spelling the word.

19 ~ Yoga Spelling

I absolutely love to incorporate movement breaks throughout the school day.  Not only for myself, but for my students as well.  For this activity have your students write the spelling word in the box and when they are completed, they should try the pose for each word.

20 ~ Dot Paint

Using a Q-tip or a Bingo dabber, students can “write” or “paint” their spelling words.  To start, students may have to trace the word letter by letter using the Q-tip or dabber.  After some practice, students should be able to “write” the word without the visual prompt.

21 ~ Lego Activity

I am pulling out the legos again from #10!  This time instead of spelling block by block, the students need to be a bit more creative! As Creative Family Fun shows,  on a flat piece of a lego board, students must use blocks to spell the word on the flat.  The thin lego pieces work the best for this activity.

22 ~ Spelling Exercises

Think of a Gross-Motor “Simon Says” Game!  Just include your spelling list and some basic exercises!  Have students spell their words while working out.   “Jumping Jacks to spell C-H-A-M-P” or “Squats to “P-L-A-N-T”.  This activity also pairs well with Education to the Core’s Spelling Bee Center Resource.

23 ~ Body Letters

Make the letters of each word with your body as you spell the word aloud.  

24 ~ Vowel / Consonant Cubes

Students are able to write their words in each of the boxes.  Next, color all the vowels red and consonants blue.  As an extension activity students can re-create their words using red and blue unifix-connect cubes. Have them pass it to a friend to see if they can guess which word they spelled just by looking at the pattern.  This is also a great teaching tool to show how blends and digraphs are going to be two blue blocks together.  If there two reds together – a vowel team.  Blue, red, blue, red…probably in most cases, going to be a long vowel silent e.

25 ~ Write the Room Spelling

Placing the spelling words throughout the room.  Students can take their clipboards and recording sheet to walk around the room recording the words they find.

I hope you found some great ideas in these 25 Hands-On Spelling Activities for Any Word List!  How do you get your students up and moving?  Can you incorporate spelling into that activity?  We would love to hear from you in the comments below.  Please don’t be shy when it comes to adding your strategies and fun spelling activities!   Also, let us know if you tried some of these activities and how they went!

Written by: Christopher Olson

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