creative ways to help my son w/his spelling words?

brownsugarbabe

My son is in 1st grade and is now having weekly spelling test, he didnt do so great on the two test that were just trial test that were no counted. I am looking for creative and helpful ways to help him effectively learn his words

TIA

DandR

One thing my DD did at her school.

They wrote all the words one time.  Then on each word they would roll a dice.  If 3 came up, they would trace the letters with 3 different color crayons.  if 1 came up, trace with one color.

Also--we do a "practice" test at home.  And any word that she misses she has to write out a few times.

I also occasionally talk to her, using her spelling words and instead of saying them, I spell them out.  "Oh, you are such a f-l-a-k-e, Tay...what did I just spell!!!" 

DandelionMom

My first grader likes spelling puzzles -- write out the word, cut it apart letter by letter, and reassemble the word.  She also practices by writing it out a few times. 

littlemermaid

Our school also does the "rainbow" spelling where they trace the word with different colors, and just writing out the word multiple times.  I also have magnetic letters that we use to spell the words.  My daughter also loves just using a dry-erase board to spell the words on and then she draws me a picture of that word.  We have also spelled the words out to a nursery rhymes(like the B-I-N-G-O song).

brownsugarbabe

Thank you everyone for all of the great suggestions!!!! I am going to be using all of these techniques this weekend! will update after his test on wednesday. thank you

DaniSev

On Back to School night, DS's teacher gave some great ways to practice for their weekly spelling tests:

Rainbow spelling: Writing each word and tracing over in 3 different colors

Ladder words: Writing each word 1 letter at a time. Creating a ladder affect

Ex: Cat

C

Ca

Cat

Ghostwriting: Tracing the word out on your back

Dribble, dribble, shoot: Boys love this..Dribble a basketball as they shout out each letter to spell the word and then shoot the ball as they say the word. Ex: (dribble) c (dribble) a (dribble) t (shoot) CAT!

notkateanymore

If he likes computer games, our school recommended SpellingCity.com and we like it. A friend uses a dry erase board for practice, which is kinda fun and different. My DD is the kind of kid that if it's too fun, she forgets to pay attention to the actual learning part. So we use a combonation of spellingcity.com, flashcards and copying the words down a couple of times each.

sweetsurrender9

We use the dry erase board that Kate mentioned; SS loves it.  He writes each word two or three times each on the first day of the week, then once each other day.  He also goes to spellingcity.com.  You can input your child's list, and he can play a variety of games.  We'll also spell with bath foam in the tub.  I spray it on the wall, then he writes his words with his fingers in the foam.

stephsteph77

One of the spelling activities my students really enjoy is "delicious words". Put sugar (or peanut butter or whatever you want) on a cookie sheet and use a finger to spell out the words. The kids love the mess, and love licking their spelling off their fingers! Also, I asked my students who always get 100% if they would share how they study with the class. Most said their parents test them, then they write the words they get wrong several times, then they retest. Granted, these are 4th graders, but it works for them!

CubbyMama

Do the lists have a spelling pattern to them?  Ideally, you want to teach the concept behind the spelling words rather than just have them memorize the spelling, which they'll often forget about 12 seconds after the spelling test, even if they score 100%.   If the teacher is using a spelling curriculum purchased by the district rather than making up his/her own lists, I would assume the words have certain spelling/phonics patterns in common. 

For example, if several of the words use "ar" to make the "ARRR!" (pirate) sound, talk about that and practice sounding out the words using the spelling rules your child knows or is practicing.  Kids are much more likely to remember a pattern or rule (especially if you repeat it several times over the course of days/weeks, and/or have a cutesy way to remember it) than just a rote memorization of the spelling.  GL!