2

©The Mailbox®

Independently

Look at a word card; then lay

it facedown. Without looking

at the card, write the word

on a sheet of paper. After

you’ve written all the words,

check your spelling using the

flash cards.

In Pairs• Combine your flash card set

with a friend’s set. Shuffle the

cards and place them face-

down. Take turns selecting

two cards to find a match. Turn

mismatched cards back over;

keep the matched pairs. When

all cards have been matched,

the player with more matches is

the winner.

• Combine your flash card set

with a friend’s set and play Go

Fish!

Whole Class• Place your cards faceup in

a square to make a bingo board. As your teacher callsa word, turn over that flash card. Call “bingo” when you have turned over a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row of cards.

• As your teacher calls out a definition, hold up the card of the matching word.

Give Me a Clue Help each student master spelling by creating

riddles for words. The student must use phonic

and spelling rules to write a riddle for each word

on his list. If desired, have the student neatly

write his favorite riddles on colorful construc-

tion paper and display them around the room for

others to try to solve. Spelling

Speedy Spelling Have each small group of students sit in a circle

and then provide each group with a clipboard of

unlined paper and a marker. Call out a spelling word

and have one person in each group quickly write the

first letter of the word before passing the clipboard

to the student on his right. The second student then

quickly writes the second

letter of the word before

passing the clipboard

to the next student.

Groups continue in this

manner until the word

is spelled correctly.

The first group to

correctly spell the

word then chooses

the next word to

spell. Spelling

I have the prefix en-.

I have a suffix.

A synonym for my root word is bravery.

Which word am I?

becau

Get Flashy With Spelling

Liven up your weekly spelling lessons with the help of flash cards. On Monday have each

student make a set of spelling flash cards. Then, throughout the week, have students use

the flash cards with the activities below. Spelling

3©The Mailbox®

Spelling Hunt Supply a center with a copy of the week’s spelling list, graph paper, scissors, glue, and construction paper. Have a student program the graph paper with each spelling word as shown. Then have the student fill in the remaining boxes with random letters of the alphabet. The student then cuts out the word search and glues it to a sheet of construction paper. Allow the student to title and decorate his puzzle as desired. At the end of the week, pass out the word searches and chal-lenge students to find all their spelling words. What a great way to review for a test! Spelling

b c a u t i o n d m h w e n u c l o d a

k h x u a t a b p r c c d j z k a e b f

y g i h t i f i e k m l v s d m n o v s

j p p u q h r n s a u d i e n c e t o u

d v f b w x o y q s z a b k c r d l e a

f l e r u o g r h a x h s I f a l s e t

h s t j c w p k l u m n p m w w o f p y

a r w i y l a u n c h v r s t l n u g i

v o d w q x y z a e k b a c b d e i f g

c h x g i f m r j t o k w l m r y e j n

o p l s q s o u g h t r l q s s o t u r

v w g x b I w h p g j y x z c l p a g b

y c d u j e a r z m f d g k h i j k d l

One Letter at a Time Divide students into two teams for this relay spelling game. Read aloud a sentence containing a spelling word. At the signal, the first student from each team goes to the board, writes the first letter of the spelling word, tags the next team member, and goes to the back of the line. The next student goes to the board and writes the next letter or corrects a single letter of a previous mistake. The first team to spell the word correctly earns a point. Then read aloud another sentence and continue play. The team with more points wins. Spelling

Tune In To Spelling Provide each student with a file folder, a ruler, a pencil, scissors, and markers or colored pencils.

Direct the student to write her name on the folder’s tab and “Tune In to Spelling” at the top. Next,

have the student draw a 3" x 3" square in the center of the folder, and a larger square around that

square to create a television set as shown. Instruct the student to add details to the TV set; then

have her cut along both vertical lines of the inside square.

After introducing the week’s spelling words, give each student a sentence strip. Then guide her

through the steps below to complete the organizer.

1. Use a marker to divide the sentence strip into three-inch segments (front and back).

2. Write a spelling word in each segment.

3. Weave the sentence strip from the back of the top

leaf of the file folder, up through the right slit, and

down through the left slit. 4. Pull the strip across the screen to study each

spelling word. For added practice, have each student complete a copy

of the contract on page 4. Before duplicating, program the

stars on the sheet with the number of activities a student

should complete to earn each grade listed on the sheet.

Direct her to keep the contract inside her folder along

with any completed work. Spelling

uni uniqu

Catherine SmithTune In to Spelling

vacuum reliable

4 ©The Mailbox®

Note to the teacher: Use with “Tune In to Spelling” on page 3.

1. Find and cut out the letters that spell each spelling word in a newspaper or magazine. Arrange the letters to spell each word; then glue the letters onto a sheet of construction paper. 2. Write the letters that spell each word on index cards, a different letter on each card. Shuffle the cards and use them to play a game of Go Fish with a friend.

3. Choose five words. Write a different sentence using the letters of each word. Example: real—Robin eagerly ate lasagna. 4. Practice spelling your words with your parent. 5. Choose three different spelling words. Write each word in a way that illustrates its meaning.

Example:

6. Write one sentence that contains as many of your spelling words as possible. 7. Have a friend write a list of the words, misspelling ten of them. Identify the misspelled words by circling them; then spell each word correctly.

8. Choose five different spelling words. Write each letter of each word on a different strip of construction paper. Glue the strips together to create a word chain for each word.

9. Spell each word on your list, substituting a blank for each vowel. For example, spell docile as d _ c _ l _. Then pair up with a classmate and solve each other’s puzzles. 10. Choose five different words. For each word, write as many different rhyming words as possible. Example: weigh—pray, convey, neigh, obey

Write your spelling words on the television screen below. Then read each of the following activities. Choose the number of activities

you will complete. After completing each activity, color the box next to that task to indicate that you have finished it.I will complete _____ activities this week.

Tune In To Spelling

= A — Star Show! = B — Great Show! = C — Good Show!

Example:

Name

Spelling contract

Date

5

©The Mailbox®Have each child write her words on a copy of the page at the beginning of the week and then use

the page to guide her spelling practice for the rest of the week.

How to Use

“Paws-ing” for Spelling

Writeeachspellingwordandthenlistallthesmallerwordsyoucanfindwithinit.Ifoneofthesmallerwordshassomethingtodowithwhatthewordmeans,circleit.(Forexample:spotlight—spot,pot,light)

Usingthegridbelow,writethecoordinatesthatspelleachword.

Write each of your spelling words on a bone. Then use

the activities below to study your words.

Lookupeachwordinadictionaryandcopyitspronunciation.Thenpracticesayingeachwordthreetimesinarow.

Writeeachwordandthenwriteafractionthatrepresentsthenumberofvowelsintheword.Next,writeafractionthatrepresentsthenumberofconsonantsintheword.Thenaddthefractions.Thesumshouldbeone.(Forexample:vivid— 2_

5 lettersarevowels, 3_5

lettersareconsonants, 2_5 + 3_

5 =1) Createajingleorcatchysonginwhichyousingeachwordanditsspelling.

Createaminiposterthatshowseachwordanditssyllables.Makethepostereye-catching.

Useyourspellingwordsinastoryaboutarealoranimaginarydog.

Writearhymingword,synonym,antonym,ordefinitionforeachword.

U RN FG

AY

VT LD

XOM I

CW

PBK

Z QS HJ

E

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name

Spelling

Date

9

©The Mailbox®

Name ___________________________________________ Date _______________________

Note to the teacher: Use with page 8.

Coordinate Spelling

Spelling

Choose 12 words from your spelling list.Write the coordinate pairs to spell each word.Ask a friend to decode each word.

Example: (9,2), (5,9), (8,0), (11,1), (17,7), (9,2) = enable

Use with your own word list!

1. ___________________________________ 2. ___________________________________ 3. ___________________________________ 4. ___________________________________ 5. ___________________________________ 6. ___________________________________

7. ___________________________________ 8. ___________________________________ 9. ___________________________________ 10. ___________________________________ 11. ___________________________________ 12. ___________________________________

XY

ZW

UV

TS

RPQ

ON

M

KLJ

IH

GDE

FB

CA

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

6

©T

he Mailbox

®

©The Mailbox®

Wild About Spelling

Name

Spelling contract

Date

Write your spelling words on the lines. Then complete ____ of the activities to practice your words.

Note to the teacher: Program the student directions on a copy of this page with the number of activities to be completed. Then copy the page for each student.

Spotlight Them: List all the smaller

words you see within each spelling word.

For example, in spotlight, find the words

spot, pot, and light.

Take a Look Back: Use three-fourths

of your words to describe yesterday.

Find a Rhyme: Name a word or phrase

that rhymes or nearly rhymes with each

word.

Hit the Gas: See how fast you can spell each word

correctly.

Express Yourself: Use shapes and sizes of letters

to express each word’s meaning.

Be on the Lookout: Find each word in a book,

magazine, newspaper, or online. Record each word’s

location when you find it.

Sort Them: Sort the words into three groups. Label

the groups and record them in a three-column chart.

Quick Draw: Illustrate each word’s

meaning. If you can’t think of a drawing

that will show what the word means,

describe it.

Break Them Apart: Write each

word with dots that show where the

syllable breaks are. Then sort the

words according to the number of

syllables they have.

1 ___________________________________

2 ___________________________________

3 ___________________________________

4 ___________________________________

5 ___________________________________

6 ___________________________________

7 ___________________________________

8 ___________________________________

17 ___________________________________

18 ___________________________________

19 ___________________________________

20 ___________________________________

9 ___________________________________

10 ___________________________________

11 ___________________________________

12 ___________________________________

13 ___________________________________

14 ___________________________________

15 ___________________________________

16 ___________________________________

7

SPELLING SPEEDWAY

Complete ____ of the activities listed below. Color in the racetrack section each time you complete its activity.

Note to the teacher: Before duplicating the contract, fill in the number of activities you want each student to complete. Give one copy to each student. Instruct students to color in the racetrack

segment for each activity they complete.

Write your spelling

words using the

hand you normally

don’t write with.

Divide each

spelling word

according to

its syllables.

Make a word search

with your spelling

words on graph paper.

Then trade papers

with a friend and solve

each other’s puzzles.

Write your

words in reverse

alphabetical

order.

Find as many of

your spelling words

as possible

in the book you

are currently reading.

Then copy the

sentences that

contain the words. Write a song

or rap using

as many of your

spelling words

as possible.

Make flash cards

of your

spelling words.Write a creative story

using as many of

your spelling words

as possible.

Be sure to underline

each spelling word

in the story.

Write several

silly sentences,

each using

three of your

spelling words.

Use your spelling

words to make

a word scramble.

Then trade papers

with a friend and

solve each

other’s

puzzles.

Find out how much

each spelling word

is worth if

A = 1 point,

B = 2 points,

C = 3 points,

and so on.

Write a poem

using as many

of your

spelling words

as possible.

Make a

crossword puzzle

with your

spelling words.

Be sure to make

an answer key.

Classify

your spelling words

into categories

based on

each word’s

part of speech.

Write

sentences

using the letters

in each word.

Example:

tree = Tom really

enjoys eggs.

Name

Spelling contract

Date

©The Mailbox®

10

©The Mailbox®

Find two antonyms each for five of your spelling words. List each word and its antonyms.

Choose the most interesting word on your list. Cut out related words and pictures from old magazines to make a mini collage.

Write your words using the code below and colored pencils.

Choose five of the most challenging words on your list. Complete a word map for each word.

Do the practice page “Splashy Spelling Adventures.” Select six words. In an envelope, place clues related to those words. Have a pal look at each clue, guess the word, and spell it.

Example: disease

Create riddles for half of your spelling words. Post them where others will read them.

On graph paper, make a crossword puzzle with at least half of your words. Trade your puzzle with someone else who made one. Complete your pal’s puzzle.

Design a cartoon strip. Include at least eight of your words in the characters’ dialogue.

Spelling

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

89

Note to the teacher: Provide old magazines and small pieces of construction paper for activity 2, envelopes for activity 6, and graph paper

for activity 8. Program the student directions with the number of activities to be completed. Then copy the page and page 11 (back-to-back if

desired) for each student.

Antonyms:Part of speech:

Sentence:

Definition:

I’m a six-letter word that’s a synonym of messy.I have the prefix un-.What word am I?

Answer: untidy

A Pumpkin Head’s Life

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Down1. 2.

3. 4.

root, base, or familiar part = red prefix = blue suffix = green inflected ending (-ed, -ing) = orange

plural ending = purple none of the above = brown

Word:

electricitycurrentp

osit

ive

conductor volt

insu

latio

nen

ergy

neg

ativ

e

FLU SHOTSNo appointment necessary.

Name _________________________________Date _______________________Choose ___ or more activities to do.When you finish an activity, color its number.

Synonyms:

Use with your own word list!

My Word Antonym Antonymordinary abnormal unusual

8©The Mailbox®

Choose ___ or more activities to do.

When you finish an activity, color its number.

Name _________________________________

Date _______________________

Find two synonyms each

for half of your spelling words.

Use a thesaurus. List each

word and its synonyms.

Choose three words.

Write and illustrate an acrostic

poem about each word.

Write each of your words

using the following color code.

Choose six words.

Compose a sentence to help

you remember its spelling.

Do the practice page

“Coordinate Spelling.”

Find a word in a

dictionary. Flag and read the

entries. Share four of your

most interesting findings with

a friend.

Write each word on a

paper slip. Sort to classify the

words in each of the following

ways:

Use graph paper to make

a word search puzzle of your

words. Have a friend complete

the puzzle.

Write lost-and-found ads

for four words. Describe each

word clearly without naming

it. Ask a friend to read the ads

and guess your words.

Spelling

12

3

45 6

7 89

Note to the teacher: Provide sticky notes for activity 6, slips of paper for activity 7, and graph paper for activity 8. Program the student

directions with the number of activities to be completed. Then copy the page and page 9 (back-to-back if desired) for each student.

Use with your

own word list!

hungryempty

starved

Wonder spun of silken threads

Ever so carefully sewn

Beaded now with drops of dew

propel

P lump rabbits o bserved

people eating lettuce.

• bypartofspeech

• bynumberofletters

• bynumberofsyllables

• byinitialconsonantorvowel

• inalphabeticalorder

G R P O H Y L A R G E R A M

Q L O N G E R L U Z I L H R

B O I U W I D E R S K O A B

N U T G V D C L O S E R R M

T D A P H N S T S O C X D E

I E D F X T W V H F G J E J

K S M A L L E R E T L N S W

I T W S J O E R C E B E T F

C Q E H O T T E R R A W M X

prefix = green

root = red

suffix = blue

none of the above = orange

This well-rounded, two-syllable

word begins like credit and crest.

The second syllable is another

word for a penny. If seen, call

555-0001.Answer: crescent

11

©The Mailbox®

Name ____________________________________________________________________ Date ____________________________

Copy each of your spelling words wherever it fits the description.Underline the part or parts that qualify it for that location.

Note to the teacher: Use with page 10.

Splashy Spelling Adventures

Spelling

twosyllablesthreeormoresyllables

prefix

suffix

short-vowelsound

r-controlledvowel

long-vowelsound

silentletter