Spelling is a cornerstone of effective communication and literacy, but mastering it can often be a challenge for young learners.
Making spelling practice engaging can transform what many students consider a tedious task into an exciting learning adventure.
To transform spelling into an exciting and interactive adventure, it’s essential to incorporate activities that not only reinforce spelling rules but also captivate students’ imaginations and encourage active participation.
This collection of 35 interactive spelling activities moves beyond traditional worksheets and memorization to offer dynamic, hands-on approaches that keep kids excited about mastering words.
Whether you’re teaching in a classroom or working with children at home, these engaging activities will help young spellers build confidence and competence while having fun.
1. Spelling with Mini Cups
Spelling with mini cups is an effective method to enhance letter recognition and word formation skills. Start by placing stickers on small cups, each labeled with a letter of the alphabet.
Arrange the cups to form simple words, encouraging the learner to replicate them or create new ones using the available letters. This activity reinforces phonics and helps in understanding the sequence of letters in words.
Learn more: 123 Homeschool for Me
2. Watercolor Resist Spelling Words
Engage students in a creative spelling activity by having them write their spelling words with white crayons on white paper. When they paint over the paper with watercolors, the written words resist the paint, magically revealing the spellings.
Learn more: Creative Family Fun
3. Popcorn Spelling Fun
Prepare printed popcorn kernels, each labeled with a single letter, and place them in a container. Provide a list of CVC words, and guide the learner to pick the kernels and arrange them to form the correct words.
Learn more: Modern Preschool
4. Magnetic Letter Spelling Fun
Spelling with magnetic letters is a practical way to develop word-building skills. Arrange a set of magnetic letters on a flat surface or magnetic board. Provide a word list and guide the learner to select and align the letters to form each word.
Learn more: ABC’s of Literacy
5. Spelling Word Practice with Water Beads
Spelling word practice with water beads offers a sensory approach to learning. Scatter letter tiles in a container filled with water beads, ensuring they are evenly hidden. Provide a list of words and guide the learner to search for the required tiles to spell each word correctly.
Learn more: There’s Just One Mommy
6. Squish, Stamp, and Spell
Use a word list to create simple to complex words, encouraging focus on correct spelling. For variation, introduce themed words or challenge the learner to spell without a reference list.
Learn more: This Little Home of Fun
7. Thread It and Spell It
Provide letter beads and a string, along with a list of sight words. Instruct the learner to thread the beads onto the string to spell each word, following the correct sequence.
Learn more: Childhood 101
8. Make Words with Alphabet Clothespins
Making words with alphabet clothespins is an interactive way to practice spelling and letter recognition. Provide a set of clothespins, each marked with a letter of the alphabet, and a flat surface or board for arranging them.
Guide the learner to choose clothespins and clip them in the correct order to form simple words.
Learn more: Creative Family Fun
9. Travel the Spelling Road with Transportation CVC Sliders
Create a set of sliders featuring different modes of transportation (such as cars, buses, and planes) with slots for consonants, vowels, and consonants. The learner slides the correct letters into the designated slots to form simple CVC words. Start with easy words like “leg” or “men,” and progress to more complex combinations.
Learn more: Royal Baloo
10. Sorting Right and Wrong Spellings
Provide a selection of words, some with correct spellings and others with intentional mistakes. The learner sorts the words into two categories: one for correctly spelled words and the other for incorrectly spelled ones.
Learn more: In the Playroom
11. Pool Noodle Spelling Stack
Cut pool noodles into small sections and write a letter on each piece. Place a tissue holder upright, and guide the learner to slide the noodle pieces onto the holder to spell out words.
Begin with simple words and gradually increase the difficulty by using longer or more complex words. Provide a word list for reference or encourage the learner to spell independently.
Learn more: The Happy Teacher Co
12. Fishing for Spelling Words
Prepare paper fish, each marked with a letter, and attach a small metal clip to each. Create a simple fishing rod using a stick, string, and a magnet as the hook. Scatter the fish in a container or on a flat surface. Provide a word list and guide the learner to “fish” for the correct letters to spell each word.
Learn more: Teach Beside Me
13. Sticky Note Spelling Fun
Transform spelling practice into an exciting activity with sticky notes! Write individual letters on sticky notes and have students arrange them to form their spelling words.
Learn more: Instagram/@Kindergarten Smorgas Board
14. Word Pictures
Word Pictures combine visual creativity with language learning by using words to form pictures that represent their meaning. For example, students can shape the word “tree” into a tree drawing or arrange the word “bed” into a bed frame.
Learn more: Happy Tot Shelf
15. Flip and Spell
Incorporating laminated cards into a ring binder provides students with a hands-on, interactive method to practice spelling. This setup is not only durable ensuring materials withstand frequent use but also allows for easy customization to cater to individual learning needs.
Learn more: The Moffat Girls
16. Gem Letters
This activity begins by providing a set of gems or flat decorative stones and a printed or drawn outline of letters. Learners place the gems along the outlines, carefully following the shapes of each letter.
Learn more: Happy Tot Shelf
17. LEGO Spelling Words
Present a list of words to replicate, guiding the learner to spell them out using their built letters. This approach encourages attention to detail while reinforcing correct spelling patterns.
Learn more: Creative Family Fun
18. Pick, Spell, and Learn
The sight word popsicle stick game is a fun way to practice spelling and word recognition. Write sight words on popsicle sticks and place them in a container. Learners take turns drawing a stick, reading the word aloud, and spelling it correctly.
Learn more: Teach Me Mommy
19. Reading Hopscotch
Reading hopscotch is an engaging way to combine physical activity with spelling practice. Draw a hopscotch grid on the ground and write a letter or word in each square. As the learner hops through the grid, they read the letters or words aloud.
Learn more: Teach Beside Me
20. CVC Word Family Spelling with Truffula Trees
Create Truffula tree cutouts, each labeled with a word family ending (e.g., “-at,” “-og,” “-in”). Provide letter cards or tiles for the learner to pair with the tree endings to form CVC words. For example, combining “c” with “-at” creates “cat.” Encourage the learner to explore all possible words for each tree.
Learn more: School Time Snippets
21. Ribbon Spool Speller
Creating a ribbon spool speller is a simple and fun way to practice spelling. Gather a few empty ribbon spools, a pencil, and optional paint for decoration.
Paint the spools if desired, and once dry, use a pen to write letters around the inside edges of the spools. Wider spools work best for this, as they provide more space for writing
Learn more: Teach Beside Me
22. Sift and Spell
Sift and Spell is an interactive activity designed to build spelling and word association skills. Fill a container with rice or sand and hide letter tiles within it. Provide images or objects with corresponding names for the learner to spell.
Learn more: What Do We Do Daily
23. Recycled Spelling Fun
Wrap old cans in colored paper and label each one with a letter. Provide a word list and guide the learner to stack the cans in the correct order to form the words. Start with simple three-letter words and gradually increase the difficulty by adding more letters.
Learn more: Royal Baloo
24. Spinning Into Spelling
Create a spinner divided into sections, each containing a picture of an object alongside its corresponding word. Provide letter tiles or cards for the learner. Spin the wheel and have the learner spell the word associated with the picture where the spinner lands.
Learn more: Research Parent
25. Muffin Tin Spelling and Reading Fun
Take a muffin tin and place letter tiles or small pieces of paper with letters in each compartment. Provide a list of words for the learner to form by picking letters from the tin and arranging them in the correct order.
Learn more: Growing Book by Book
26. Learning with Letter Cutouts
Cut out the letters of the learner’s name from sturdy paper or cardboard. On an index card, write the name (e.g., “Mommy”) and place a picture representing the word (e.g., a heart or a family image) next to it.
Cut the name into individual letters, then place the letter pieces in a bag or container. The learner will pull out the letters and arrange them in the correct order to spell the name.
Learn more: Happy Brown House
27. Kinetic Sand Spelling Activity
The learner will use their fingers or a tool to draw the letters in the sand, spelling out words from the list. Start with simple words and progress to more complex ones as skills improve.
Learn more: Parenting Chaos
28. Spelling Words with Building Blocks
Spelling words with building blocks is an engaging activity that helps reinforce letter recognition and word formation. Provide a set of building blocks, each labeled with a letter. Present a list of words for the learner to build by stacking the blocks in the correct order.
Learn more: Teach Me Mommy
29. Apple Word Mix-Up
Prepare red cups to represent apples and attach a green pipe cleaner to each cup to form a stem. Write letters on slips of paper and place them inside the cups, mixing up the letters to form scrambled words.
Learn more: JDaniel’s 4s Mom
30. Pool Noodle CVC Words
Cut pool noodles into small sections and write a letter on each piece. Lay out the cut noodles and provide a word list. The learner will select the appropriate letters and arrange them to form simple CVC words, such as “cat,” “dog,” or “sit.”
Learn more: Planning Play Time
31. Spell It Out
Print or laminate word cards with the spelling outlined in large, clear letters. Provide a set of plastic letters and have the learner match and place them directly over the printed letters to form the words.
Learn more: This Is Reading Mama
32. Bottle Cap Spelling
Prepare bottle caps by writing one letter on each cap. Create cards with pictures of objects and their names written beneath them, leaving some letters blank for the learner to fill in.
Learn more: This Reading Mama
33. Vowel Spelling Dictionary
Create a small booklet with pages dedicated to each vowel (A, E, I, O, U). On each page, list simple words that include the vowel in various positions (beginning, middle, or end), leaving blanks for the learner to fill in the missing vowels.
Learn more: This Reading Mama
34. Roll, Color and Read
Roll, Color, and Read is an interactive activity that combines dice, spelling, and reading practice. Prepare three dice with letters one for beginning consonants, one for vowels, and one for ending consonants. Provide an activity sheet with pictures of simple CVC words (e.g., bat, mat, cat) alongside blank spaces for the words.
Learn more: Miss Giraffe Blogspot
35. Building Cookie Words
Building Cookie Words is a delightful activity that combines spelling practice with a playful theme. Prepare square cards featuring images of cookies, each marked with a single letter. Provide a word list and guide the learner to “bake” words by arranging the cookie cards in the correct order to match the words.
Learn more: Modern Preschool