Do you struggle to find spelling activities that are engaging for your first-grade students? This was a huge problem for me! It seemed like there was no way to get the repetitive practice of all the spelling concepts we cover throughout the year in a way that was actually fun for my students. To combat this, I crafted a new resource that targets spelling using hands-on, digital activities that students LOVE! Want to hear all the details? Come along to see exactly how I use these easy spelling activities, and grab a freebie to try with your kiddos!
Make Spelling Activities More Engaging
My biggest issue in teaching and practicing spelling with my first graders was keeping their interest. If you teach firsties, then I don't need to tell you how much there is to cover over the year when it comes to spelling! This means we are working on spelling A LOT! And truthfully, that can get a little boring. I was noticing my kids “checking out” during spelling activities. They seemed bored, frustrated, and overall uninterested in the traditional methods I had been using.
I decided enough was enough! It was time to come up with a way to engage my students in spelling practice once and for all. I thought long and hard about the types of activities my kiddos love the most and it hit me- Boom Cards! My students love digital activities, especially Boom Cards! These activities are presented in a game-style format that's super appealing to first graders.
With this in mind, I created a wide variety of Boom Card Spelling Activities to cover all of the spelling skills we'd need to target over the school year. These turned out to be a huge success in my classroom! These activities make planning and executing our endless spelling practice a breeze.
I no longer have to stress about how I'll snag student engagement for this topic- the Boom Cards do all the hard work for me!
The other great thing about Boom Cards is they are so easy to use. Once you have your deck downloaded you can use them for no-prep work word centers, whole group practice, and even assign as no-fuss homework! If you're new to Boom Cards, be sure to check out this post, detailing all the reasons to try them in your class and how to get started.
Activities For Every Spelling Concept
Once the spelling Boom Cards were born, I realized I could use them for every spelling concept we focus on in first grade. I love that I can use this same resource throughout the year for continued practice no matter what we're learning. Over time, my students became familiar with the layout, rules, and expectations of the activities, making these even better for independent practice. Some of the things we work on with these spelling activities include:
- Digraphs
- Beginning Blends
- Ending Blends
- Magic E
- Double Consonants
- Vowel Teams
- Diphthongs
- R Controlled Vowels
- Y as a Vowel
- Suffixes
- 3 Letter Blends
- Contractions
I created 1-3 decks for each of these spelling skills to make sure my kiddos could get plenty of practice with each concept. Altogether there are 38 decks total in my Boom Cards Spelling Activities Resource. Using the same digital format for all of these spelling activities makes planning quick and easy as well. I love knowing that I can count on my kiddos getting dedicated spelling practice on important concepts week after week without having to worry about how I'll facilitate it.
Types Of Spelling Activities
When creating this resource, engagement was my number one priority, so I made sure to include a variety of activities in these Boom Card decks. The activities you'll find things like:
- word building
- filling in missing letters
- identifying correct spelling
- identifying prefixes & suffixes
These activities are varied for each spelling skill depending on what students are focusing on. I've found that having a bit of variety among the cards also helps to up the engagement with my kiddos. My favorite feature of these spelling activities is the audio though! To hear the audio, students simply click the speaker on each card, and a word or sound is read aloud to them. This makes these great for new readers like kindergarten and first-grade students.
Ways To Use These Digital Activities
To keep things interesting, I use my Boom Card spelling activities in a variety of ways. When we first start out with a new spelling skill, I love using these as my example for my whole group. I'll pop a few of the Boom Cards up on my Smart Board and run through them while the kiddos observe. It's great to be able to provide a quick and easy visual example of what we'll be targeting.
After I've provided a few examples, I like to call on volunteers to come up to the board and try their hand at the new skill too.
After an introduction, I assign these Boom Cards during center time for some digital word work. In my class we use iPads, but these work on any type of tablet, computer, Chromebook, or device with an internet connection.
My students LOVE when they get the chance to work on these decks independently. This means no coaxing them to focus during center time!
I also really love to assign these for homework. Boom Cards are self-correcting and will record student data so I can check in and see how my kiddos are doing with each skill. Plus, this means no making copies to build homework packets! If that's not a win, I don't know what is! I have a whole post on how to assign Boom Cards for homework if you're interested in giving that a shot!
Free Spelling Activities For Your Class
Being able to take the stress of planning spelling activities off my plate has been such a huge win for me. I want this for you too, teacher-friend! I love knowing that my students are getting plenty of practice with a wide variety of skills each week without having to stress about prepping more activities. The variety of games, lessons, and tasks on each card will keep things feeling fresh and fun in your spelling lessons without any added work.
If you're eager to test drive these fun and engaging spelling activities, I have just the thing for you! Enter your information below to get your hands on a FREE deck of my Spelling Activities Boom Cards! No matter how you decide to use these in your room, I know you'll fall in love with them too! Grab your freebie and get started!
Save This Post
Don't forget to save this post on your classroom Pinterest board to keep these spelling activities handy!
