Use our collection of Spelling Activities to help your KS2 students practise their English spelling. This is an important ability that they will need as they get older - even when they become adults, exit the academe and start working. Regular and consistent practice using our collection of spelling activities will help your students not just grasp English spelling rules but also have a feel for how words are supposed to be spelled - making them better at capturing mistakes. There are plenty of phonics schemes out there designed to help children with reading and spelling. Phonics are great for helping children to read, and they’re also great for building children’s confidence with their writing. When I first started teaching children were encouraged to ask for every spelling they didn’t know. You can imagine how slow their creative writing was! I had no idea whether a child who struggled with spellings had great vocabulary or a flare for story writing because they constantly had their hand in the air to ask for a spelling. With knowledge of phonics they can write with confidence, sounding out words that can be read even if they aren’t quite spelt correctly! You’ll need to arrange the students in a circle or a line, depending on how much space you have in your classroom.

English spelling has more exceptions than rules. It is actually quite unfair that your child has to grow up learning English, as in other languages you are able to read and spell as soon as you learn the phonetic alphabet. In English, the phonetic alphabet will let your read less than a half of all words. On the flip side, learning phonics will help your child to read half of all words. But still, you get the point, it ain’t easy. Take the sound ‘ough’ for example. It can be pronounced in ten different ways. Roll the dice to see which way you are going to practice your spelling words. Which number did you roll the most? Magnetic letters to use on the fridge are a great way to encourage children to spell. Think about the shape of the letter though, some of the plastic magnetic letters are a little fancy and might confuse some children! Scrabble letters can be more challenging to use because they’re all capitals. They might make a good challenge for more able spellers though. Moving letters around to create words is fun and less permanent than putting them down on paper, so children with lower self-esteem might like spelling out words this way. #8 How Many Times Encourage students to learn more about their spelling words with the help of their classmates and a game of Celebrity Heads With Words. Provide a new word for students to spell, starting with the next student in the line (or circle). If the student cannot think of a letter or says the wrong letter, they are out and must sit down.After the word has been spelled, the next person must say ‘Sparkle.’ This encourages active participation — if the student wasn’t paying attention and doesn’t say sparkle, they will have to sit down! Write using a fun pen or colour - simply changing the writing utensil can make spelling much more exciting. Using a novel colour can also make spelling practice more memorable by creating a distinct visual for learners to recall. Want to add some colour to your classroom alphabet? Take a peek at these rainbow alphabet animals! Go ‘Around the World’ Encourage your child to have a go at spelling new words they encounter. If you're reading a book together, for example, and you come across an unfamiliar word, have them write it down in a word bank. This will help to improve their vocabulary too.

Too simple? This fun activity is deceptive! While it’s one that will get your students swept up, it also reinforces spelling as your students will need to recognise the spelling of words and match them to the corresponding spaces on their bingo cards. This repetition of reading and recognising words can reinforce spelling skills and help students memorise the correct spellings. Play Celebrity Heads with Words

Many parents want to help their children with spellings at home.Our printable spelling worksheets are designed by our experienced teachers. This makes them a reliable and high-quality resource to support parents and children at home. The teachers on the Teach Starter team have created this list of some of our favourite spelling activities and ideas to make stringing letters together just a bit more engaging this school year. Read on for ideas for a number of year levels — including hands-on activities — plus some free printables! Reading and Writing - Recognising words when reading helps comprehension skills and knowing how to spell improves writing fluidity.