Welcome back to the Spelling Station Activities for First Grade blog series!
All of these activities are spelling stations that I use in my own first grade classroom that take little to no prep on my part (because who has time for that, am I right?).
These spelling activities can be done:
- One at a time as a class (as your daily spelling practice/lesson)
- In a small group setting (as intervention)
- At a spelling station (set out one activity daily or set out multiple to give students choice over their activity – this was my personal favorite, I usually set out 4-5 activities for four weeks which saved me SO much time)
Here's a sneak peek at the entire series of first grade spelling activities that I will be covering:
Spelling Series: Stamps and Playdough
Spelling Series: Interactive Spelling Wall
Spelling Series: Rainbow Words
Spelling Series: My “dge” Words Freebie
Spelling Series: Keyboard Spelling
Spelling Series: Hangman Spelling
My best advice is to make the most of the materials that you already have in your classroom. A lot of the spelling activities in this series don’t require any materials other than writing utensils and paper, start with those!
Also, when it comes to incorporating spelling activities into your stations, don’t try to do it all at once. Start small and slowly add activities throughout the year! This will help your students maintain independence during station time because they aren’t having to learn a lot of new routines at once.
Spelling Knowledge in First Grade
So what kind of spelling knowledge should a first grade student really have?
Here are a few foundations of spelling knowledge:
Sounds can be represented by a single letter or a combination of letters (digraphs, blends)
Letters may have more than one sound
Some sounds can be represented by different letters
When spelling, words can be separated into single sounds or a combination of sounds
Knowing the 6 syllable type can help students spell
Some words do not follow typical spelling rules/patterns, BUT you can match letters to sounds in at least part of those words
Asking yourself “Does the world look right?” after spelling a word
Spelling words (encoding) and reading words (decoding) go hand and hand! They should be taught together, NOT in isolation!
First grade students are also expected to spell high-frequency words (sight words) without sounding out letter-by-letter.
Spelling Station: Desktop Writing
So I walked into a coworkers classroom the other day and found her students writing on their desks.
To be fair, they were doing exactly what they were supposed to and they were writing with dry erase markers. I've done similar things at my small group table, but I've never let them have free reign at their own desks.
She said that it is a staple during their spelling station and the kids absolutely love it. She also told me that each student keeps a dry erase marker in their crayons box and when they are done, they can easily clean off their desk with a baby wipe! Genius!!
What You Need:
-Dry Erase Marker
-Eraser (dry erase eraser, cloth, old socks, baby wipe or even just a tissue)
**Please note that this activity does NOT work on all table tops. I would highly suggest trying it out for yourself before suggesting it to students. If your desktops do not work, you can easily do this activity with dry erase boards, sheet protectors or dry erase pockets!
Challenge:
If you have a first grade student who needs more of a challenge, you can have them write a sentence using their spelling word or generate a rhyming word for their spelling word!
Mix it Up:
Do you have students getting bored? Have them work on their reading fluency skills by adding a form of punctuation to the end of each word. Then have your first grade student read through their word list to you or a partner with the correct inflection!
Spelling Tip: Use Spelling Lists
I mentioned earlier a few tricks I use in my spelling station so that I only have to switch out materials every four weeks. The key to this method is using spelling lists.
What is a spelling list?
As simple as it sounds, it’s a list of words that follow the same spelling rule/pattern. I’ve found that using a spelling pattern rather than a set “10 spelling words” helps students really understand the spelling rule rather than just memorizing those ten words. These spelling lists are also sometimes referred to as “word family” lists because words that follow the same spelling pattern are considered to be in the same “family”.
How do you use a spelling list?
Spelling and word family lists can be used in a variety of ways:
- Spelling Station to spell the word pattern of the week. This means I only change out the spelling or word family list each week and the activities can stay the same! Super low-maintenance!
- As a “go to” list for teachers when generating word families whole group phonics/spelling instruction
- A list of words for teachers to review during small group warm ups for guided reading or interventions (make flashcards, build words, manipulate phonemes with plastic letters, etc.)
- A list of words for families to practice reading and writing
Again, this is not anything that you have to buy. You can simply type up a list of spelling words or spelling pattern words and put it in your station.
Teacher Tips about Spelling Lists
- I laminated my lists for durability from year to year, but you don't even have to take that step if you don't want to.
- I used a different color of paper for each week. This made it very easy to make sure my long a lists didn't get mixed up with the long i lists.
- I had four copies of each list set out each week because I typically had 3-4 students visit that station at a time and I did not want them to have to share.
- I've also done it where I had a month's worth of lists connected with a binder ring which mean even less prep on my part, but the disadvantage of this was that students would often end up on the wrong list!
- You could have all students share one list if you wanted to, or you could leave that list posted somewhere in your classroom.
There is no right or wrong way to use a spelling list as a station!
Spelling Lists for First Grade
This list includes ALL spelling patterns and word families taught in first grade.
These spelling and word family lists can be used in a variety of ways:
•Spelling Station to spell the word pattern of the week. This means I only change out the spelling or word family list each week and the activities can stay the same! Super low-maintenance!
•As a “go to” list for teachers when generating word families whole group phonics/spelling instruction
•A list of words for teachers to review during small group warm ups for guided reading or interventions (make flashcards, build words, manipulate phonemes with plastic letters, etc.)
•A list of words for families to practice reading and writing at home
•A list of rhyming words for students to reference
More First Grade Phonics and Spelling
