Games and variations
Take worksheets out of isolation. These structured game variations turn solitary spelling practice into highly engaging, collaborative classroom activities.
The Boardboard Relay
This high-energy kinesthetic game is perfect for review days before a vocabulary quiz.
- Setup: Divide the class into two or three teams. Write a list of 10 scrambled words on the whiteboard for each team (ensure the lists are identical or equal in difficulty).
- Rules: One student from each team runs to the board, solves one scramble, writes the answer, and passes the marker to the next teammate like a baton.
- Modification: If a student gets stuck, they are allowed to fix a teammate's previous error instead of solving a new word.
The Silent Collaborative
A quiet, focused activity that requires non-verbal teamwork. Excellent for cooling down a high-energy classroom.
- Setup: Print a worksheet with 15 difficult scrambles. Place one sheet on each pod/table of 4 students.
- Rules: The paper is passed around the table in a circle. Each student has 30 seconds to work on the paper. They cannot speak. They can either solve a whole word, or write down a partial solution (like crossing out letters they know belong to a prefix).
- Result: Students learn to read and build upon the logic trails left by their peers.
Using the Classroom Projector View
You can load any of our vocabulary collections and use the interface to project a single large scramble onto your smartboard. Use this as a "Password to leave" at the end of a period. Reveal the scramble 3 minutes before the bell rings; the class must collaboratively solve it before they are dismissed.
Thematic Scavenger Hunts
Integrate movement and context clues into solving.
Print large, single-word scrambles and tape them to walls around the school or classroom. Instead of numbering them sequentially, the answer to Scramble #1 acts as a clue to the location of Scramble #2. (e.g., if Scramble #1 unscrambles to "LIBRARY", the students must go to the library door to find Scramble #2).