Try this free spelling game to help your child with short e, ee, and ea words!
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What do you use to teach spelling?
As a classroom teacher I began my career using a traditional spelling curriculum. I was less than impressed with the boring spelling workbook pages that I gave my students.
I also struggled to find ways to make spelling meaningful for students who didn’t “get it.” As a natural speller myself, I didn’t know how to help students for whom it was a challenge.
One summer, in graduate school, I learned about an awesome approach called word study.
Using the manual Words Their Way, I learned how to help kids really think about their spelling words – by identifying patterns and sorting words.
From that point on, I used the word study approach for all my classes.
I’m a SAHM now, but I still love Words Their Way and use it with my own kids. My Seven (first grade) is learning to spell words in the Within Word Pattern stage. I’m creating a spelling game for each word list. This week we’re comparing short e, ee, and ea words.
- short e: blend, best, etc.
- ee (long e): speech, creep, etc.
- ea (long e): beak, teach, etc.
- ea (short e): head, bread, etc.
We played a game called “What’s My Category?”
How to Play:
- Print the cards. If desired, laminate. Then cut the cards apart.
2. Deal seven cards to each player. Players place their cards face up and put the remaining cards face down in the center of play.
3. The first player turns over a card from the deck and and looks for a card in his hand that matches the pattern. The player lays the card down and says “Guess my category.” Players take turns choosing a card from their row that matches the category. They may pass if they do not have a card that matches.
4. Play continues until every player has played all the cards that fit the category. The last player to play names the category and keeps all the cards that were played. (If the player incorrectly names the category, the player to his left may have a chance to guess the category and keep the cards.)
In the above picture, the category (based on the word teacher) would be “ea that says /eee/” or “ea makes the long e sound.”
5. At the end of the round, players choose enough cards to get them back up to seven cards. The player to the left of the first player chooses the next card and begins the next round.
6. When the deck is empty, the player with the most cards wins.
Have fun with this one!
(Be sure to print the cards front to back, or just print the pages with the spelling words, single-sided.)
Get your free What’s My Category? pages!
OUR VERY FAVORITE PRINTABLE SPELLING GAMES
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Free Spelling Games
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