Have you seen my free spelling games yet? So far I’ve shared some non-seasonal games like Spell It, Climb the Ladder, and Give me a Clue. I’ve also shared seasonal and holiday games: a Fall Spelling Game, Winter Spelling Game, and Valentine’s Day game.
Up next… a free St. Patrick’s Day spelling activity. ‘Tis the season!
My daughter loves these spelling games because in addition to practice with her weekly words, she gets the extra challenge of spelling the seasonal words. What I love about these games is all you need is the board, a die, counters, and two sets of word cards. And you can use any word list!
St. Patrick’s Day Spelling Game
Here’s the gameboard, using clip art from My Cute Graphics. Players travel from the hat all the way to the pot of gold.
You’ll need:
- the gameboard (I laminate mine for durability, but you wouldn’t have to)
- spelling word cards — with a spelling word printed on each card (obviously you can do this by hand)
- St. Patrick’s Day word cards
- playing pieces
- a die
Here’s how to play.
1. Put your playing piece on Start. On your turn, the player to your left reads you a spelling word. If you spell it correctly, roll the die and move ahead. If not, stay where you are.
2. If you land on a coin, your turn is over.
3. If you land on a shamrock, the other player reads you a St Patrick’s Day word. If you get it correct, move ahead the number of spaces on the card. If you land on another shamrock, the other player reads you another St. Patrick’s Day word… and on it goes until you spell a word incorrectly or land on a coin.
4. Whoever reaches Finish first, wins!
The St. Patrick’s Day words vary in difficulty. If you have very young spellers playing this game, you may want to include just the “+1” cards to prevent frustration. However, my daughter (in first grade) enjoys the challenge of the harder words and gets many of them correct.
My Six enjoyed this very much (maybe because she won!), and asked to play it again right away. But her new baby sister was crying, and one of her brothers really wanted me to watch him ride his bike around the basement. (Outside was not an option. It’s the beginning of March and 5 degrees outside. I only wish that were a typo!)
We HIGHLY recommend this ebook. Many of the games are editable!
© 2014 – 2016, Anna G. All rights reserved.
Valerie says
Great game and so cute!
Anna Geiger says
Thanks so much for checking it out, Valerie!
Kat Reader says
Visiting from worldforlearning.com and found your post via the After School Link Up and LOVE this idea. I have twin boys – one is a natural speller, the other not so much. I can see both of them really having fun with this game. Thanks for sharing!
Anna Geiger says
I hope you get a chance to try it out, Kat! It does work well for kids of different ability levels – you can always use two sets of word cards too, if they have different spelling words.
maryanne @ mama smiles says
How fun! Happy St. Patrick’s Day in a few hours!
Anna Geiger says
Thank you, Maryanne 🙂
Kim Vij @ The Educators' Spin On It says
Thank you so much for being such an amazing host to the After school Linky Party. I’ve featured your Spelling Activity on my St. Patrick’s Day Roundup post. Can’t wait to see what you share this week!
Anna Geiger says
Thanks, Kim – I enjoy being part of the group!