Need ideas for teaching/reviewing commonly misspelled words with my children

[Ferdie]

My children's english workbooks include a list of 100 commonly misspelled words. I have a 2nd and 3rd grader whose lists are identical. I just noticed that 90% of their words are my 5th graders list.

I would love to come up with some type of group method for helping them memorize the spelling of these words and then a fun game for periodic review. Any suggestions?

[Langhaven]

I recently purchased the updated version of Spelling Power, which has a CD version. The teacher types in the word list for the day, and the student can drill and test on their own. It will keep a record of misspelled words, and they can drill to their hearts content until they master the spelling. Though you said you wanted to do group work, this might help with the in between times when they simply need to learn the words on their own.

[Beth in Central TX]

I can't remember what I was reading now, but I recall an article about how using different colors can help teach children; especially those who are visual learners. When my boys miss a spelling word, I write the word on our white board using 2 different colors. I write the part of the word he spelled correctly with a green dry erase marker, but the letters he missed or forgot are written in red. I have him copy this list only once so that he sees the correction on the board and makes the correction physically.

[Ferdie]

Wow! I did not know about the Spelling Power Digital Tutor. Very cool. Thank you!

Beth thanks for the color coding tip. I always appreciate you advice.

[Heather in Canada]

One is at the back of Writer's Inc; it's titled Commonly misspelled words, and goes on for 5 or 7 pages. It's probably the most comprehensive I've seen. We've also used a one page list with the same title from How to Spell Like a champ.
Both these lists may be a bit advanced for grades 2-3, but you could start culling out the easier ones and working on them bit by bit.

[M in Canada]

It might help to go through the list of misspelled words and see what rules apply to their spellings, then review the rules as you review the words. So you would dictate a word and ask what rules apply.

[TracyR]

My girls like to play Go Fishing with their words. I just do a cheap version of it .If your crafty you can cut out fish and so on . But if you want the cheapo version . I just use index cards and write the words on them. Color the backs with different colors . Slip on some paper clips . Take a wooden spoon , and some yarn to make a pole and tie on a magnet . Then put the cards on the floor and let them "Go fishing " . If they got the word right they get to keep the "fish " . If they get it wrong the "fish " gets thrown back .
They also like to play "memory" I just take those same words I put on index cards and put them face down on the table . They get to pick out the card . If they spell it right they get to keep it , if not it gets put back into the list but they have to pick another card .
I also let them write their words on the dry erase board too . Also making crossword puzzles and word searches. There are free downloadable programs sites too . Here is one : http://www.puzzle-maker.com/

Hope those ideas help .

[Kathie in VA]

hmm, group work....

Hangman
gaanhnm (or whatever you call it when you have to re-arrange the letters to form a word)
spelling bee
matching type game pairing the word with the spelling rules that apply
sort the words by spelling rules?


Why is it I can think of these things for others but never seem to do such things for my own kids??????

[WTMindy]

I have given up doing spelling as a separate subject (shhh, don't tell the homeschool police!) because I found there was a disconnect with the spelling book and their writing. My kids are pretty natural spellers but what I do is to take the words they misspell in their writing and put it on a card. They are then accountable for those words on their card. If they misspell a new word, they have to practice it a few times. If they mis-spell a word on their card, they will have to write it (it hasn't happened yet, so I don't know how many times! :-))a lot of times!