Spelling and Vocabulary, Grades K-5
Resources for Learning and Practicing Language Arts Skills
Lesson Plans
Action ABC's: Learning Vocabulary with Verbs
Students in grades K-2 brainstorm to create lists of verbs for each letter of the alphabet, and then choosing one verb for each letter, create an Action Alphabet book, including an illustration and sentence using the verb in context.
Crossword Puzzles (Student Interactive)
Students in grades K-12 study content area vocabulary, practice grammar or parts of speech, or demonstrate what they have learned by creating crossword puzzles.
Sort, Hunt, Write: A Weekly Spelling Program
Students in grades 3-5 create individualized word lists and work individually, with partners, and in small groups to learn the words.
Learning to Learn with Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster
Students in grades 3-5 combine vocabulary exploration with word play by planning their own vocabulary parade, modeled on the activities in the picture book Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster.
Additional Lesson Plan Collections
- ReadWriteThink: Spelling (K-12)
- ReadWriteThink: Vocabulary (K-12)
Background Resources
Invented Spelling and Spelling Development (for K-3 Teachers)Children progress through certain stages of spelling development. Knowing this progression allows teachers to compel development through their instruction. Find out strategies for doing so in this article, such as promoting the use of invented spelling in the early stages.
Teaching Vocabulary (for K-3 Teachers)
Consider some excellent lesson models for teaching vocabulary, explaining idioms, fostering word consciousness, instruction for English Language Learners, and mnemonic strategies.
- Spelling Strategies: Make Smart Use of Sounds and Spelling Patterns (K-5)
- Teaching Vocabulary with Francie Alexander (K-5)
- Just Read Now!: Vocabulary Strategies (K-12)
- Doing it Differently: Tips for Teaching Vocabulary (for K-12 Teachers)
- English Spelling: Making Sense of a Seemingly Chaotic Writing System (
PDF, 89 KB, 3 pgs.) (for K-12 Teachers) - Guide to English Spelling Rules (for K-12 Teachers)
Activities & Games
- McGraw-Hill: Activities for Students
K-6 spelling and vocabulary - Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary (K-6)
- English Vocabulary Building Games (K-12)
- Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary (Grades 1-8)
- Antonym Bingo (grades 2-4)
Printables
- Super Teacher Worksheets - Printable Worksheets
Grades 1-4 grammar & phonics and spelling lists & worksheets
Tools
- Spelling & Vocabulary Website: SpellingCity
K-12 Make games, flash cards, and tests - Sound – Spelling Cards 102 ( PDF, 3.13 MB, 24 pgs.) (K-5)
Books
- Vocabulary Games for the Classroom
By Lindsey Carlton and Robert J. Marzano
Marzano Research Laboratory (March 15, 2010 - Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary: A Framework for Direct Instruction
By Robert J. Marzano
Heinle (Cengage Learning) and Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (June 8, 2009) - Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions and Extended Examples
By Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan
The Guilford Press (April 28, 2008) - Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction
By Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan
The Guilford Press (March 20, 2002) - Teaching English Spelling: A Practical Guide
By Ruth Shemesh and Sheila Waller
Cambridge University Press (March 13, 2000) - Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12
By Janet Allen
Stenhouse Publishers (January 1, 1999)
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