Vowel Team Spelling Games
The Problem with Words Their Way
Developing spellers often struggle in the “Within Word” stage of spelling development. The key challenge for spellers within this spelling stage involves the vowel sound-spellings. The vowel combinations are especially challenging. Both vowel digraphs (two vowel spellings producing one sound), such as “aw” as in hawk, and vowel diphthongs (two or more vowel spellings producing more than one sound, such as “ow” as in towel, are frequently called vowel teams.
The following three spelling games will help your developing spellers both recognize and practice these vowel team spellings. First, learn which vowel sound-spellings that your students don’t know with an effective diagnostic spelling assessment. The games should not be played until the vowel team spelling pattern has been introduced with plenty of examples. Students should also have some practice in spelling the vowel team spelling pattern in the context of dictations and sentence writing before play because the games are designed as reinforcement and practice. The games will help your remedial readers discriminate among similar vowel sound-spelling patterns. Oh, by the way… the games are fun!
Word Jumbles
-Overview/Object of the Game
Each vowel team sound-spelling pattern has a multi-syllabic word jumble. The jumble is a word that includes the vowel sound-spelling with all the letters re-arranged. The object of the game is to make as many words as possible out of the word jumble and then to try and guess the entire word.
-Materials/Preparation
Write out the unscrambled word on one side of a 3 X 5 card and the jumbled word on the other. All students need to play is a sheet of binder paper and a pencil.
Divide your spellers up into small groups of three or four students, clustered around a desk or table. The students must be seated, in order to write.
Directions
Place the card on the desk or table, jumbled side facing up. Give a three minute time limit for students to write down as many words as they can find within the word jumble. Instruct the players to turn over the card.
Students take turns sharing their list, spelling each out loud. Award ten points for the whole unscrambled word, if spelled correctly. Additionally, add on one point for each correctly spelled word and two points for a word that no one else in the group finds. Students total their points to see who is the winner.
For example, for the “_ay” vowel team long a spelling, the word payment has the word jumble, APETNYM. The jumble includes these words:
ape ten tap yet map man pay pat many mane meant tape
Word Jumble List
Sound-Spelling Word Word Jumble
Long a Sound
“a__e” carefully yluflarec
“ai__” straining ginianrts
“__ay” betrayal tylaaebr
“ei” freighter hefrgiret
Long e Sound
“__ee” meetings mtsgniee
“ea” teachers srehcaet
“__y” leisurely ylurelies
“i__e” tambourine neuriboamt
“[c]ei” ceiling ginclie
Long i Sound
“i__e” provided dideprvo
“__igh” frightened tndeehgirf
“__y” beautify fyiauetb
“__ie” untied teunde
Long o Sound
“o__e” hopeful plefuoh
“__oe” mistletoe stelimeot
“oa__” groaned anodegr
“ow” ownership phisernow
Long u Sound
“u” musical csualim
“u__e” usefulness uefessflns
“__ew” curfew furcwe
“_ue” fueling inufegn
oo as in food Sound
“oo” toothache eooatthch
“u” cruising rciuisgn
“u__e” attitude tttiadeu
“__ew” unscrewed dweenuscr
“_ue” barbecued ecduberab
oo as in foot Sound
“oo” understood ouorsdtden
“__u__” sugarless ragulsses
oy Sound
“oi__” poisonous oponsiuos
“__oy” enjoyment nemtnojey
aw Sound
“aw” awesome ewaosme
“au” auditorium tduaoiumir
“al” almost malsto
“all” smallest lamsselt
ow Sound
“__ow” downtown wnownotd
“ou__” doubtful tbduoluf
ur Sound
“er” partnership ntphrapresi
“ir” birthday hdyabitr
“ur” urgency nygceur
ar Sound
“ar” calendar leacnrda
or Sound
“or” thunderstorm rmostdrenuht
The next two spelling games help your students review a targetted vowel sound-spelling pattern, alongside other spelling patterns. Both The Quick Picks Game and Vowel Concentration are small group games that use the Spelling Sort Cards.
The Quick Picks Game
-Overview/Object of the Game
This spelling game is designed to help your students review a targetted vowel team spelling pattern, alongside other spelling patterns. The object of the game is to pick up the most number of cards that have words that use the designated vowel team spelling.
-Materials/Preparation
Click the link to download these Spelling Sort Cards from the Pennington Publishing website. These cards are formatted to cut into individual cards for word sort games. Simply run off the pages on tag board and laminate for each group.
-Directions
Divide your spellers up into two groups, clustered around two desks or tables, and spread out some, or all, of the vowel team spelling cards that you have already introduced (the same set to each group). Have the two groups spread out their cards spelling side up and then race to pick up the cards that have words that use the designated vowel team spelling.
For example, pass out the long a and long e cards. Then, announce “Find ‘a__e’ cards.” After picking up all of the “a__e” cards, tell students to take turns, saying each of their words and their spellings. The speller from each group with the most word cards that match the vowel team spelling that you announced is the winner.
Vowel Team Concentration
-Overview/Object of the Game
This spelling game is designed to help your students review targetted vowel team spelling patterns. The object of the game is to pick up the most two-word matches of the same vowel team spelling.
-Materials/Preparation
Click the link to download these Spelling Sort Cards from the Pennington Publishing website. These cards are formatted to cut into individual cards for word sort games. Simply run off the pages on tag board and laminate two sets for each group of students.
-Directions
Pass out some, or all, of the vowel team spelling cards that you have already introduced from one set of the laminated cards face up. Pass out some, or all, of the second set of vowel team spelling cards face down. Have the students spread them out, being careful not to turn any over.
Students take turns turning over two cards at a time to find a vowel sound-spelling match. For instance, the boat card would match the oak card. If the student finds a match, he or she picks up the cards and gets another turn. The winner is the student who collects the most cards.
A Model Grades 3-8 Spelling Scope and Sequence
Differentiated Spelling Instruction
Preview the Grades 3-8 Spelling Scope and Sequence tied to the author’s comprehensive grades 3-8 Language Strand programs. The instructional scope and sequence includes grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, and vocabulary. Teachers and district personnel are authorized to print and share this planning tool, with proper credit and/or citation. Why reinvent the wheel? Also check out my articles on Grammar Scope and Sequence, Mechanics Scope and Sequence, and Vocabulary Scope and Sequence.
FREE DOWNLOAD TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF PENNINGTON PUBLISHING AMERICAN ENGLISH AND CANADIAN ENGLISH SPELLING PROGRAMS. Check out these grades 3-8 programs HERE. Administer my FREE comprehensive Diagnostic Spelling Assessment with audio file and recording matrix. It has 102 words (I did say comprehensive) and covers all common spelling patterns and conventional spelling rules. It only takes 22 minutes and includes an audio file with test administration instructions. Once you see the gaps in your students’ spelling patterns, you’re going to want to fill those gaps.
Get the Diagnostic Spelling Assessment, Mastery Matrix, and Sample Lessons FREE Resource:
Literacy Centers, Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary, Study Skills
Love it…I’m a resource teacher who has never taught the young ones, until now. I also teach the older ones who need stories, etc to remember the spelling rules. Anyway, my problem is – How do I print it out??? I’m not stupid, but I feel like a real dummy here. If I need to purchase this, then tell me. I need all the help that I can get!! 🙂
Thanks, Ad
Simply press control + p or highlight the text, copy and paste into Microsoft Word, then print. Glad you find them useful.