Mining for Spelling Patterns

Happy Saturday!  I'm Pamela from Hedgehog Reader, and I am here to share a fun way that students can play with letters and words to discover, practice, and reinforce spelling patterns.

Have you ever played Word Mines?  Maybe you've called them something else...  Basically, here is how Word Mines go:

You are given a word (or sometimes a phrase).  To play, you form as many words as possible in the given time using only the letters presented.  (If there is one R, then R can be used only once in that word.  It can be used once again in another word, and so on.)

Call me a nerd (believe me, you won't be the first!), but this has been one of my favorite pastimes for as long as I can remember.  So it was a natural thing for me to develop Word Mines for my students, because I knew it would be a fun way to identify, discover, and play with spelling patterns!

How to Start:

Although it doesn't take long for students to learn Word Mining strategies and procedures, it does require at least one session of whole class instruction to ensure smooth sailing ahead:

• Students are ready for Word Mines when they have started to develop phonemic awareness, and have begun to identify common spelling patterns.  They should also have some sight words under their belts.
• Make sure that any word you give students to "mine" is one that holds plenty of words within it.  Not all words are suited to this activity, so my best advice is to try it yourself first.
• It's fun to use seasonal words or vocabulary pulled from content areas of current study.
• I find that controversy is avoided by declaring the following rules:  *No proper nouns   *No foreign words   *No contractions
• I begin by projecting the word to be mined.  (I've created cute seasonal Word Mines so that I could put them under the document camera, but you can also simply write it up on your board.)  Although traditional Word Mines are done with a word or phrase in its original form, I always scramble mine so that students get the bonus activity of solving the "secret word."
• Depending on the age of your students, it's often helpful to begin with letter tiles, one for each letter in the scrambled word.  This allows students to physically manipulate the letters (concrete reasoning), until they are ready to move into mentally manipulating the letters (abstract reasoning).  This also ensures that letters are only used as many times as they are found within the word.
• I model my thinking aloud as I "solve" the projected puzzle.  I make sure to demonstrate how patterns can help.  For instance, if I see the pattern ALE, I will play with each consonant and blend to see if it fits with the pattern to create a word.  Then I move from ALE to EAL and repeat the process.
• Normally after one such session, students are ready to mine for words on their own, with a buddy, or in a team.

Use Word Mines as a Whole Class:

Once students have a grasp of how to work with Word Mines, these make a great Morning Work activity or sponge activity, either individually, in buddies, or as teams:

• Students stay even more focused if they know they will have 3 minutes for team consultation to tally up total words once the time is up.  It only takes a moment or two to quickly go through how many words each team came up with  (I am not picky, and the students do a wonderful job holding one another accountable for following the rules), and points are awarded for order of most words found.  For instance - If you have 6 teams in your classroom, the team with the most words earns 6 points, and then work your way down to 1 point for the team with the fewest words - so everybody earns something!

Use Word Mines in a Literacy Center:

Word Mines make a great literacy center activity:

• Glue a puzzle to the front of a file folder or manilla envelope.  Hide an answer key inside.  Provide a set of laminated letter tiles.
• Students can record their answers on notebook paper or whiteboards, or on prepared worksheets.
• It’s best to use only one puzzle at a time to prevent confusion; puzzles can be changed out based on your students’ need.  

I've created this FREEBIE for you to try out a Word Mine with your students!  (I have various seasonal and thematic Word Mine resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and I add to my collection often.)

Have a wonderful year with your students, and thanks for reading!

Quick and Easy Spelling Games

 Happy Thursday everyone!  It's Lisa from Second Grade Stories and I am happy to share that I am just one more wake-up away from enjoying my spring break!  Those days leading up to break can definitely be crazy it's amazing how close we are to the end of the year!  With that in mind, I thought I'd pop in today and share some easy and no (or very little!) prep ideas for practicing spelling.

 

 

This post is all about keeping it real.  Some days you just need something simple and quick to do during those spare moments when there isn't enough time for a full activity - but there's zero time to prepare!  These spelling games are always a hit with my second graders.  We use them to practice weekly words, review word wall words, as a center or small group activity ... any way you choose, they're easy to do and fun! Let's get started!

 

 

Any time you can add a familiar game into the mix, the activity is just guaranteed to be successful!  This one is simple - players take turns asking each other to spell words.  If the word is spelled correctly, that person gets to make their "X" or "O" on the board.  If not, it's the next person's turn to spell a word.  The first person to get three in a row wins! This game is great because it needs no directions and you can play a bunch of rounds in 10 minutes.  Sometimes students have their spelling words with them, sometimes I project words on the Smartboard and sometimes we use Word Wall words.

 

 

I have to admit - I made this game up on a whim one day a few years ago and I use it all the time - and it should probably be called "Spell and Roll" because that's the order you do it in.  Again, partners take turns asking each other to spell a word.  If the player is correct, s/he rolls the dice (use any dice you want) and earns that many points.  Players keep track of their points and the first player to a designated number (we do 25) is the winner.  I've also had them go the other way and start with 25 points and subtract each time - first person to zero (exactly to zero, if you want!) wins.  A little spelling, a little math... it's all there!

 

 

This third game is relatively new for us - but it's fast becoming a class favorite.  It starts like the other two games, spell a word correctly and you get to do something - this time it's roll the dice and see which kind of bunny part you get to add to your drawing.  The first time, everyone starts with the basic body.  On roll #2, it's the eyes.  Each number corresponds to a different kind of eyes - or ears, or mouth, or whatever parts you choose for what you're drawing. The first person to draw their full bunny wins.  Really, everyone wins because if you're drawing a bunny there just isn't any other way to go.

 

Yes, I drew those parts.  Don't judge.  I am NOT artistic, although when my kiddos overheard me say something about having drawn the sheet, they were mighty impressed with my mad skills as an artist.  I just love second graders.

 

If you really want, you can download the bunny parts sheet by clicking the image below. 

 

I did not fancy it up.  I did try to make the drawings a little nicer.  And to top it all off, my printer started acting up so I couldn't scan the sheet and I had to take a picture of it with my iPhone and then insert it into a document. So the borders and the title look great but the actual image is a little on the fuzzy side.  You can make your own 6x6 grid and have your kiddos make a bug, or flower or something else cute and adorable.  If you do, can you share it with me, please?  My artwork needs an intervention and bunnies are not going to cut it after spring break.

 

 

Learn to Spell with Music!

        How many of you can remember the lyrics to an old camp song or your high school alma mater but can’t remember where you last put your keys?  Brain research supports the connection between music and memory. Students will retain information and/or facts by being engaged in musical activities! 

      We use several different songs to teach the spelling of 2-7 letter words in our classrooms. Children easily transfer the correct spellings to their writing and recognize the words when reading. 

2-Letter Word Song

For 2-letter words, we use the song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".  
Here is a pocket chart showing the lyrics using the word "at".  

 This can easily be turned into a Center Activity.  Other 2-letter words you can use are: 

 be my in go me is it to on   

Prepare letter and words cards as follows:  NOTE: Use a different color ink for each word!   

1) Make 4 sets of letters of word    
Ex. m   y  m   y   m   y   m   y

2) Make 2 sets of each complete word   Ex. my      my  

3) Put these in a baggie and label it with the word

Click {HERE} to link to this FREE file

A student selects a baggie with a focus word.  They put the pieces in the pocket chart before singing. Then they record the focus word on their paper. 

 3-Letter Words
The song "London Bridges" works well with 3-letter words. We first use it when introducing the sight word "the".  Another memory-making activity is to celebrate with "THE" Day!  

The is a hard sight word to learn to read and spell. We have found that having a fun day introducing this word helps students learn this important sight word.

Pin a 3" by 5" card with the word the on your shirt or hang it around your neck in a plastic "pocket".  

As you walk around the room, point to your word and ask children to read it. If they know the word, give them a High 5 or a small sticker.  We do realize that they might know that word  AT THAT MOMENT but may forget it throughout the day.  Still, this creates excitement about learning a new word.  

       The best poem to use to practice the word “the” is The Itsy, Bitsy Spider.  This poem has 8 stanzas and EVERY stanza has the word "the" in it. (You know you want to check it out!) 

Write the poem on sentence strips and place them in a pocket chart. Have students search for the word "the" in the poem.  As you sing the poem, clap every time you come to the word "the"!  Later, make a Class book entitled......wait for it.....The Book.  Students draw something and then label it.

Example:

Draw a cat.  Write the cat.  
   Here is a picture of The Book.

Other Sight Word “books”  might be a  "My Book" or a "His and Her Book".  

Student pictures & writing examples might be:   My Mom   My  bike   OR  His dog    Her cat   His bike   Her coat 

4-Letter Words

They is a difficult word to spell so this song helps them remember to put an e and not the a as it sounds. Use these spelling songs to practice ALL the words on your Word Wall.  One day, sing some of the 4-letter words.  On another day, sing some 3-letter words or Word Family Words or Weekly Spelling Words.  Mix it up and have fun! Music is a great memory device!

5-Letter Words

We found the tune "Bingo" is very successful in teaching 5-letter words.  We have even taught nieces and nephews to spell their own names using this simple song.  We created a spelling song Shared Reading packet called "Sammy the Moose Loves to Spell".  Check it out by clicking this link. 

6-Letter Words  and 7-Letter Words

Two of the most frequently used but also misspelled words are friend and because. 
Students as young as Kindergarten can learn to spell these two words correctly the first time so they don't have to unlearn the wrong ways as they progress up through the grades! 

TEACHER RESOURCE CARDS

We prepared a set of cards with ALL the songs on them showing the tunes and lyrics.  Click Spelling Songs to link to the file at our website. 

Print and cut the cards and punch a hole in upper left hand corners. Connect them with a metal ring for easy access. 
Flip to each song as  you practice the words.

We hope you give these spelling songs a try!  They really work!  

Click here to visit our TPT "store" for LOTS of learning songs and FREEBIES!