How to Make Spelling Fun

Learning to read and write should be an experience that children actually enjoy. Especially when they are in Key Stage 1. They should explore and actively participate in learning. When literacy feels like play rather than a task, children are more likely to become confident and motivated learners.

Here are my two favourite ways to make learning seem like playing. Which involve limited resources and time to set up!

Painting instead of writing is a simple one. Painting helps fine motor skills and is way more fun than using a pencil, yet it is essentially the same lesson.

I use magnetic letters and only select the letters the child knows already. This way they don't get overwhelmed by loads of sounds they don't know. They can manipulate the letters to make their own real or nonsense alien words.

This flip book takes about 5 minutes to create. Write a consonant or diagraph consonant at the start, then a vowel and finally and consonant or diagraph and the end and the children have ready made words to flip through.

Lets start making learning fun, stop the pressure on children who are super young.