Teaching Phonics and Spelling Patterns

I enjoyed reading all about different lesson formats I can use as a teacher one day to help my students learn and pay attention to patterns in words. One game that stuck out to me is called “the wheel”. In the game show wheel of fortune, which I love, it is based on the idea that having meaning and some letters allows you to figure out many words.  A modification of this game can be used for students to introduce them big words and to teach them the meaning and all the letters they know.

How to Play

1. ·      Students guess all letters without considering if they are consonants or vowels.
2. ·      They must have all letters filled in before they can say the word.
3. ·      The word must fit in a sequence rather than in a category
4. ·      Vanna will not be there to turn letters J

Write a sentence on the board and draw a blank for each letter of an important word. The students will then take turning guessing letters until they can guess the word. I have always loved the wheel of fortune, and now I can incorporate it into my own classroom which I love!

I feel it is so important to really have your students engaged in a classroom. Having fun activities and games that teach your students about the lesson you are giving helps them learn in my opinion a lot better than having lectures all the time; Especially for me because I am going to be a special education teacher in an elementary setting. I really enjoy how Arlington and Cunningham provide a lot of different examples of activities and games for students to practice their reading, words and writing.