Can we just take a moment to thank my red and blue ABC magnets for their many years of use at my spelling centers? I’m going to talk about really using letter magnets for word work activities in another blog post. Today, I want to talk about all the fun your students can have with online spelling games at your spelling centers!
Free Classroom Apps For Online Spelling Games
Let’s talk about the online spelling games that your students can play through different classroom apps or programs. I’ve updated this post after they changed my favorite platform for spelling games online: Spelling City. For whatever reason, they changed the platform DURING the pandemic, and I haven’t heard a positive thing about the new site yet. Hopefully, they’ll bring back our beloved “Hang Mouse” but until then let’s look at some other spelling games to play online.
Magnetic ABC
I had this app on my classroom iPads, and it’s great to practice sight words, as well as quick spelling practice at your centers. I usually posted a list of spelling words, and my students would spell each one by dragging the letters to the middle of the screen.
Pro: The letters are easy to drag.
Con: There is sound (which sounds like a pro) but it sounds out each letter, which is tricky for digraphs and diphthongs. I solved this by having them turn off their sound if it’s confusing.
But other than that, this is a great free app for your students to use as an online spelling game.
Starfall
This is an excellent website for emerging readers. The “Learn To Read” section covers many of the spelling skills your students need to learn. There are some interactive online spelling games that your kiddos will enjoy.
Pro: So many spelling skills and online spelling games!
Con: It’s tempting for your kiddos to play some of the online spelling games that aren’t related to the spelling skill you’re working on at the moment.
ABCya
My students cheer when they get to use the website, “ABCya”. The best part is that you can use ABCya free for as long as you’d like.
Pros: As far as free interactive spelling games go, ABCya has some great ones that are high-quality and fun for your students to use. My favorite is “Dungeon Dash” and you can play it here.
Con: Just like “Starfall”, it’s SOOOOO tempting to go to different games that aren’t based on your spelling skills.
Online Spelling Games With Boom Learning Cards
I’m getting my feet wet with Boom Learning Cards! “Boom Cards” or “Boom Decks” as they are called are super fun games that your students will love. You do need an account to play the games, but you can start with the basic plan for free.
Pros: Boom decks are self-checking! Your students will see which questions they answered correctly, so you don’t have to do any grading. You’ll also be able to see some helpful reports that show your student’s progress as they play their spelling games online.
Cons: Although there are many free Boom Learning cards, the games that are going to best suit your needs will need to be purchased. However, the Boom Card app is very similar to Teachers Pay Teachers, so when you buy the spelling word games online, you’ll have them to use each year.
Examples Of Online Spelling Games For Boom Learning
I’ve really had fun learning how to MAKE Boom Learning Cards! Here are the games offered in my membership, “The Literacy Stations Library”, that are also available to purchase!
Ocean Animal Online Spelling Game
Students will feed the hungry ocean animals with the correct spelling of the words that you are studying in your classroom. Learn more here.
The ocean animals games are available with printable and digital resources on Google Slides, Boom Cards, and Seesaw. If you use Google or Boom Cards, the ocean animals are GIFs, so their mouths will open and close!
ABC Soup Spelling Review Games
Making alphabet soup is easy with these interactive spelling games! You can play these spelling activities as a whole class or at your independent spelling centers! Learn how to play the games here!
There are printable cards for an interactive spelling activity or use Google Slides, Seesaw, or Boom Cards to play ABC Soup. Once you begin to play these spelling games, they will be a class favorite!
Spelling Online Puzzle Games
Your students will match the pieces of spelling puzzles together for some extra spelling practice. Learn more about the spelling games here.
These spelling puzzles are great for your spelling centers. With either digital games for Google Slides, Boom Cards, or Seesaw… or printable, low-prep spelling activities, you will love these puzzle activities for your students.
Seesaw Class App And Google Slides Games
The Seesaw app and Google Slides have been the go-to platforms for any type of virtual learning. Chances are, you have used one or both of these. If not, here are some Google Slide Ideas and tips on using the Seesaw tools.
Pros: You can design your own games and spelling activities online, with the spelling skills you need, and the audio that you choose.
Cons: Although there are activities in the Seesaw library for free, many times you are starting from scratch.
Hopefully, this helps you as you’re planning your spelling activities for the year.
Speaking of Seesaw, I love using the platform, but teaching the Seesaw tools to my students can be daunting! So I made it into a game! Here, you can get a FREE Seesaw Scavenger Hunt which will teach your students how to use the Seesaw activities!
