Here’s a board game that helps you slay spelling demons.
Purpose
To master the correct spelling of frequently misspelled words.
Participants
Minimum: 2
Maximum: Any number, divided into pairs of players
Best: 2 to 20
Time
10 to 15 minutes
Supplies
Game board. A 3 x 3 grid with some of the squares randomly printed in three different colors.
Words lists. Two pages of frequently misspelled words. Each page contains 32 words.
Counters. Two stacks of counters of different colors, six of each. These could be poker chips of two different colors or stacks of coins of two different denominations.
Flow
Get ready for the game. Place the game board in the middle of the table. Ask each player to choose a stack of counters.
Give the list of spelling words. Give different lists of spelling words to each of the two players. Ask them to hold the list so the other player cannot see the words.
Start the game. The younger player goes first. This player reads any of the spelling words from his list. The other player immediately spells the word.
Give feedback. The first player announces if the word is spelled correctly or incorrectly. If correct, the other player places one of her counters on any empty square on the game board. If incorrect, the first player spells the word correctly, using the list. The other player does not place her counter anywhere on the board.
Play the next round. The second player repeats the process by reading a spelling word from his list. The other player spells it. The first player gives appropriate feedback.
Continue the game. The game continues with the players taking turns reading new spelling words from the list. During the subsequent rounds, if a player has already occupied a square, he has to spell two words correctly to occupy the second square. The other person reads two words from the same list, one word at a time.
Make progressive demands. During later rounds, a player has to correctly spell as many words as the number of spaces he is currently occupying plus one more in order to occupy the next square. For example, he has to correctly spell three words to occupy the third square, four words to occupy the fourth square, and so on.
Conclude the game. The game ends when one player occupies three squares in a straight line – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. This player wins the game. Alternatively, a player wins if he occupies three squares of the same color. If all the squares on the game board are occupied without anyone occupying three squares in a straight line (or of the same color), then the player who occupies the most squares is the winner.
Repeat the game. Ask the participants to exchange the page that they have been referring to. Play the next game as before but with the new page.
Frequently Misspelled Words – Page 1
- Traveler
- Coolly
- Unparalleled
- Nickel
- Glamorous
- Frenetic
- Monkeys
- Pseudonym
- Triplicate
- Resuscitate
- Genealogy
- Pavilion
- Dysfunctional
- Abbreviate
- Grammar
- Judgment
- Acceptable
- Accidentally
- Accommodate
- Acquire
- Acquit
- Amateur
- Apparent
- Argument
- Atheist
- Believe
- Bellwether
- Calendar
- Category
- Cemetery
- Changeable
- Collectible
Frequently Misspelled Words – Page 2
- Column
- Committed
- Conscience
- Conscientious
- Conscious
- Consensus
- Daiquiri
- Definitely
- Discipline
- Drunkenness
- Dumbbell
- Embarrass
- Equipment
- Exhilarate
- Exceed
- Existence
- Experience
- Fiery
- Foreign
- Gauge
- Grateful
- Guarantee
- Harass
- Height
- Hierarchy
- Humorous
- Ignorance
- Immediate
- Independent
- Indispensable
- Inoculate
- Intelligence