SpellingCity.com is a wonderful web 2.0 application for use by educators, teachers and students. This free website is an excellent resource for students who are learning how to spell or for practice with vocabulary words.
When you go to the website, the web page is welcoming and easy to use. On the left hand side of the screen is a place where students can put in their own word list, and then click on “test me,” “teach me,” or “play a game.” The “test me” option recites the word for the student, and says it in a sentence so that the students can independently take a practice test and print their results for their parents or teacher. The “teach me” option says the word for the student, spells it as the letters come up on the screen, gives the definition of the word, and then says the word again. The “play a game” option gives them a choice of 12 games and activities: Sentence and Paragraph Writing Practice, Match it, Alphabatize, Hang Mouse, Word Search, Unscramble, Audio Word Match, Which Word, Sentence Unscramble, Missing Letter and Crossword. When looking at the games, they can be sorted into Spelling, Word Meaning, Writing Practice, and Games for Younger Students.
There is a tab at the top of the main page for teachers, which has many resources. There are pre-made lists for teachers to use, training videos, letters to send home to parents, articles about spelling/vocabulary instruction and much more. You can create a free account and upload the lists for your students, and then all they need to do is sign on and log in to have access to their word list. If you choose to create a paid account for SpellingCity, you have access to automatic test grading and record keeping, and premium games for your students. Parents would then also be able to log on and look at their child’s progress.
I look forward to using this in my classroom as a language arts center, and I am hoping to convince my teammates to include this on our spelling homework “Choice Menu” for the students. I really think that my below grade level students would benefit from the games and the “teach me” option.
Kristen
