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Action Factor,  Inc.  presents the workshop for teachers and parents

Enrich Your Spelling Program with Games and Challenges

Presenter: Dr. Myrna R. Gifford

Workshop overview: How is it that students can earn a 100% on a spelling test only to misspell those very words in their writing? How can we teach students spelling principles so that they can spell words they may not have seen in print? And what can we do to help students remember word spellings over the long haul? Answers to these questions and more are the focus of this workshop. The brain-based tips, techniques, and activities can infuse a spirit of playfulness and self-competition into your spelling curriculum, helping students to improve their spelling and have fun in the process.

Objectives of the presentation: Participants will learn a) simple management techniques for individualizing classroom spelling programs, b) several basic game formats that can be adapted for learning centers and flexible groupings, c) how to involve students and parents in creating spelling games and challenges, d) how to help students transfer spelling skills to their daily writing. Participants will receive a packet of ready-to-use activities and information that can be adapted to individual needs and curricula.

Format of the presentation: This is an interactive workshop where participants participate in the spelling games and challenges that they will use in their classrooms. Full-day workshops include make-and-take games and activities.

Target age group: Primary grades through middle school

Target audience: Classroom teachers, special educators, administrators, pre-school teachers, tutors, parents, and others who wish to provide young learners with alternatives to traditional classroom instruction.

Brief summary of content: Perhaps more than any other content area, spelling lends itself to study through games and activities. By engaging in such playful and motivational challenges, students practice their spelling skills in several contexts leading to enhanced transfer and retention over time. The psychology of games and challenges produces a useful learning phenomenon--the words that students “miss” in the course of spelling games become the words that are most remembered in the long run. Some of the most successful spelling game formats include basic and modified word scrambles, crossword puzzles, dictionary races, newspaper searches, poetry and wordplay, mnemonics and memory aids, chanting and singing, and several self-test formats. With the addition of a stopwatch, self-competition and peer-assisted competition adds motivation and success for all spellers.

To request a customized workshop at your location, please use our online form.