Download Activities for Teaching and Reviewing High Frequency Words Use

Activities for Teaching and Reviewing High Frequency Words
One of the best ways to help children learn high frequency words and remember how to spell them
automatically is to play games using the word wall as reference. Games played on a daily basis will help
promote children’s reading and spelling skills while also highlighting the usefulness of print in your
classroom.
Rhyme with the Word Wall
Say a sentence containing a word that rhymes with one of the Word Wall words and is spelled with the
same pattern. Children must decide which word rhymes and how to spell it.
1. Children number their papers with 1-5.
2. Give the following clues for the lessons words.
 Example: Number 1 begins with a t and rhymes with walk.
 Children write “talk” on paper.
 To check their answers, say the rhyming word and let children say the word they wrote and
chant its spelling.
Musical Chairs
1. Put a word card on each chair.
2. When the music stops, have each student pick up the word card from the chair they are closest to
and sit in the chair.
3. Children read and spell word to the person sitting next to them.
Review Endings
This activity helps children learn to spell Word Wall words that need an ending.
1. Children number their papers with 1-5.
2. Call out a word that you can add an ending to.
 Example: Say you have the word “jump” on your word wall. Call out “jumping.” The frog is
jumping over the log. Jumping.
 Children write “jumping” on paper.
 Ask what Word Wall word was used with an ending.
 Class says the word and chants its spelling.
3. Continue in same manner with four additional words.
Partner Find
1. Give each student a card with a word on it.
2. Children have to find their partner with the matching word.
3. Children say and spell the word to each other.
Make Sentences
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1. Dictate a sentence using several of the Word Wall words:
 Example: “Josh will come to my house to play.”
2. Children listen as you repeat the whole sentence.
3. Then repeat the sentence one word at a time, giving children plenty of time to find the words on
the Word Wall and write them. Remind the children to begin sentences with a capital letter.
Have days when you dictate questions and exclamatory sentences. Use children’ names in the
sentences. Children may also like to dictate sentences using lots of words from the Word Wall.
Be a Mind Reader
1. Children number their papers with 1-5.
2. Tell them that you are going to see who can read your mind and figure out which of the words on
the Word Wall you are thinking of. Tell them you will give them five clues. By the
fifth clue, everyone should guess your word, but if they read your mind they might get it before
the fifth clue.
 For your first clue, always give the same clue:
“It’s one of the words on the Word Wall.”
Children write the word they think it might be next to number 1.
 The second clue is:
“It has four letters.”
Children write the word next to number 2.
 The third clue is:
“It begins with a digraph wh.”
Student writes word next to number 3.
 The fourth clue is:
“It has a short e vowel sound.”
Student writes the word next to number 4.
 The fifth clue is:
“It begins the sentence: ____will lunch be ready?” [When]
3. Do several words in the same manner. As children get familiar with this activity, they may like to
be the person giving the clues and having their mind read.
Word Sorts
1. Write 10-15 words on large index cards and place them in a pocket chart.
2. Have children write these words on separate smaller cards or papers at their desks.
3. Have children sort the words into different piles depending on features certain words share.
Children may sort all words that begin with a certain sound, have a certain vowel sound, or
contain a certain blend or digraph.
Guess the Covered Word
The purpose of this activity is to help children practice the important strategy of cross-checking meaning
with letter-sound information.
2314 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
T: 215-561-4676
F: 215-561-4677
[email protected]
www.cli.org
1. Write four or five sentences on the board, sentence strips or overhead. Cover a word in each
sentence with two sticky notes--one covering the onset, the other covering the rime.
2. Call on a student to read the first sentence.
3. Children make several guesses about the covered word. Write the guesses on the board.
4. Take off the first sticky note that is covering the onset.
5. Erase guesses that don’t begin with that onset and add any new guesses.
6. When all the guesses that fit the onset and meaning of the sentence are written, reveal the
whole word.
Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check
1. Have children fold a paper into three or four columns.
2. Call out five Word Wall words.
3. Children write the list of words in the first column.
4. Begin with the first word. Say it and notice parts to remember. Look closely at the letters to
notice the visual details. Cover the word with a card and think about how the word looks. Write
the word from memory. Uncover and check it with the word in the first column.
5. Cover and write the word again and check.
6. Continue with remaining words.
Flashlight Fun
1. Turn off the lights.
2. Say the poem together with the class:
Flashlight, flashlight, oh so bright,
Shine on a word with your light.
3. Shine the flashlight on individual words for the class to read and chant.
Let’s Cheer
1. Choose five words from the Word Wall.
2. For each word, print each letter of the word boldly on a piece of paper.
3. Cheerleaders face the class holding the letter to spell the word.
4. Call out the first letter of the word.
5. The student holding that letter steps forward and raises the paper as the class says the letter.
6. Continue until the entire word has been spelled.
7. Say the word three times in unison.
8. Take turns being cheerleaders and spelling the rest of the words.
Word Fun Center
1. Choose five words from the Word Wall and write them on the board.
2. Ask the children to make the words using different materials that you have available such as:
painted lima beans, letter tiles, pasta, stencils, Wikki Stix, Play- Doh, alphabet stamps,
magnetic letters
2314 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
T: 215-561-4676
F: 215-561-4677
[email protected]
www.cli.org
2314 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
T: 215-561-4676
F: 215-561-4677
[email protected]
www.cli.org
Word Jar
1. When five new Word Wall words are introduced, write them on a slip of paper and add to the
Word Jar.
2. Choose five children to pick a word from the jar.
3. One student at a time reads their word, class chants the spelling.
4. Continue with additional words.
Rainbow Words
1. Pass out paper to each student.
2. Choose five Word Wall words.
3. Say a word and have children chant it and write it on paper with a crayon.
4. Do the same for the additional words.
5. After all the words have been written once with a crayon, children go back and write each word
again with two different colors of crayons.
Secret Letter Bag
1. Place letters of the alphabet in a brown paper bag.
2. Select a student to pick two letters out of the secret letter bag.
3. The whole class reads the words on the Word Wall between those two letters.
2314 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
T: 215-561-4676
F: 215-561-4677
[email protected]
www.cli.org