Most of these activities are adapted ideas from Kathy Ganske's book Word Journeys. Each week we have a new spelling pattern to study. We pretty much the same activities with each pattern.
Find a Sort
The first activity we do to start off each week is 'find the sort'. Each child is given our spelling words to cut out and organize. They look for patterns and then organize them how they see fit. They then talk to people at their table about why they sorted their words the way they did. They are to agree which is the most logical way to sort the words and the whole table sort the same way. Then We talk whole class about the different sorts at each table. After this, I bring reveal the different patterns and the different categories we will be studying each week.
Phonemic Spelling
Each student gets a set of magnetic letters or wiki sticks. I say the word to them and they spell it on their desk. We listen to each sound and decide how many sounds there are compared to the number of letters. I then write the word correctly in the sort on the board.
Stop and Smell the Spelling
This activity is great for making sure the students are able to put the words into sentences & illustrate the word as well. It is easy to do a language (punctuation & capitalization) grade with this activity!
Find the Spelling Pattern in Books
This activity is wonderful because it applies our phonics study to the books we read. I give each student a sticky note. They are to find the pattern we are studying that week in a book they have read. They write their word they find on the sticky note. I call them up one at a time to put their sticky note on the white board inside a sort.