Purpose:

To practice spelling, word families, reading and writing skills

Description:

You need 1 or more sets of tiles to do these activities. You can get them from the game Scrabble®, for example, or make your own out of paper or card..

• Random letter draw – Learners take a set number of letter tiles and try to make a word using 2 or more of their tiles. Learners read their words to each other.
• Build a word – Learners take 7 tiles. The first learner places one of his letter tiles on the table. The next learner adds a letter tile to either side of the first tile. The tile added must be a possible combination for a word. He or she must have a word in mind as he/she does so. Play passes to the next player who adds another tile. When a word is completed, play starts again with a new word. Higher level learners may build the new word off one of the letters in the first word, crossword style.
• Word families – Place a root of a word family on the table, e.g. -ing. Place the rest of the tiles letter-side up on the table. Learners take turns choosing a letter or combination of letters that can be placed in front of the root to make a word.
• How many words – Give learners 10 to12 random letters, including 4 to 5 vowels. Learners work in pairs to create as many words as they can with their letters. They may use the letters more than once, but may only use the letters they have in the quantity they have. For example, if they have only one “m”, they could spell “mop” but not “mom.” They keep track of the words they have made by writing them down on a sheet of paper.

Scrabble® is the property of Hasbro.