Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Tech Review #2 Spelling City
I would like to introduce you all to Spelling City! It is a PHENOMENAL
website. The teacher can create usernames for all students which allows
the students to go home and practice their spelling words and
vocabulary. The teacher can get online and look at the activity from
each student. Students can practice their spelling and vocabulary by
playing a variety of games, taking practice tests, and doing many other
activities. There are many different sections that the students may
click on. They may click on "spelling test," "vocabulary test," "teach
me," "flash cards," and "play a game." Students also have the
opportunity to play a game against another student. This is fun for them
because it becomes slightly competitive and they are playing against
their friends! Students can listen to a real person pronounce each word
and there are also printable worksheets for extra practice. Teachers may
select their own words or choose from a list of words that Spelling
City has already created. They may also take their actual
spelling/vocabulary tests online weekly. This way, the teacher has the
grades and the students may keep track of their progress and students
gain computer skills. There is also a student grouping and
differentiation link that allows teachers to group students based on
ability level. Overall, this is a great website and resource because
students love it and as a teacher, so do I!
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I had not seen Spelling City before today and I spent a while playing the games and seeing what resources there were for teachers. I think it's a good source of materials such as lists, but I found most of the activities to be of the skill and drill variety. I think that has its place, certainly, as practice or reinforcement activities. I kind of liked timing myself in spelling activities and I am sure some other students would as well.
ReplyDeleteThe "vocabulary matching" activity I was not so enamored with. I chose one with the cities in Tennessee and the clues were esoteric, nit-picky facts such as "this is the 9th largest city in Tennessee." Who does that help?
I think there is lots of potentially good material here. I think the site would work well as a station for students to work on occasionally, but I would also want to make sure they were engaged in actual reading and writing with longer texts as well. Literacy learning is all about balance!