Word Crafting Classroom Challenge

Use this word crafting classroom challenge to help your students develop word building skills along with teamwork practice.

This word crafting classroom challenge has been created as an engaging back to school activity.

Download this free activity by clicking on the blue pencil at the bottom of this post.

About this word crafting classroom challenge

I created this activity to use in the first week back to school. I wanted an activity that gives us the beginning for some of our word work skills but also encourages students to work together.

You will find many different words. I will be using it with my sixth graders, but you will also find words that can be used for students in younger grades such as friend or helpful.

Students will use the letters provided to create as many words as possible. The activity is designed to help improve phonics and spelling skills.

Getting ready

• Print each page on a different color of card stock. This will help for easy sorting when the letters get mixed up!
• If doing this as a team activity, you will want one set of letters for each team.
• Place each set of letters in an envelope, baggie, or small box.
• Use your poster maker to create a poster of the scoreboard.
• Laminate the poster so you can reuse it.

Next, divide your class into teams. You can choose the size of your teams but between two and four students will be good. Display the scoreboard.

Rules

Here are the rules I am using, feel free to change them to fit your classroom.

1. Each team will have a designated amount of time to build as many words as possible with the given letters.
2. Words must be real English words found in the dictionary.
3. No proper nouns are allowed.
4. Words must be spelled correctly.
5. You may not use any tools to help you such as a dictionary or iPad.

Scoring

Again, make changes to fit your students!

• 3 points: words with 3 – 4 letters
• 5 points: words with 5-6 letters
• 8 points: words with 7 or more letters

Extension

Challenge your students to create new words by adding or changing the prefixes and suffixes on each word.

While completing this activity, your students will be working on the following skills:

1. Improve Spelling Skills: Encourage students to practice spelling words correctly through word-building exercises.
2. Develop Phonics Skills: Reinforce students’ understanding of letter sounds and word formations by creating words using letter tiles.
3. Foster Teamwork: Promote collaboration and teamwork among students as they work together in teams to build words and achieve common goals.
4. Encourage Creativity: Inspire students to think creatively and come up with various word combinations within the given letters.
5. Strengthen Language Skills: Improve language and communication skills by encouraging students to talk as they work together.
6. Boost Confidence: Provide students with a fun and supportive environment to build their confidence in their language arts abilities.
7. Encourage Strategic Thinking: Challenge students to strategize and plan their word-building to maximize points and use all the given letters.
8. Promote Positive Classroom Community: Create a positive and inclusive classroom culture where students can learn from one another and celebrate each other’s achievements.
9. Engage in Healthy Competition: Encourage friendly competition among students, promoting a sense of excitement and motivation to participate actively in the learning process.

You can download the materials for this activity by clicking on the blue pencil below: