Trash Can Spelling

So ~ no I’m not throwing away their spelling tests in the trash can…but we like to play a fun little game about twice a week in my class called Trash Can Spelling.  The boys will EAT IT UP…just so you know, I love seeing the boys engaged and all competitive.  The game is so SIMPLE and it will cost you absolutely NOTHING!  You can implement it TOMORROW even!  All you need is some masking tape, a trash can and a wad of paper.

You need to set up it up to look something like this:

I use 25 points, 15 points, 10 points and 5 points…notice how close 5 points is to the trash can and how far away 25 points is…BUT there’s another component to this game.  The kids have to decide how far they want to throw from BUT also they have to realize a 25 point word will be MUCH harder than a 5 point word.  A 5 point word might be the or and….and a 25 point word might be decide or people.  I have had very ambitious littles go to 25 and don’t even get the chance to throw the ball wad of paper because they don’t spell the word right.  I like to play by tables so the tables play against each other and I may play 2-3 rounds and the table with the most points will win a school ticket, treasure chest item, etc.

The kids seriously LOVE this game along with a Math Champ game we play that I will tell you about later.  They always ask if they can play and I try to squeeze it in 2x’s a week.  It’s a great hands on way to fit in more spelling practice before the Friday test and they don’t even know they are ‘learning’.  The BEST kind of classroom fun!!!!