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🎾
Spelling Tennis
Two teams take turns spelling a word one letter at a time like a tennis rally.
⏱ 10-15 min⚡ Low energy👥 2 teams
📚 Vocabulary
• spelling practice
• any lesson vocabulary
• high frequency words
• topic words
🛠 Materials
• Whiteboard to write letters as they are called
• Vocabulary word list
📋 How to Play
- Divide the class into two teams sitting on opposite sides.
- Teacher announces a word to spell — "CAT!"
- Team A starts by calling the first letter — "C!"
- Team B calls the second letter — "A!"
- Team A calls the third letter — "T!"
- The team that calls the final letter correctly wins the point.
- If a team calls the wrong letter they lose the point.
- Write letters on the board as they are called so everyone can follow.
💡 Teacher Tips
✓Start with short 3-letter words and gradually increase difficulty.
✓Write each letter on the board as it is said — keeps everyone engaged.
✓This game makes spelling practice genuinely exciting.
✓Use only words from the current lesson for maximum learning value.
🔄 Variations
→Individual tennis — two children face off instead of two teams.
→After spelling correctly the team must also say the word in a sentence.
→Backwards spelling — teams spell the word in reverse order for extra challenge.
Want full 50-minute lesson plans for Ages 5-6?