Read It, Spell It, Write It: A Simple Hands-On Spelling Activity

Make spelling practice hands-on with this free Read It, Spell It, Write It printable! Use it with any spelling program, letter tiles, or phonograms.

When my kids were working on spelling, I wanted a simple way for them to do more than just write their spelling words over and over again. I wanted them to read the word, think about how it was spelled, then spell the word, and finally write the word.

That’s how I came up with this simple Read It, Spell It, Write It spelling activity.

It’s a straightforward, hands-on way to practice spelling words, and because you can use it with whatever spelling words you’re already working on, it’s easy to fit into any spelling curriculum.

How the Read It, Spell It, Write It Activity Works

The free printable has three sections for each spelling word:

1. Read It.

Before handing the page to your child, write one spelling word in each of the four boxes in the Read It section.

Your child reads the word aloud, sounding it out if appropriate. Once they’ve read the word, they put a check mark in the little box beside it.

Simple!

FYI – the box for the check mark serves as a visual reminder to the child to actually read the word aloud first.

2. Spell It.

Next, comes the hands-on part. Instead of immediately writing the word, you child spells the word using phonogram tiles in the Spell It section.

The tiles allow the child to physically construct the word, including multi-letter phonograms.

For example, instead of thinking of a word as a string of individual letters, the child can see and build the phonograms that make up the word.

I made my own magnetic phonogram tiles, and you can download the free printable tiles and make a set yourself.

If you don’t want to make your own, All About Spelling’s Letter Tiles are another option. They are designed to be used as magnetic tiles for building words and work well for this type of activity.

But you don’t have to use phonograms tiles at all. You could use magnetic letters, foam letters, alphabet disks, or whatever spelling manipulatives you already have.

The idea is simply to give your child a chance to kinesthetically spell the word before writing it.

3. Write It.

Finally, your child writes the word in the Write It section.

So for each word, your child has the opportunity to:

Read it ➜ Spell it ➜ Write it

I like that the child isn’t just copying the word repeatedly. Each step asks them to interact with the spelling word in a slightly different way.

What You Need

You don’t really need much to make this activity work. Here’s what we used:

• Read It, Spell It, Write It printable (free download further below)
• Spelling words
• Magnetic phonogram tiles
• A magnetic surface
• A dry erase marker

For the magnetic surface, we used a magnetic whiteboard I found at a garage sale.

You could also use a cookie sheet as your magnetic surface, although I found the raised edge of the cookie sheet made writing a little awkward. (Perhaps try turning the cookies sheet over.) Either way, a flat surface works best.

Choose Your Favorite Color

I know we all have different preferences when it comes to our homeschool printables, so I made the Read It, Spell It, Write It printable available in 13 different color variations!

Choose from several color options, including a black-and-white version if you’d prefer to save on colored ink.

All of the color variations feature the same simple layout, so you can pick your favorite without changing how the activity works.

Just choose the version you prefer when you download the free printable, and you’re ready to get started!

Make the Printable Reusable

I recommend laminating the Read It, Spell It, Write It page so you can use it again and again.

Once it’s laminated, your child can use the dry-erase marker to check the boxes and write the spelling words. When you’re finished, just wipe the page clean and it’s ready for the next set of words.

Don’t have a laminator? You can also slide the printable into a page protector or pocket sleeve and use a dry-erase marker on top of it.

Either way, you end up with a spelling activity that you can use week after week without printing a new page every time.

Use It With Any Spelling Program

When we used this activity, we were using Spell to Write and Read for our spelling curriculum.

But you absolutely do not have to use Spell to Write and Read to use this printable.

That’s one of the things I like about it. You can use the spelling words from whatever curriculum you’re currently using.

Whether your child is working through a traditional spelling list, studying word families, practicing phonograms, or working on a specific spelling rule, you can simply choose four words and use those words with the printable.

And honestly, you don’t even need a spelling curriculum. You could choose four words your child has been having trouble spelling.

Or maybe there are four words you want to introduce this week. Perhaps you just want a quick, hands-on spelling activity for some extra practice.

Just choose four words and you’re ready to go!

A Simple Way to Add Some Hands-On Practice

Spelling practice doesn’t have to involve a complicated game or a pile of supplies.

Sometimes it’s nice to have a simple routine you can pull out when your child needs a little extra practice.

Read it.

Spell it.

Write it.

And when you use letter or phonogram tiles for the middle step, your child gets a chance to physically interact with the word before actually writing it.

Get the Free Read It, Spell It, Write It Printable

Ready to try it with your spelling words?

Print it, laminate it (or slip it into a page protector or pocket sleeve), grab your spelling words and some letter or phonogram tiles, and you’re all set!

If you’re looking for phonogram tiles to use with the activity, you can download my free magnetic phonogram tiles or check out the All About Spelling Letter Tiles for a ready-made option.

This post was originally published on May 11, 2011 and has been updated with new information and resources.