Singing to Spelling Idea

So – I have a 1st grader who was struggling just a bit with a couple sight words, such as very and what on his spelling list for this week, so – as I always do – I go to the web to see if there are any handy ideas out there.   I know he LOVES to sing.  In fact, when he was in preschool, he learned most everything through song.  Luckily he had a Kindergarten teacher who also incorporated a lot of music into the classroom as well.

Well – I needed to help him with these words, so the first thing I looked for was a way to mix music and spelling.

Do your students love to sing and hum all day? Use that novelty to practice spelling words! Check out this post for a few key songs for your current list!

While I am sure some of our most seasoned teachers knew this – I honestly had no idea that you could use very common songs to match perfectly with the number of letters a word has.   I love it!   It takes the guesswork out of coming up with a song and it is soooooo easy to pop the needed word into a song to practice before and after school.

This might be a great thing to share with parents as well if they have students who are struggling with certain words at home.

Check it out!

The following were compiled from the Internet:

For 3 letter words
This Old Man
Jingle Bells
Three Blind Mice

For 4 letter words
YMCA
Twinkle Twinkle little Star
Skip skip to my Lou
Are You Sleeping?

For 5 letter words
Row, Row, Row your boat
BINGO “There was a class that learned to spell; And this is what they sang-o” Skip skip to my Lou
You Are My Sunshine

For 6 letter words
This old man
Jingle Bells
Happy Birthday
Michael Row Your Boat Ashore
The Farmer in the Dell
Skip to My Lou

For 7 letter words
She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
Twinkle, Twinkle
Willoughby Wallaby Woo
Go In and Out the Window

For 8 letter words
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow

For 9 letter words
I’m A Little Teapot

For 11 letter words
Clap Your Hands (“Clap, clap, clap your hands; Clap your hands together.”)
If You’re Happy and You Know It

For 12 letter words
Ten Little Indians

Now – you can create your own “spelling songs” in your classroom and even send the tunes home with your students for parents to practice as well!   While I do encourage my child to use phonics to sound out most of his list, there are some sight words where sounding it out won’t really work.  That is where this just may be a fun activity to use instead.

Need some more spelling ideas? Here’s a free eBook for you!

Do your students love to sing and hum all day? Use that novelty to practice spelling words! Check out this post for a few key songs for your current list!

Do you integrate music into your classroom daily – or weekly?  We would love to hear your ideas in the comments below as well!   Thanks for sharing!

~Charity
Charity Preston Bio Pic

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