This activity is an extension of our Amphibious Vehicles Unit Study. I created a game that will teach the student how to spell the word amphibious.

Amphibious Spelling Game

This game will help the student learn how to spell the word amphibious. The word amphibious is a challenging word to spell and so turning it into a game helps everyone learn in a fun and relaxing way.

Introduction

Before we go any further, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Kaycee and I am a homeschooling mama to our large family. We have seven beautiful children who we have homeschooled from the very beginning of time.

We have a child at every level of learning from preschool to high school. As you can imagine, I am constantly on the prowl for creative ways to teach them and I find a lot of success when I can turn a typical lesson into a game.

That’s exactly what happened here! We are learning about amphibious vehicles because as a part of our study of World War 2. After I wrote my Amphibious Vehicles Unit Study, I recognized the perfect opportunity to teach a spelling lesson because you know how difficult and intimidating this word can be. Ha! I am constantly misspelling it while writing this post. I’m pretty sure I need to play my game again!

By the way, the Amphibious Vehicles Unit Study is available for free! It teaches them what amphibious means and they even get to try and build an amphibious car of their own. My children were fascinated and so I really hope you will check it out!

Amphibious Vehicles | A Give ‘N Go Unit Study

Teaching Spelling

I mentioned above that we have been blessed with seven children. As you can imagine, we have a variety of challenges we have had to face and conquer. I can tell you spelling is one of those challenges.

I have multiple children who struggle in this area which has made me try so many things. One of the ways I have found that we are the most successful is when I can teach spelling within a game. There are a few reasons for this:

• It’s fun!
• Takes the shame out of it
• Everyone is working toward the same goal
• It actually works!

It’s fun!

Games are just fun! When I can take something my child struggles with and turn it into something fun, guess what happens? They become much more engaged and want to participate. For example, I could have had my children write this word ten times but instead I created this game where they had to use strategy while figuring how to spell this big word. They were on board with this idea!

Takes the shame out of it

I don’t know about your family but when a child has a tough time spelling, they get really embarrassed. When we have a game to play, they help each other, and I find that tends to remove any shame that they might feel from it. I want them to be willing to learn a new word and embrace that with all they have!

Everyone is working toward the same goal

As I stated above, when we were playing this game everyone was trying to learn how to spell this word. While there is definitely a strategy, they were willing to help their sibling be successful. It was a whole lot better than someone making a comment about how another person messed up or didn’t spell it correctly.

It actually works!

The best part about playing spelling games is that it actually works! I have watched my children become better spellers because I have consistently played these types of games. It gives them a chance to implement what they are learning in that spelling curriculum!

Teaching with Games

I want to take a moment to share with you why I teach with games. However, if you already know this and want to jump straight to the Amphibious Spelling Game, you can do that HERE.

Anyways, back to my thoughts on games. I absolutely love teaching with games and here are some of my reasons:

• Emphasizes what the child is learning
• Uses their “smarts”
• Gives them a chance to put what they have learned in action
• Promotes Sportsmanship
• Quality Time Together

Emphasizes What the Child is Learning

We teach with unit studies regularly! What is a unit study you ask? A unit study is when you take a topic and explore every part of that topic. This allows the child to see the subject from several different perspectives and vantage points.

Teaching with unit studies offers an excellent opportunity for incorporating games into the lesson plan. You can take the topic you’re exploring and turn it into a game of some kind.

Uses Their “Smarts”

I wrote an entire post about How I Taught My Kids the 8 Great Smarts. I encourage you to read it because the book “8 Great Smarts” by Kathy Koch was a game-changer for our family.

When you can play a game, it provides a chance for the child to use any of their smarts. However, it also helps them learn and exercise other smarts that they have not mastered. You never know what smart you will awaken!

How I Taught the 8 Great Smarts to My Kids

Puts Learning in Action

This game gave the kids the opportunity to put what they had learned into action. They were able to pick out the spelling pattern and recognize any special sounds. Plus, they had already learned what the word meant.

Promotes Sportsmanship

Don’t worry we all have a child (or three!) who doesn’t lose well. As parents we tend to shy away from playing games because, well, let’s be honest, it’s stressful! However, one thing I have learned is that the best way to deal with this is to keep playing on a regular basis.

When we start the game, I always encourage my children to simply have fun and do their best. If they win the game, be a good sport and show humility. If they lose the game, congratulate the person who won and try to be proud of their effort.

When we lose, it’s okay to feel sad but we must try to control our emotions.

Quality Time Together

I don’t know about you, but I think playing games creates quality time with my family! I like to give my kids some information upfront and then give them a game they can play that uses that information. For us, it helps them remember it all in a way they can engage with.

Mom and Dad don’t be afraid to get in there and play with your kiddos! When you do that it will make a memory and that’s what is all about! I played this one with my children and had a wonderful time! Don’t tell them I told you this, I even learned something too.

Facts about the game:

• The goal of the game is to be the first one to spell the word A-M-P-H-I-B-I-O-U-S.
• The spelling cards have the word amphibious printed on them as a reference for the student. At the beginning of the game, lay them on the table where everyone can see them.
• The playing cards have letters on them that when put together, they spell amphibious. There is also a playing card that says “ANY LETTER” which can be used in place of any letter the student is missing.

How to set the game up

• Print the game out onto white cardstock.
• Cut the spelling cards and letter cards apart. Shuffle them well.

How to Play:

1. Layout the spelling cards on the table where everyone can see how to spell amphibious.
2. Give each player 10 cards.
3. Put the remainder of the cards into the center of the table.
4. Flip the top card over so everyone can see it.
5. Choose a person to go first.
6. They will pick the card facing up or choose one from the stack.
7. They will discard what they don’t want or need.
8. Repeat until everyone has spelled the word “Amphibious.”

Get the Game!

Thanks for reading this post! The Amphibious Spelling Game can be downloaded from my Teachers Pay Teachers store. We genuinely appreciate you supporting this journey of ours!