Free Spelling Curriculum

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This week I've been thinking 1) about Sami and Spelling and 2) about how I can save money on curriculum for homeschooling.  I was telling my husband briefly about spelling and his response was, "Why can't she just copy the words like we always used to do?"  He thought my dwelling on finding the perfect spelling curriculum should come back to rote memory.  Sami had been telling me that she doesn't like Spellwell.  She just wanted to go back to Spelling Power.  I just hadn't gotten my mind around how to use it with her in order to make it work well for her.  So, that's what I worked on yesterday.

For spelling, you need a set of lists.
http://www.k12reader.com/ has lists for grades 1-5
http://www.aaaspell.com/grade1.htm has lists for grades 1-8
http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/free-spelling-lists has lists for grades 1-7

Inside my girls' spelling notebooks is this information:


WeeklySpelling Plan
Monday: Pretest        Copy words thatare misspelled 3 times.
Tuesday:  10 Step Spelling Sheet 
Wednesday: 1) Write down the spelling rule(paraphrased in mom’s words).2) Sort Words into categories        3) Write words inalphabetical order
Thursday:  Copy spelling rule on the top of today’s activity sheet.  Choose a spelling activity from SpellingActivity Sheet.
Friday: Post Test
I am using the lists from Spelling Power. An older copy of spelling power can be found on ebay for $5.  
On Tuesday, they use an age appropriate 10 step spelling sheet.Here's a link to an example: http://highland.hitcho.com.au/10stepstudy.pdfand directions: http://www.spellingpower.com/spbucd/recordbooks/howtostudyaword.pdf
I compiled age appropriate activity sheets.  Here's the 2nd/3rd grade sheet:
Spelling Activities 2/31.         Writeeach spelling word without its vowels. Replace each vowel with a line.2.         Writeyour spelling words in crayon or pen. Write each consonant letter in red andeach vowel in blue.3.         Write thewords and cross out all of silent letters.4.         Writeeach spelling word in a rainbow of colors.  First, write the words with ared crayon. Trace over the words with a blue crayon. Finally, trace the wordsagain with a green crayon.5.    Writeyour spelling words as fractions.  Thenumber of vowels is the numerator and number of consonants is the denominator. 6.      Writeyour words with all the letters scrambled up.  Then ask a parent or sibling to unscramble thewords in your notebook. Correct that person’s work.7.    Writeeach spelling word.  Next to each word, write two additional words of atleast three letters that can be spelled using the letters in the word.  8.    Useletter tiles to spell out this week’s words.  9.    Use eachspelling word in a sentence. Correct spelling and grammar count!10.    Writeyour spelling words on cards (make two sets) and play "Memory Match"with them against a sibling or parent.  11.  Use athesaurus to write a synonym for each word.12.  Writeyour words by arranging the letters in alphabet pasta.  Glue them on paperor do it on a table or counter at home.13.   Usea dictionary to write a definition for each word.  (You can borrow adictionary from school if you do not have one at home.)14. Locomotive Words - Write the entire list end-to-end as one longword, using different colors of pens or crayons for each word.15.  Draw a picture to illustrateeach word

and the 4th/5th grade sheet:
Spelling Activities, 4/5You may choose 1 activityto complete.1.         Writeeach spelling word without its vowels. Replace each vowel with a line.2.         Writeyour spelling words in crayon or pen. Write each consonant letter in red andeach vowel in blue.3.         Write thewords and cross out all of silent letters.4.         Writeeach spelling word in a rainbow of colors.  First, write the words with ared crayon. Trace over the words with a blue crayon. Finally, trace the wordsagain with a green crayon.5.      Writeyour words with all the letters scrambled up. Then ask a parent or sibling tounscramble the words in your notebook. Correct that person’s work.6.    Writeeach spelling word.  Next to each word, write two additional words of atleast three letters that can be spelled using the letters in the word.  7.    Useletter tiles to spell out this week’s words.  8.    SpellingMath: Which spelling word has the highest value? Which word hasthe lowest value? Do any words have an equal value?  Vowels are worth 1point and consonants are worth. “y” is worth 3 because it can sound like avowel, but is a consonant9.    Use eachspelling word in a sentence. Correct spelling and grammar matter.10.    Draw andcolor a picture. "Hide" the words in the picture. Donot color over the words.11.    Writeyour spelling words on cards (make two sets) and play "Memory Match"with them against a sibling or parent.  12.  Use athesaurus to write a synonym for each word.13.  Write aletter to a friend/relative, in proper letter format, using your spellingwords. Underline each word.14.  Writetongue twisters for using at least 12 of your spelling words.  Example-spelling word: some- Sally saw some sealsin the sea.15.  Writeyour words by arranging the letters in alphabet pasta.  Glue them on paperor do it on a table or counter at home.16.   Cutout letters from headlines or ads in newspapers or magazines. Use the lettersto spell your spelling words. Paste the letters on paper.17.   Writea song using all of your spelling words.18.   Use your spelling words to write a short story. Your story must include allof the words.19.   Usea dictionary to write a definition for each word.  20. Scrambled words-Write your words, then write them againwith the letters mixed up.21. Locomotive Words - Write the entire list end-to-end as one longword, using different colors of pens or crayons for each word.

As a side note--all of these ideas were duplicated on multiple websites.  I chose the ones that I knew would fit our family and ones we were already doing.   I also modified the ideas on these sheets so that they would be appropriate and work well for my kids.  It was interesting to see that many people are using the same spelling activities.
So, that's how my family does spelling.  A notebook, paper, lists, and a few copies!