Vocabulary Spelling City

Welcome to 2014! I just know it's going to be a GREAT Year! I can feel it in 'me bones'. (Even as old and achy as they are :)

I have fallen in LOVE with VocabularySpellingCity! I really feel behind the times with this one. I've seen several posts out there on it and kind of passed over them. Because a few years ago, I checked it out, saw that it was expensive but there were a few free things you could do. So I  told my parents to go there and have the kids play games with their spelling words and that was that. But over the break I checked it out again and WOW am I missing out by not using it. I either missed all the cool things it can do for FREE or it has really updated.

Go here to check it out for yourself: Spelling City

The Premium Membership is $49.99 with lots of cool extras. But if you are a poor district and/or poor teacher like me, the FREE version has a lot to offer. 

What I didn't know was that teachers can set up a homepage for FREE. Then you can create your own spelling and vocabulary lists for your kiddos to use. And did I mention it is FREE!!!

I can assign a list with activities for homework or use it in the classroom. It can be used on computers or you can get the app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices. I'm always looking for more ways to use my Kindles and iPad in the classroom and this is a GREAT one.

Here is what my firsties see when they go to my homepage and click on my teacher list.

I've created my list for week 19 with our 4 popcorn words and 8 word family words (4 each). I customized the definitions and sentences for each word which makes it great for my firsties. 

Now my kids can choose 'Teach Me' where they will learn each word one by one. 

Then they can choose 'Play a Game' where they can pick a game to play using these words only. They can play: Hang Mouse, Word Search, Word Unscramble, Word Match, Missing Letter, Read-A-Word, Alphabetize, Sentence Unscramble (my sentences that I customized), or print a Handwriting sheet. And finally they can click 'Spelling Test' where the computer will give them a practice test. 

There are lots of Teaching Resources for teachers too. The lesson ideas, videos, and printable worksheets look fun. There are also great articles and other word list.

I have a few little ones that are struggling with some sight words. So I can make a list just for them. Then they can do the activities with their words for extra practice.

If you are one of the those bloggers that has posted about Spelling City before, I am soooo sorry I didn't read your post sooner! This is a WONDERFUL FREE Tool for teachers. I hope you won't be like me and ignore it because you thought it was too expensive. Did I mention that it's FREE!!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great finish to your holiday break!