Master Hard to Spell Words with an Engaging Digital Quiz

While many words in the English language follow standard phonetic principles, there are also many more that like to throw us a phonemic curve ball!

This engaging digital quiz has been designed by our team to make teaching your students hard to spell words engaging and enjoyable. On each slide, students are presented with the definition of a word and three possible spelling options for that word. If they make the right choice, they will be able to proceed to the next word. If they make an incorrect choice, they will be offered the opportunity to go back and try again.

This resource downloads as a Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation and features 24 separate words for students to analyze. Simply project it onto your screen, and you have a ready-made activity for exploring hard to spell words!

Investigate Difficult English Words to Spell

This resource introduces students to a wide range of difficult English words to spell. By working through the quiz, students can become more confident with tricky or unusual letter patterns in words that often cause difficulties. Here are some examples:

• Silent letters (e.g. wrestle)
• Unusual double letters (e.g. succinct) 
• Unusual consonant placement (e.g. subpoena)
• Unusual vowel combinations (e.g. queue) 
• Foreign origins (e.g. tsunami)
• Medical and scientific words (e.g. chlorophyll)

By engaging with this resource, students will not only gain exposure to a variety of challenging spelling words, but they will also delve deeper into understanding why these words are so problematic.

Download to Teach Words That Are Hard to Spell

Use the Download button to access the Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides version of this resource. Please be aware that you will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides file and save it to your personal drive before accessing it.

Be sure to work with this presentation in Slideshow mode so that the hyperlinked slides can operate as intended.

This resource can be used as a whole-class activity, small group challenge or independent practice, making it a flexible addition to any spelling or literacy program. 

This resource was created by Kaylyn Chupp, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Resources for Teaching the Trickiest Spelling Words

Teach Starter has more great resources to save you time when teaching word knowledge to your class. Click below for some more curriculum-aligned, teacher-created activities!

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