Spelling Mix is a simple TEFL activity for students to practice the spelling of words in a semantic field.

It’s suitable for any age and level as long as the words the students are looking for are of the right level.

Preparation

Select a group of words of a suitable level and in the same semantic field. For this example we can use the semantic field WEATHER but any group will do as long as it’s right for the class.

• weather
• rain
• snow
• shower
• sunshine

and so on.

Next, write the words in a grid as per the picture on the top right of this page.

Photocopy the grid (keeping the original for use again) and with each copy, cut up the individual letters, mix them up and pop them in an envelope (remembering to write on the envelope the name of the semantic field).

At the end of this you should have one envelope per page. Ideally you should prepare one envelope of letters for every 3 students in the class (with some spare).

Playing the Game

Simply explain to the class that they’re looking for words associated with a certain semantic field. In this case, weather. You might want to brainstorm beforehand to get the ball rolling here.

Divide the class into groups of 3 or so and with each group simply empty an envelope in front of them. The first group to assemble all the words wins.

Of course this is a flexible game and you can build up envelopes for all kinds of semantic fields. There’s no need to stop with just letters, either. You can also do the same but with words building into sentences.