Spelling Shed
At Thorn Grove, we want our children to be equipped with a range of strategies when spelling words in their writing. We want them to be confident spellers and encourage them to enjoy exploring and investigating the patterns and contradictions of the English language.
To help support the teaching of spelling, we have signed up to Spelling Shed for children in Years 2 – 6. Spelling Shed is a game-based tool that can be used at home to boost children’s confidence in spelling. Children play the games and practise their spellings in a fun, interactive way.
Login information has been given to the children and they can access Spelling Shed online at Spelling Shed Web Games. There is no cost to access the online games, which will work on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices. An App can be purchased, however this is not necessary as you can access the games directly from the website with your child's login.
If you have any comments or queries please let me know.
Mrs Lilley
Parent Guide
Log in using the username and password or scannable QR code. The pink notification boxes indicate how many assignments have been set by the teacher and on which game. Click on the assignments box at the top of the menu, to see all of the assignments together.
To play the Spelling Shed games, click on Spelling Shed Play. The games link to spelling investigation taught in school and include words to be learnt or practised. The icons or badges on the assignments show different achievement levels and are an incentive for the children to play more and aim for the top level. Click on an assignment, to see the game options - see below.
The game options are: Easy - You will be shown the word as well as hearing it and you will only see the letters you need to spell it. Medium - You can listen to the word and you will only have the letters you need. Hard - You can listen to the word but you will have a few extra letters added. Extreme - You will hear the word and you have a full keyboard of letters. Children choose their level.
The word can be typed using a keyboard or clicked with a mouse and you can use the ‘enter’ key or the green tick to submit the word. If you are using the game on a tablet, the letters can be tapped and the green tick used to submit the word.
Within the Spelling Bee game, children can play Hive Game. Hive games are a multiplayer version of the spelling game. Children can invite friends to play against you using the number that appears when you start a Hive game. There is no limit to how many people can join but you have to give them the joining code to be able to participate. Only people within our school can access this.
BONUS GAMES are available once assigned games have been completed
Beekeeper: a Hangman style game where you have to guess the letters of a word before you lose all of the bees. The fewer wrong letters you choose, the more bees you save
Missing Word: select the correct word to fill in the gap in the sentence.
The Easy level gives you two word options, Medium gives you four word options, Hard gives you letter options to spell the word and Extreme gives you a full keyboard.
Squirrel Scurry: spell the word to avoid the lava. Play on your own or against the computer.
Definitions: match the word with the definition. The Easy level gives you two word options, Medium gives you four word options, Hard gives 6 word options and Extreme gives you a full keyboard.
Buzz words can be accessed from the logging on page.
The Buzz words game gives you a random selection of letters and you have to spell as many different words as you can within the time limit. There are two different levels for this game. On the easy level, you can use any of the letters given to spell a word in any order whereas the Hard level only lets you create words using letters that are next to each other.
Scoring and Honey Pots
Scoring: When playing any of the spelling Shed games, there are different scores: 1) is the running total of all points; 2) is the weekly score - this one will increase as the child plays but will reset after 7 days; 3) is your child’s highest score so far.
The score you build will add to different spelling shed leagues meaning we can see the highest scorers across the school & the world!
Honey Pots: Honey pots can be used to buy clothes, accessories and backgrounds for your child's avatar. These are earned through regular practice. Click on the avatar to change the appearance.
A variety of grammar activities can be set by the teacher.
Children have access to a range of quizes.
Once children have access to the Bonus Games, they also can access the other stages within the spelling programme. We advise that children focus only on the current classroom spelling.