Spelling detectives

Good morning teachers, 

Today I will show you an activity I did with 1st grade to learn spelling. The typical activities we do are: alphabet song, spelling words aloud, hangman game, etc. They are bored to do always the same ones, so this activity is a bit different and mysterious. 

I gave them the following grid where they could see the alphabet and how to spell each letter. 

I remind them the letters on the white line are the "name" of the alphabet letters. Once this was clear I said to them they had to solve a mystery. At this point all the class was attending and interested for the task. (It is really important how you present an activity that can make a great difference for its development and attitude towards it)

I gave them the following example and I explained they had to write the letters by reading the names below. 

They all found the secret message very quickly using the grid or just by memory. Once they finished I asked them to be detectives and to create their own secret message which it will be solved at the end of the class by their classmates. They also wanted to draw a clue. The result was this: 

When everybody had their secret messages I wrote them on the whiteboard and they had to solve them. They had fun, which is important, and they learnt spelling through playing to be detectives.

“Play is the beginning of knowledge.” - George Dorsey

Emma.