Spelling bingo

How to play spelling bingo

You call a word, students mark it, and a full line wins once the student spells every word in it. One way to run it:

1. Give each student a card and something to mark with: counters, crayons, or dry-erase on a sleeved card.
2. Call one word, use it in a short sentence, and tick it on the call sheet.
3. Students mark the word if it's on their card.
4. A student with a full line calls "Bingo!"
5. Spell-to-win check: they spell each word in the line aloud, or write it on a whiteboard. You compare with the call sheet.
6. Set a tie rule before you start: both students win, or everyone keeps playing for a second line.

The spell-aloud check isn't new. In Education World's Spelling BINGO lesson plan, the winner spells the covered words aloud.

The call sheet prints as the last page of every PDF. It lists the words exactly as they appear on the cards, so you call from it and tick as you go.

A printed card shows each word spelled correctly, so finding and marking it is word recognition. The spelling practice happens at the check. If you want spelling on every call, try the variations further down.

No two cards share a winning line. Two students can still finish on the same call, each with a different line. In our simulation with a 40-word list, that happened in about 17 to 18% of 30-player games.

Fit your weekly spelling list to a grid

A 10- or 12-word list may be too short for a full class set of different cards, and the count you need depends on the grid. The app tells you how many cards your list allows.

The easy fix is review words from earlier weeks. If your list is still short, the app tells you: "Your N items make M different cards at most. Add items or print fewer cards."

With exactly 16 words on a 4×4, every card holds the same 16 words in a different order. For a weekly review, that's fine: everyone meets every word.

To enter your list, use the form above, then edit or delete the proposed words and add your own. "Suggest 6 more items" tops up a short list. A list holds up to 60 words, each up to 40 characters.

Which grid, and how long a game lasts

These figures use a 40-word list with 30 players, from our simulation: 10,000 decks per setup, 100 games each. They count calls, not minutes, because your pace sets the clock. The range covers about 8 in 10 simulated games. A shorter weekly list will play out differently.