What better way to celebrate the next batch of competitors for the Scripps National Spelling Bee than with mobile applications and games designed to prepare Elementary to Middle School students for spelling quizzes and tests? These apps (most vetted by educational experts) can help students spell, expand their vocabularies and use words in the correct context.
Scripps National Spelling Bee’ Word Club Spelling+Vocabulary (free with in-app purchases – iOS)
There’s no better place to start than with the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s premier spelling bee preparation tool. Word Club highlights the 4,000+ words for each year’s classroom, school, district, and regional spelling bees. With dynamic difficulty levels and new gameplay features, Scripps keeps the Word Club app engaging for all kids. The free download gives you 50 words, with more unlocked through in-app purchases. Track your kids’ progress with in-game tools and help them become a champion speller in no time!
Montessorium: Intro to Words (free with in-app purchases – iOS)
For the younger spellers out there, Montessorium’s Intro to Words helps teach 4-5 year olds as they learn to write, read, and spell phonetically. A nice touch is that they use the words your kids create to create stories with original illustrations! The app uses phonetic words and phonograms to teach the building blocks of language and spelling. This is a great way for kids to “sound it out” and learn words without needing to memorize all the complexities of the English language.
Scholar – Spelling Bee Quiz (free with ads, iOS)
Scholar, one of the most popular and highly-rated spelling apps in the iOS App Store, is aimed at middle and high school students but can help people of any age. Scholar focuses on a list of commonly misspelled words. Does “commonly” have one M or two, one N or two? Does “misspelled” have two Ss, two Ps, two Ls? Master the spelling of everyday words to help ease your reliance upon spellcheck and autocorrect. A note for parents: Scholar is ad-supported, and the app-maker notes that it’s not appropriate for children under 12, as they do not have total control over the ads that are displayed.
Wonster Words (free with in-app purchases – iOS, Android)
You know what’s cooler than spelling? Spelling by playing a game. Wonster Words encourages kids to learn to spell by interactive word puzzles. Wonster Words uses a combination of phonics, silly videos, and mini-games to keep engagement high and improve your children’s spelling and vocabulary. With so many apps offering to help teach kids how to spell, Wonster Words is one of the best at combining fun and education in a single package.
Spellbee: Spelling Bee Game (free with in-app purchases – iOS)
Spellbee, one of the newer apps on this list, helps ramp up education from multiple choice to text entry. The app will verbalize a word and encourage your child to either select the proper spelling from a list, or — if they’re advanced enough — spell it on their own. The app is built around a campaign mode (with more than 1,000 levels) and offers a tracking mode for the words kids know, and the ones they still struggle with.
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Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.