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Benefits
Spelling is an essential skill that provides the foundation for literacy education, but traditional spelling education often includes rote memorization and recall. For young students first learning to use letters to create meaningful words, spelling games are an engaging alternative to traditional spelling lessons. Hangman requires only a a writing utensil and a writing surface, so a chalkboard, dry erase board or simple piece of paper is suitable. If your Hangman games are competition games, award points to children or teams who correctly guess the word or phrase and supply relevant prizes like a homework pass or extra points on a quiz.
Vocabulary Games
Vocabulary lists are a standard component of most early language arts classes, and Hangman is a playful way to reinforce the spelling and meaning of vocabulary words. For younger children, the simplest option is to choose words from the vocabulary list as the secret words during a round. Conduct the activity as a whole class or break students into smaller groups once they understand the rules of the game. To make the game more challenging, instruct children that not only must they correctly identify the word before the Hangman is completed, but they must also supply a correct definition of the word to score a point for their team.
Word Relationships
Homophones are words that sound the same, but are not necessarily spelled the same way and have different meanings. For example, right and write or way and weigh are homophones. For beginner readers and writers, homophones are particularly challenging, but Hangman is a playful way to help students identify and differentiate homophones. Instead of a single word or phrase, a set of differently spelled homophones serve as the secret words. Student teams guess letters and, once a team believes they know the words, they must spell them each correctly and supply their respective definitions for points.
Spelling Rules
Once children have mastered the art of simple rounds of Hangman, swap out single words for phrases as a more challenging option. Spelling is full of short quips designed to help students remember rules. Instead of any old phrase, use spelling rule phrases or mnemonic devices such as, "I before E except after C" or, "The princiPAL is your pal." For advanced spellers, award points for correctly identifying the phrase and supplying an exception to the listed rule, when applicable.