Hobbies And Interests
One on One
This game requires the teacher to divide a class into groups of two, giving each of them a Battleship board (or sheet of paper with the correct number of spaces). The teacher gives each pair a set of the spelling words the class is learning for that week. Each student writes as many words as will fit in the spaces provided, with one letter per space. Each student gets one chance to guess a coordinate. If he hits a word (a battleship), the other group gives him the word and he has one chance to spell it correctly. If he does, he sinks the ship and gets a point. If he doesn't, he gets a chance the following turn to spell the word correctly. The game can be adapted into a tournament with the winners continuing to play until there is one proclaimed winner.
Classroom Combat
This game works best if several classes are studying spelling in one grade. Each class uses an actual game board or can use a handout to determine which spaces in the game the class will use for its ships. At the beginning of each class period, the teacher asks the class to decide on a space it will attack on the other class' board. If the class hits one of the ships, the students must elect a student to spell a word correctly. If the student spells the word correctly, the class gains a hit on the ship; if not, the class must try again the next day. If the class does not hit a ship on its guess, it will try again the following day. Each class gets one attempt per period and the game may end up played out over the course of a month or two.
Computer Spelling Battleship
Available free on the Quia website is a Battleship game that students can play against the computer on several difficulty levels (see Resources). The game focuses on the 100 most misspelled words in the English language. The game only lets a student register a hit on the computer's battleships if he chooses the correct way to spell a word from a multiple-choice question. Students can sink the computer's battleships with their spelling prowess to win the game.
Defensive Battleship
Defensive Battleship is similar to the One on One game, but instead of only attacking ships, students are able to defend them as well. When an opponent guesses the correct square that would hit an opposing ship, the defending player states that his opponent is about to hit his ship and that he is challenging his opponent. The challenge consists of the opponent spelling a vocabulary word of the defending player's choosing. This helps students to learn some of the more difficult words on their vocabulary lists, as they will no doubt challenge their opponents with the hardest words they can think of. If they spell the word correctly, they defend against the hit. The game may take longer, but it may lead to more constructive spelling as well.