How it works

A round is 10 words. For each one, your browser reads the word aloud, then reads a short sentence using it, so your child hears the word in context before typing it. They type what they heard, letter by letter.

If the spelling is exact, it's marked correct right away. If it's one letter off, the game shows that the try was close and lets your child try that same word again, rather than simply marking it wrong. There's no timer counting down anywhere in the round.

The word and its sentence are both read using your browser's built-in voice, the same one your device already uses to read other pages aloud. It isn't a special recording, so a child who isn't reading fluently on their own yet can still listen and take part.

A few example words, to show the format

These are examples only, not words from a live round.

Frog: "The frog jumped into the pond."

Swim: "We like to swim on hot days."

Nest: "The bird built a nest in the tree."

Each word is short and the sentence is one simple idea, the way a real round reads them out loud before your child types anything.

Practice mode, and a test when you're ready

This page leans toward practice first: a close miss becomes another try, not a wrong answer. There's also a short test, one try per word with a score out of 10 and a printable answer sheet, for whenever a family or a classroom wants a more formal check. It's there to use when it's useful, not something your child needs to rush toward.

A separate letter game

The site also has a different game called the letter hive, where players find words inside a set of letters. That's a separate game from this page. Here, the focus is listening to a whole word and typing it back, which fits a 1st grader who is just starting to learn spelling independently.

A few ideas for grown-ups

Read along quietly. Hearing the word from the browser and from you at the same time can help a child connect the sound to the letters faster.

Let them try before helping. Give a moment for your child to attempt the spelling on their own before pointing to a key. The close-miss retry is built for exactly that pause.

Talk about the sentence. After a word, ask what the sentence meant, or ask for another sentence using the same word. It turns spelling into a small conversation.

Keep it short and repeat it later. One round of 10 words is enough for a sitting. Bringing the same words back a day or two later helps far more than repeating them right away.

For teachers

A 10-word round fits into a short group activity or a quiet moment between lessons. Practice mode works well read together as a class, with children comparing what they typed after each word. The printable word list and answer sheet from test mode are useful for a paper version or a take-home sheet, but there's no need to move to test mode until your class is ready for it.

More gentle practice

For a step down in difficulty, see spelling games for kindergarten. The kids word game offers a different kind of guessing game for the same age group, with everyday four-letter words and no timer. For more activities at this level, see vocabulary games for elementary, or try a broader look at how rounds work on spelling word games.