Teacher guide · Think Lab · Medium · about 32 min
🐝 Spelling Bee
Pupils practise confidence through "Spelling Bee": Tricky spellings and patterns.
Lesson guide
1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🐝 mission title and read the opening: "Which is spelt correctly?". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Cog the Owl's line as your prompt: "Good thinking. Show me the why."
3. Do · 10 min
Pairs work through the 4 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used confidence today.
Discussion questions
- What was the hardest choice in "Spelling Bee", and why?
- Which is spelt correctly — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Plural of baby — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Which is spelt correctly — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Where could you use confidence outside school this week?
- If you did this again, what would you change?
Adapting it
Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.
Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.
Curriculum links
- National Curriculum: English: reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and writing
- National Curriculum: Maths: reasoning mathematically and problem solving
- National Curriculum: Computing: logical reasoning and algorithms
- PSHE: Living in the wider world: making decisions and evaluating choices
Pupil sheet
🐝 Spelling Bee
Name: ____________________ Date: __________
1. Which is spelt correctly?
☐ because
☐ becos
☐ becuase
2. Plural of baby?
☐ babies
☐ babyes
☐ babys
3. Which is spelt correctly?
☐ freind
☐ frend
☐ friend
4. Write a sentence using 'there', 'their' and 'they're'.