IN THE CLASSROOM:

A game of Scrabble and a dictionary are helping fifth-graders at Mark Keppel Elementary School with their spelling.

Students in Ray Shelton’s class played Scrabble in teams and worked together to come up with words that earned them points.

“It’s a fun way to get them excited about learning,” Shelton said.

Students said the game was useful for building vocabulary.

“It helps me remember the new words that I don’t know,” said 10-year-old Arameh Hakopian.

Instead of writing words and memorizing the spelling, students used a dictionary to look up spelling discrepancies and the meaning of words they didn’t know.

Rajan Rahman, 11, spelled the words “loaf” and “see” with the letter blocks. The boy was in the school’s spelling bee competition and made it through the third round, he said. “When I play this game, I get a chance to see new words,” he said.

“If one of my friends puts a word down that I don’t know, I can study it and look it up in the dictionary.”

Rajan’s teammate, 10-year-old Artemis Dulbandghyan picked up the blocks to spell a word that she noticed she had the letters for.

“I have the best word,” Artemis said, as she laid out the letters for the word “don’t.”

Students not only play games but they also take spelling tests, solve crossword puzzles and read essays to improve their spelling and vocabulary, Shelton said.

“I like to combine art or a game with what their learning,” he said. “You can see they really get excited.”

Playing a game in teams also helps students connect on an emotional, intellectual and social level, Shelton said.

Manuel Garamanoukian, 10, spelled the words “hair” and “slid,” but looked up the word “hoe” to see the definition.

He had heard of the word before but didn’t know what it meant.

“Some of the words I don’t know,” Manuel said.

“I didn’t know about this word until I looked it up.”

For 10-year-old Laura Dandgchi, who is a visual learner, the game of Scrabble helps her remember the spelling of words after she sees it on the board.

“I see the different words,” she said. “I look at a word and it helps me spell it.”

KIDS TALK BACK

The Glendale News-Press visited Mark Keppel Elementary School and asked students: “How does playing Scrabble in class help you improve your vocabulary or spelling?”

“It helps you learn new words. Sometimes I see new words and I check the dictionary for its meaning.”

DEMARIO TEVANYAN, 10

Glendale

“It helps you learn new words and you have fun doing it without being forced to write down words. It’s funner than sitting down and writing words.”

JACK LOWE, 10

Glendale

“It’s helping me with my spelling and I’m learning new words.”

VANESSA OCHNER, 11

Glendale

“I think it helps me in that I look at the words and I memorize them. I can get interactive and have fun. If I don’t know a word, I use a dictionary.”

LINDSEY HUNT, 10

Glendale

“You find out words that you missed spelling and you get to find words you never heard before. It’s a good pastime. It’s challenging and it helps your mind focus. Having a dictionary is useful and handy.”

KHACHATUR AVAGYAN, 11

Glendale