How it works

A round uses 10 short, everyday words. For each one, your browser says the word out loud, then says a simple sentence using it. Your child listens, then types what they heard, letter by letter, with you nearby to help if a key is hard to find.

If the spelling is exactly right, that's marked as correct straight away. If it's one letter off, the game shows that the try was close and gives another go at the same word, instead of just marking it wrong. There's no timer running in the background and nothing that counts down.

The word and the sentence are both read using your browser's own built-in voice, the kind of voice your device already uses to read other things aloud. It's not a special recording or a character voice, just your browser doing what it can already do, which means a young child who isn't reading fluently yet can still join in and try.

A few example words, to show the format

These are examples only, to show what a word and its sentence sound like together.

Sun: "The sun is warm today."

Cat: "The cat sat by the door."

Hop: "The little frog can hop."

Bug: "A small bug walked on the leaf."

Each one is short, one small idea, read aloud before your child types anything.

Practice first, always

This page starts in practice mode, and that's on purpose. A close miss isn't treated as a wrong answer, it's treated as a chance to try again. There's a short test available too, with a score out of 10 and a printable answer sheet, for whenever a family or a classroom wants one. Nothing here asks a young child to rush toward it.

A separate letter game

There's also a different game on the site called the letter hive, where players find words hidden inside a set of letters. It's a different kind of game and isn't part of this page. This page is about listening to a whole word and typing it back, which suits a child who is just beginning to learn letter sounds more than finding words inside a set of letters would.

A few ideas for grown-ups

Sit together. Let your child hear the word and the sentence, then talk about it for a second before typing. Saying the word back out loud helps it stick.

Let them lead the typing. It's fine to point at the right key, but letting your child find it themselves builds the connection between the sound and the letter.

Keep sessions short. A single round of 10 words is plenty for one sitting. Coming back another day works more reliably than pushing through a long session.

Celebrate the try, not just the result. A close miss followed by a correct retry is still a good outcome. The point is hearing the word and having a go.

For teachers

This page works well as a small-group or whole-class listening activity. Read the word along with the browser voice if it helps, and let children compare what they typed. The printable word list and answer sheet are there if you want a paper version for a table activity or a take-home sheet, but there's no need to use test mode at all if practice suits your class more.

More gentle practice

For a child ready for a bit more, spelling games for 1st grade uses the same gentle approach with slightly longer words. The kids word game is a different kind of guessing game for the same age group, with everyday four-letter words and no timer. For more early word activities, see vocabulary games for elementary.