Drag Race – A Reading and Spelling Review Activity
Rev up your engines and get ready to roll! In this fun Drag Race activity, your child will build a race track and race his car to the finish line as he practices reading and spelling words. Ready, set, go!
Prepare Your Drag Race Activity
- Download the Drag Race Activity.
- Print the race car, starting line, and racetrack cards and cut them out along the dotted lines.
- For reading practice, write one review word on the back of each racetrack card.
- For spelling practice, leave the back of the cards blank.
- Assemble the car by folding on the lines as indicated and then place the car on the starting line.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
Let’s play for spelling!
Place your child’s racetrack cards in a stack and have him draw a card. Dictate one of his spelling words to him and have him write the spelling word on the back of the card.
For each word he spells correctly, he should add the racetrack card to his track and advance his car one space.
Continue until all his words have been spelled correctly and the car reaches the end of the track.
And that’s grounds for a victory lap!
More Ways to Play
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Playing for reading
Write one review word on the back of each racetrack card and place the cards in a pile with the words facing down. Have your child choose a card from the pile and read the word on the back. For each word he reads correctly, he should add the racetrack card to his track and advance his car one space.
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Playing with more than one child
Print and cut out a race car, starting line, and racetrack cards for each player. Use reading or spelling words that are consistent with each child’s level. Children take turns until one child reads or spells all his words correctly.
For a quick demonstration, watch as Ethan and Caleb play Drag Race for spelling and then for reading.
Do you think your kids would enjoy this fun way to review words?
Photos by: Christine Zell
Nina
says:This looks like it would motivate my boys, such a cute idea!
Tammy Struthers
says:Thank you for the free printable! My class will be so happy to have something new!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Tammy. I hope your class has a lot of fun with them!
kim
says:how fun! I wish I had creative teachers when I was in school.
Leah
says:I’m always looking for ways to spice up our reading and spelling practice, so this is great. Thanks for the printable!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Leah! I hope your student or students have a lot of fun with this.
Jess
says:My boys would love this game! Thanks!
Jennifer Ervin
says:My kids love all the games AAR provides! They look forward to reading each day!
Nikki
says:Neat idea. Thanks!
Cassandra M.
says:Cool activity :)
Billie Joy Miller
says:This looks like a great activity, especially for boys!
Amanda F
says:This looks like a fun way to get my 6 year old into reading and loving it.
Karilyn
says:I appreciate all the great ideas and tips that I always receive through email from you! Thank you!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re so welcome, Karilyn!
Dawn
says:This looks so awesome! My 10 year old is dyslexic and my 5 year old starts K in the fall. I can’t wait to get started with them.
Deb
says:Sounds like something my son would enjoy!
Melissa
says:What a neat idea! And if the car looked like a dragon it would create even more excitement for my daughter!
Suzanne
says:Such a great idea!
Sara
says:What a fun activity! I’m so excited to use it with my kiddo!
Georgia Stapleton
says:This would be a good good game when she is working on her review words.
Sarah
says:I know my son would enjoy this!!
Kristin Evans
says:Looks like a great game for my three boys all at different levels in AAR.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceKristin,
A great thing about these kinds of review activities is that they work well with multiple kids at different levels. I hope your boys have a lot of fun with it!
Karen
says:This is super clever. I can use it in the classroom for small group spelling review. And if I laminate the racetrack cards, the kids can write their words with dry erase markers, and we can re-use the cards over and over. Thanks much!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Karen. I think this would make your students excited to get a chance at spelling review!
Yvette DeBeer
says:This is soooo cool!! Going to try it with tutoring.
Megan
says:My son will love practicing his words this way! Thank you for the great idea!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Megan! I hope your son has a great time with this game.
Megan Johnson
says:My 3 boys are car obsessed. They will absolutely love this game.
Allison
says:Looks fun!
avigail
says:my son loves cars so I hope this motivates him to practice reading, thanks!
Jea
says:Nice!
Lisa @ Farm Fresh
says:This would be SOOOO much fun! I need to remember this for a future activity!
Becca Beck
says:Ooh this looks perfect for my daughter. She’s just learning, but doesn’t like review. Playing with cars would be good incentive
Kimberly
says:Very cute idea. Good idea for getting boys interested in spelling
Jessica
says:A fun interactive way to review spelling words!
teneya
says:My son is very hands on and loved this.
Sheila
says:There is so much on this site! Thank you for this great idea!
Katrina Angele
says:My son loves playing with race tracks anyways. What a fun easy way to practice his spelling.
Ashley B
says:Thank you for always providing fun and easy things for us to reinforce learning at home!
MONA
says:Just downloaded and printed! I am excited to see my kids’ reactions to a fun new approach to spelling!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’d love to hear how it went, Mona! I think this review activity will be well received. 😊
Jenn A
says:This is such a fantastic idea! I love that it can be used for reading and/or spelling.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThat’s my favorite part too, Jenn. Often with my kids, one needed to review reading and another spelling. Having games that allowed me to do both while they played together was always a hit!
Angela Clark
says:My highly energetic son would love this. He loves Hot Wheel sets and all things cars
Kaile R
says:This looks like great fun!!
Julie
says:What a fun game!
Myra
says:I want to get my hands on All About Reading level 1 sooo badly!!!!
Linda
says:Great ideas! Love all of the information you provide!
Krystal G
says:My son loves cars. This is a great idea!
Ashley Young
says:This looks so fun!
Annieroo
says:Looks interesting. Goes well with our grand Prix race at Awana. Maybe we will have to get a try when our daughter gets a little older.
Amy
says:Thank you so much for your incredible ideas and support!
Lindsay Garcia
says:So excited to try this with my 7, 4, and 3 year old boys!
mila
says:Can’t wait to use this with my own kid and my students! Thank you so much!!!
Kim
says:Can’t wait to use this! Thank you!
Dontie
says:A fun way for boys and spelling or reading!!
Angel
says:My son would love this! I’m printing it out today!
Heathrr
says:My son loved this activity and when we were done with the lesson my 4 year old had fun playing with the car and track.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceHeather,
With this printable game, you can use the track to review just about anything. So you could use this activity for whatever your 4-year-old has been learning, letters, numbers, colors, whatever.
Tracy
says:We are always looking for fun ways to review spelling or practice reading!
Suzanne
says:Glad to come across this site. Thanks for linking up with Homeschool Giveaways to bring attention to your “Six Ways We Make Spelling Easy.” Very informative!
Patti
says:I love any activity that keeps students engaged. This is great
Beth Keen
says:I teach in a resource department of an elementary school and I LOVE using this program!
Jenna
says:This is fabulous! Thank you for creating and sharing this with us!
Anna
says:My kids and I both love these activities! Such a great supplement to a fantastic way of learning to read and spell!
Kayla Watson
says:I love all these activities that are sent to my email!
zakia magnus
says:What a great idea! We just began using Aas about a month ago. Some of my boys are great spellers and some, not so much. This program is so well suited to all of their different learning styles & they have All improved! I also appreciate how easy it is for me to implement, after the initial start up phase.
Ali Stevens
says:My guy walked over while I opened the email and got excited right away!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThat’s so cute, Ali! I love that your guy was excited by the email alone.
Julie
says:We are going to do this activity this afternoon. It looks like they will have so much fun and not realize how much they are learning
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceLet us know how it goes, Julie! I’d love to hear if it was as well received as you anticipate.
Emily
says:This is a great idea for engaging my son!
Dawn
says:I think my son will love this!!
Meg
says:Spelling practice is usually a painful task here. Excited to try this!
Jessica
says:Looks like fun! Can’t wait to try this!
Christina
says:What a fun activity!
Jennifer
says:This is a super cute idea! We have used All About Spelling with my older 2 kids this year and I’ve been teaching my 2 preschoolers their letters using the uppercase animal letters. We have been having a blast with them!
Rachel Bailey
says:I am really glad this activity accommodates to boys with the race car theme.
Emily hall
says:Great idea! My kids love these games.
C Gabs
says:Looks really fun!
Rae-Lynn
says:I love how hands on this is! What a great change to our regular reading routine!
Jo Linda
says:My boys would love this!
Ashley Williams
says:Thank you for the fun engaging ideas to use with my students and my own children!
Carletta Jones
says:I think my kids would love this game!
Sally
says:Getting the attention of kids while drilling skills is so important. Keeping it fun great idea.
Jennifer Foerster
says:We love AAR! My son is doing so well with his reading. We tried 3 different programs before AAR and nothing seemed to excite him until we started All About Reading! Thank you!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou are so welcome, Jennifer. I’m very happy to hear that All About Reading has helped your son to be excited about reading!
Tzippy
says:This looks like lots of fun!
Donald Errol Knight
says:Another useful, practical tip!
Serena Wade-Harrington
says:This looks like a good way to review. I like that you can change the cards whenever you need to.
Lori
says:I like that this can be used with spelling and reading words.
Persendt
says:I love this idea. Will definitely try it out.
Erika
says:My son would love this!
Char
says:Looks like fun!
Rachel Davis
says:Ooohh!!! How fun!!! My kids love cars, so this is another cool activity to add to the tool box.
Mikaela Harlow
says:Such a cool and fun way to learn words!
Bliss Cheng
says:Love this activity to encourage spelling!
Jenny
says:My son just did his first Pinewood Derby car and race last week so he is going to be ecstatic over this activity!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOoo, great timing for your son, Jenny! It’ll be an especially useful way to get some extra review in for him.
Renee
says:My son is going to love reviewing his spelling words using this fun game!
Angela
says:My son will love this!
Kathy Jo McWilliams
says:LOL forgot to say that yes my two girls will both love race cars and reading words to see who can win the race! Thank you AAR
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOh, yes, Kathy, this drag race activity is a lot of fun for all kids!
Kathy Jo McWilliams
says:Another great idea from AAR We love level l and cannot wait to see what level two has to bring.
Jenny
says:Love this! Thank you!
Dera Ronquillo
says:This activity I think would be a great motivator for boys, possibly girls, too. It is something that they can do over and over again. I really can’t wait to try it out.
Erin Hansen
says:This is great!
Helet
says:Love love love it! Can’t wait to use this on my boys!
Corrie D.
says:This is such a cool idea! Especially for boys. I have one little guy that will love doing this when he is old enough to start AAR and AAS.
Leah
says:I have bed. Using the games with Ziggy zebra to review level 1 AAR with my 5 year old & Level 2 AAS with my 7 year old. It’s so nice to be able to combine the teaching of two kids at once & they love the games. I can’t wait to try out this drag race one next.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceLeah,
I did the same with the Reading Games with Ziggy the Zebra when my kids were younger. It allowed everyone to review the level they were on while playing a game together. Fun shared is even more fun!
Shaliah Armstrong
says:Love all the fun activities you create for us to use!
Brooke Zimmerman
says:So fun!! We are trying to add more FUN to our school days. And, working our way through AAR level 1, we still have tough days. This would be a great addition for a fun break from those tough ones!!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceBrooke,
Yes. When things get tough or when it’s just an off day, reviewing previously learned stuff in a fun way is often best. It reinforces what they know which can boost confidence plus it takes the pressure off of doing new and possibly difficult things when it’s just not the right day for something new.
Sarah Latham
says:Games are such a fun way to learn! My kids actually ask to play them. This is great!
Elizabeth
says:What a great idea! We’ve used recycled paper and a toy car but I think I will laminate these so can use again with dry erase markers. Love all your creative ideas!
Debbie Redekop
says:Thanks for all the suggestions in teaching our children how to learn to read or spell better! :)
Jodie Binkley
says:Fun!
Alison Kattelmann
says:I like how the same game pieces can be used for both spelling and reading review.
Megan Saxbury
says:Yup she will love it. Thinking dry erase on orange track with match box. She loves the track. Or lines and give her words to spell. Because I don’t like paying library print prices
Can’t print at home right now : ( thanks
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceMegan,
If you are practicing reading, you can use the All About Reading word cards themselves at the “track”. Just line them up face down and she flips one over and reads it as she moves down the track. For spelling, you could use post-its to make a track. She has to write the word you dictate on a post-it before she can drive on it. Of course, the dry erase track works really well too. I think there are lots of variations with this idea!
Crystal
says:What a fun idea!
Alisa
says:Great idea. I used to place reading cards one in front of another to form a race track. Then my son would race his toy car next to the cards as he read them.
Julie
says:Great idea
Jess
says:cute game! my kiddos will love it! Thanks for always thinking up creative ways to encourage fun learning! I think I will use it for multiplication facts as well!!
Ashley Carriere
says:Cute!!
Colette Loudin
says:So fun! My boys need games like these to keep them interested. Thanks for the fun idea and pdf!
Tabitha
says:I love this idea and think my boys will too!
Alejandra
says:This is a brilliant and fun idea, I’ll definitely use it.
Rachel
says:This looks great! I really appreciate the effort to make learning fun and what a great activity for boys!!
Karen
says:Great game! Love the ideas you give.
April
says:What a cute idea!
Amanda
says:Looks like fun! I’m going to do this with my boys. :D Thanks for always giving out the freebies!
Denise Watkins
says:Awesome!
Katy
says:Thanks for such a great idea and easy to do review!! And for providing just what we need!
Rena Walter
says:Sounds like a good idea.
Alyssa T
says:I’m excited to try the Drag Race! It looks like fun.
We’ve just started using your reading and spelling curriculums, and my boys are really enjoying them. I had tried teaching them to read with what turned out to be a rather scatter-shot approach, and it’s been incredibly helpful to back up and teach step by step. They are becoming much more confident readers and writers – and with no frustration. Thank you for such a great, straightforward way of teaching!!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceAlyssa,
I love that your boys are becoming more confident with reading and writing! That is so important. Keep up the great work!
Holly Garcia
says:So fun! Crafts and learning!!!
Holly Garcia
says:This looks so fun! Crafts and learning!
Rebecca Smith
says:Looks like fun!
Tina H.
says:Very cool idea!
Kristen
says:How fun! What a fun way to engage children in a way that helps them with their Language Arts!
Megan
says:My daughter is vehicle obsessed so this is a perfect activity for her!
Michelle Griswold
says:Such a fun activity!
Tara Lee
says:We are just beginning our “All About” journey with our four year old!!!!!! We love the program and our little guy loves Ziggy!
Megan
says:This looks like fun!
Kayla
says:This looks like so much fun!
Megan Carrick
says:We can’t WAIT to do this one! All About Learning’s downloadable games are the best – the kids don’t even realize they’re learning (shh!), they’re just so busy having FUN!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Megan! I love that our downloadable games are such a big hit for your kids.
Amber
says:So fun! My kids would love this.
Christine
says:this looks great!
Wendy Thornell
says:We had this with our last level and my son loved it. Glad I can print and use again!
Alena
says:Love this. Can’t wait to try it with my boys!
Kristie
says:I will have to try this with my kids. Thanks!!
Serena
says:Great idea!
LaToya Johnson
says:Thanks for this printable! This will be great for my 5 yr old who is learning to blend sounds. It could also work for kids learning their alphabet or even numbers!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYes, definitely, LaToya! This game can be used to review all sorts of things.
Joanna Martin
says:Sounds Wild! 😂
Annemarie
says:Thank you for this idea!
Aimee
says:Thank you for all the creative ideas you give for learning!
Jennifer
says:I’m excited to try this with my kids. Thank you.
Tracy Longuevan
says:This looks like so much fun. I can’t wait to try it with my daughter!