For a school spelling test, five words a day with a replay on another day beats copying everything ten times on Thursday night. In GachaLex, open the custom words dialog, type or photograph up to 5 English words, and it builds three rounds — learn the spelling, fill in the blanks, match the cards — taking about three minutes. Guest mode works straight away, but nothing is saved and no points are awarded.
School sends home a word list every week and tests it on Friday. In many homes that means a Thursday-night cram: the child copies each word ten times, a parent reads them out, and everyone ends up tired. Here is a lighter way — five words a day, entered into GachaLex, so the same repetition becomes a three-minute game.
1. Why the Thursday cram never quite works
- Copying is passive. By the fifth copy the hand is moving and the mind has left the word.
- Twenty words in one evening interfere with each other. Look-alikes such as quiet and quite get swapped most easily.
- Tested Friday, gone by Monday. Without spaced repetition nothing holds, and revision at the end of term means learning it all again.
Two things actually work: active recall (producing the word without looking) and spreading it over several days. The only problem is that a parent writing exercises every day rarely lasts.
2. The method: put the list into a game
Besides its built-in subject levels, GachaLex has an option to enter your own words, available from the home page and every game page:
- Open the custom words dialog and type in English words, up to 5 per round.
- If you would rather not type, use the photo option: take a picture of the paper list and the page fills in the English words it recognises.
- Start the game. The five words go through the same three steps — learn the spelling, fill in the blanks, match the cards.
A round takes about three minutes. In that time the child has seen, heard, typed, completed and matched each word — far denser practice than copying it five times.
It is deliberate. With five words a child finishes in one go, gets them all right and wants another round. With twenty, the first round is already discouraging. A list of twenty becomes four rounds over four days.
3. A one-week plan
| When | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Enter words 1–5 and play one round | About 3 minutes |
| Tuesday | Enter words 6–10; replay Monday's five | About 6 minutes |
| Wednesday | Enter words 11–15; replay Tuesday's | About 6 minutes |
| Thursday | Enter words 16–20; one extra round with the words missed this week | About 6 minutes |
| Friday morning | A parent reads all twenty aloud; only the wrong ones are written out on paper | About 5 minutes |
The total time is no more than the Thursday cram, but every word has been met at least twice on different days. That is why it is still there at the end of term.
4. Details worth knowing first
- English words only. The box accepts letters, hyphens and spaces; anything with digits or symbols needs editing by hand.
- Take a clear photo. Dim light or a tilted page causes missed words, so glance at the list before starting. If a photo holds more than five words, the rest wait for the next round.
- No account needed. In guest mode the words are not saved and no points are awarded, which is fine for trying it out.
- Points once you register. Logged in, custom rounds earn points as usual, which hatch and feed a study pet; custom words are simply not added to the subject study record.
- Rare words may have no meaning attached. If a word is not in the database, the matching step pairs English with English, so put the weight on the two spelling steps.
5. For a bit more excitement: Word Duel
When the same words get stale, switch to Word Duel: enter a word and its letters charge into an arena. Each turn is a race to answer a meaning question — the faster the answer, the stronger your side, while a wrong answer lets the opponent press in. You can pick the subject and the opponent's strength, which makes it a good weekend match between parent and child.
6. In short
Preparing for a spelling test is not about how many times a word is copied. It is about active recall and coming back on another day. Split the school list into five words a day, let the game set the questions, and spend five minutes on Friday morning checking the result.
Frequently asked questions
How many of my own words can I enter in GachaLex at once?
Up to 5 per round. For a longer list, split it into several rounds across a few days, which works better than loading everything at once.
Can I photograph the list my school sent home?
Yes. Use the photo option in the custom words dialog and the page fills in the English words it recognises, again up to 5 per round.
Can I use custom words without an account?
Yes. Guest mode lets you enter words and play a round, but the words are not saved and no points are awarded.
Do custom words count towards the study record?
They are not added to the subject study record, but when you are logged in points are awarded as usual for the points store and the study pet.