Three Things You Should Know About Your Child’s Spelling
Teach, Read, Succeed: Ask the Expert
Did you grow up memorizing and practicing your spelling words each week in preparation for your Friday test? Practicing them to hopefully remember them for the test and then forgetting them the following week? Let’s use your child’s spelling differently, and in a way that will actually be beneficial.
When my spelling words were incorrect, I used to have to write them 10 times each. I LOVED it. Any one else? No, just me? Ok, well, I enjoyed practicing writing as neatly as I could, and at the end I didn’t know how to spell those words any more than I did before. Maybe you can relate to that.
This was a completely ineffective way to learn to spell words, and I believed I was just bad at spelling because of it. Now, I know better.
Spelling Through Memorization is NOT Useful
There’s a reason that those spelling words never stuck with us, and it’s because we were working to memorize them, rather than learn the spelling patterns and connect them with the sounds.
Spelling lists should focus on spelling patterns that have been taught, and the results should not be graded in a punitive way. Rather, spelling tells us if your child is able to apply the sounds they have learned to their writing, and indicates which spellings need more practice.
Spelling Provides Information
Looking at a child’s spelling gives so much information. At the most basic level, are they writing a letter to represent every sound they hear? That’s great! As they learn about short vowel sounds and longer vowel sounds, are they writing spellings that make sense?
Example: have spelled ‘hav’ - tells me that the child recognizes that there are 3 sounds in the word have /h/ /a/ /v/, and that the vowel is short. I also can see that the child does not yet know that in the English language, no words end with ‘v’, which is why there is an ‘e’ at the end, even when the vowel is short.
Example: cat spelled ‘cut’ - tells me that the child recognizes that there are 3 sounds in the word cat /c/ /a/ /t/, but that they may need additional practice recognizing and writing the sort vowel sounds /a/ and /u/.
Are you seeing this in your child’s spelling? To practice hearing the difference in two sounds, have your child practice hearing and saying the sounds. Watching your mouth, and watching their own mouth in a mirror can help your child to see what happens when they are making the sound. You can also say two words, one with each sound (like but and bat) and have your child identify which vowel sound they hear. Example: you say “but'" “bat” which has /a/? and your child should say “bat”.
The next time your child writes something, or takes a spelling assessment, try looking at it differently. Noticing that the words they misspell are incorrect is one piece of information, and is important. But, taking a second, deeper look, at the why the words are misspelled will tell you which sounds your child likely needs more practice with. Using the information about which sounds in the words are misspelled will give you next steps to practice, and ultimately help your child to become a better reader and writer.
Spelling Difficulties
Reading requires children to apply the sounds that they have learned to decode to print, and spelling requires children to recall the sounds and produce them as letters. If a child is not able to spell a sound, they likely need additional practice with reading the sound as well.
Are you interested in learning more about the components of reading? Check out our Building Blocks for Confident Readers checklist here! You’ll find a breakdown of the skills needed to become a confident reader, and tips for practicing them!
Brittany is a teacher and reading specialist, fueled by her passions in teaching and supporting families. She supports families whether from birth through childhood.
Contact Courageous Moments to learn how she can help you and your child on your child’s reading journey.