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When young authors are learning to write, it is so important that we provide scaffolds, resources and supports that can help them to become more independent over time. It is so easy to just tell children the correct way of spelling those words. The problem is that if we are always telling them, they aren't learning to use the phonics knowledge they have learned and transfer that over to their writing.
An important thing to remember is that it is very much okay for younger children write phonetically, how words sound, as they are learning the sounds of letters and patterns in our language. Once they have learned a good bank of high frequency words, words that occur frequently in our language, and sight words, words that occur frequently but are not spelled how they sound (also called snap words or word wall words) and also the spelling patterns of the English language, more conventional spelling can be expected.
Below you will find some resources that I hope can help you with this process at home. These are many of the items we use in helping students spell words at school.
Watch this Video on Tips for Helping Your Child Spell Words in His or Her Writing
Watch this Video on Tips for Helping Your Child Spell Words in His or Her Writing
Arléne Casimir-Siar is a primary staff developer at The Reading and Writing Project at the Teacher's College at Columbia University. Some of the resources she mentions are below.
Ways to Spell Words
Ways to Spell Words
You can do it!!
You can do it!!
At school, students are taught to use these strategies when trying to spell tricky words. Think of this as a menu not as a sequential list of strategies to try. Some of these strategies work better than others for different words and for different writers' needs.
High Frequency Word Lists
High Frequency Word Lists
Students are taught many high frequency and sight words beginning in kindergarten. Below you will find links to this word lists for each grade level. You'll notice that in each grade level there is a review form the previous year for the most frequently used and mis-spelled words. Feel free to print these as a resource for your child to use while writing. The goal is to be able to read and write these words from memory quickly and automatically.
How to learn a word by heart.pdfTo help a child learn or practice spelling a word, begin by showing the word to them an spelling it. Have them say the word and then spell it out loud Cover it, have them picture it and then write it as they say the letter names. Then show the word again and have them check it.
To help a child learn or practice spelling a word, begin by showing the word to them an spelling it. Have them say the word and then spell it out loud Cover it, have them picture it and then write it as they say the letter names. Then show the word again and have them check it.
Multi-Sensory Activity
Multi-Sensory Activity
Click on the link below to watch Mrs. Sypherd, one of our 2nd grade teachers at Cornerstone, showing us how we can practice words with an easy, hands on activity each week.
Additional High Frequency Word Activities to Help With Spelling
Additional High Frequency Word Activities to Help With Spelling
Find the words in books and in print all around us
Use the words to build sentences
Use magnetic letters or letter tiles to build the words
Write the words in sand, sugar, flour or shaving cream with your finger.
Grade Level Word Lists
Grade Level Word Lists
Below you will find links to the Wooster City Schools updated high frequency word lists for each grade level. All words are introduced and taught by the end of grade 3. In 4th grade, the list becomes a review and is used as a resource for writing with accuracy and with automaticity.
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