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Spelling is a complex skill to learn. Just think about all that’s involved in spelling a word. We have 26 letters in the English language, but those 26 letters can make 44 different sounds and be written 250 different ways! The /j/ sound can be spelled, “j,” “g,” or “dge.” When your child struggles with spelling, you wonder what to do to help.
Teaching your child to spell can be frustrating. There are many different spelling programs out there and opinions about how to teach spelling. No matter what you’ve tried, you may find your child is struggles with spelling.
If your child struggles with spelling it could be attributed to other challenges that you should first consider. Children with dyslexia (language-based learning difference), ADHD (difficulty with focusing and attention), dysgraphia, and dyspraxia (difficulty with fine motor skills) can find spelling more difficult.
There is no quick fix, no magic pill to cure a child who struggles with spelling. But there are several things you can do to help her gain some ground in the battle to spell well.
What to Do When Your Child Struggles with Spelling
Encourage your child to read
There is no better way to learn words than seeing them in the context of a book. The more children see those high frequency words, the more likely they’ll recognize words and spelling patterns in other contexts.
Understand that learning to spell is developmental, so teach spelling systematically
Understanding where your child is in the developmental sequence of spelling will help you make teaching decisions. You can’t teach spelling rules that your child is not ready for if he hasn’t reached other developmental milestones first.
Since kids learn to spell in a predictable pattern, it helps to teach to those stages. Using programs that focus on development, like Words Their Way, (affiliate link) will ensure that you’re teaching the right things at the right time.
Make spelling multi-sensory
We know multi-sensory activities help solidify learning for many things, spelling is no different. Have your kids say the letters as they write them. As they spell a word they can tap out the letters down their arm as they name the letters. They can spell in the air or in a salt tray.
Avoid using thematic lists to teach spelling
If you are doing a unit study on insects, you might choose words that relate to your study for your child’s weekly spelling words. The problem with a thematic list is that you’re choosing vocabulary words that don’t necessarily share a common phonetic pattern. Instead of learning a new spelling pattern, children will try to memorize a list of randomly spelled words.
Teach spelling using word families so your kids can learn to recognize patterns in words
When you teach your child how to spell “dog,” she can learn to spell “hog,” “jog,” “log,” and “frog.” There are tons of fun hands-on ways to practice making words using word families. Here are just a few simple examples:
- Use letter tiles or magnetic letters to build the word family. Have your child change the beginning consonant.
- Make a word family flip book. Write the word family on an index card. Stack squares of cut paper with consonants, blends, or digraphs that will form a word. Kids can read the words as they flip the beginning sound.
- Make a word family wheel. Cut two circles out of construction paper. Write the word family near the center of one circle. Cut a square in front of the word family where the beginning consonant belongs. Write beginning sounds around the edge of the other circle, making sure that when it’s lined up under the word family circle the beginning consonants show in the square. Attach the two circles together in the center using a brad fastener. Make new words by spinning the circle that’s underneath. You can also purchase word family wheels (affiliate link) to copy, cut, and put together. The ones below come in fun shapes too!
Teach phonics rules
Understanding short and long vowel sounds, blends, and digraphs are just a few rules that spellers need to know. If your child knows that every syllable in a word has to contain a vowel they can use that piece of information to check their spelling accuracy.
Make connections between word meaning and spelling
As children develop in their spelling, it’s important for them to know that words that are related in meaning are often related in spelling even if the sound changes.
For example, think of the words sign and signal. Children can figure out that sign has a “g” in it, because they can hear it in the word signal.
Or consider the child trying to figure out the spelling of composition. If he thinks about the meaning that will bring him to the verb compose. Since he knows that compose has an “o,” he won’t misspell composition by writing “compisition.”
Use the Orton-Gillingham approach
Kids who need explicit teaching with a multi-sensory, structured, and systematic approach can learn to spell. A program that I can personally recommend is the PRIDE Reading Program (affiliate link). It’s easy to use and takes little teaching training time. Kids learn to spell and read all in one program.
Teaching reading and spelling together gives students more opportunities to practice applying common patterns
Deborah K. Reed, p.12
Because of the relationship between reading and spelling, it makes sense to teach them together. When kids learn to segment words they break them into individual sounds to help them both read and spell. Retrieving information about phonemenes and graphemes is used when kids read and spell.
Teach sight words
There are many high-frequency words that don’t follow a simple rule or pattern. Often these words have to get planted into kids’ memories. You can play sight word games and start a word wall to work on these words with your struggling speller.
Resist using spell check until middle school
Children can start relying on spell check and not think about the spelling of words if you introduce spell check too early. And that can create a bad habit.
I let my daughter use spell check too early, and it didn’t work to her advantage. She would ask me how to spell words that I assumed she knew, because I saw them typed correctly in her stories.
On several occasions her reliance on spell check has been embarrassing. Like the time she didn’t bother to pay attention to spell check, and it tried to read her mind. She intended to say pursue, but the spell check changed it to peruse. Needless to say, she wished she hadn’t assumed spell check was doing her work for her correctly.
When your child struggles with spelling there are several strategies that can help him or her gain proficiency. First of all, since spelling is developmental, teach spelling systematically, like with the Pride Reading program, an Orton-Gillingham approach. Encourage your child to read, teach word families, sight words, word meanings, and phonics rules. Also, make learning new words multi-sensory to help solidify those spellings in your child’s memory. With different approaches like these, your child will struggle less and gain confidence in her spelling ability.
Resources
Reed, D. K. (2012). Why teach spelling? Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
Bear, Donald R, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, and Francine Johnston. (2000). Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
