Parents and teachers both know how important spelling skills are for children. With good spelling, reading is easier, and children won’t fall behind in their assignments because of how long it takes to simply read through the homework. Spelling skills make writing easier, of course, and not only will a child be able to finish their homework or tests more quickly, they won’t run the risk of losing points for spelling errors. Unfortunately, teachers don’t always have the time they need to focus on each individual child during class during the day, which is why it’s so important for parents to step in at home, and help their children practice spelling outside of school. Here are six quick and easy ways to help your child learn to spell:
1. Make commute time into spelling time. Many parents spend lots of time with their children in the car, going from one activity to another. These short car trips are the perfect time to review spelling words, or to quiz children on the words they need to learn. Depending on the length of the journey, you might only have time to go over one or two words, but every little bit of help is valuable. For those long car trips in the summer, think about purchasing a hand-held spelling game for your child. If there’s more than one adult in the car, they can take turns with the spelling review. If there are two or more children, why not try a spelling bee?
2. Create individualized spelling lists to focus on problem words. Whether your child misses a word once, or has constant difficulties remembering how to spell a word, it’s very useful to create a special list of those words that they can use to review. If you’re using the Ultimate Spelling software system, creating these lists is quick and easy, and allows the child to review the words using the games and quizzes. You can also create flash cards to use in review sessions.
3. Find creative ways to learn words. When your child brings home a list of spelling words to study, work with your child to make up a story using as many of them as possible. Have the child write out the story and then read it out loud to you. The creativity required to come up with the story, the images associated with the story, and the practice writing and reading the words will all help your child remember the words and how to spell them.
4. Practice the right way to learn words. It’s best to correct errors in spelling as soon as they’re made. For that reason, instead of having children study a long list of words, then practice writing out that long list, then go back to the original list and correct their mistakes, work on words one at a time. Flash cards are ideal for this. Show the child the word on the flash card and let them study it for a minute. Hide the card, and ask the child to write down the word, or spell it out loud, or both (remember, the more ways they study a word, the easier it is to learn by heart). Correct any errors, then move on to the next word. If the child made a mistake, set the card aside for later review. Older children can do this process for themselves.
5. Review spelling patterns. There are some basic sound/letter combinations that children can learn to help them spell words. For example, you could look at the words night, fright, delight, and sight to practice the I-G-H-T pattern and its sound. It’s useful to point out words like bite and site that have the same sound, but different spelling; this will help children start to group words by letter patterns, which makes learning easier.
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