How-To: Spell Words

Beginning spellers need to be encouraged and empowered.  Creative spelling is a natural part of young children generalizing the many rules they are learning about how our alphabet and language works.  Just as with any new skill, repeated practice and gentle feedback result in an increasingly accurate result.  What we want for young spellers is a sense of capability and confidence, so they are willing to take risks in their writing, and will not be hung up on it being perfect the first time, or really, any time.  I have seen older students paralyzed in their writing because they are afraid to spell a word incorrectly.

So, your child is writing a thank-you note, and asks you how to spell a word.  What do you do?

And so it continues until Ramona has written this:

gratitood

It is a slow, laborious process, and it is very tempting to simply tell them how to spell the word and be done with it, but that does not empower your child to apply what they're learning in school, and it makes you the keeper of the "right" answers, rather than them the discoverers and creators of meaning.

It is also very tempting to fix every. single. word. they misspell.  However, finding a balance between helping your child grow as a speller and not overwhelming them with everything they've done "wrong" is best.  I encourage you to prioritize and be strategic about showing your child the conventional way to spell a word:
1.  Words they write frequently (a pet's name, a favorite toy, topic, etc.)
2.  Words they "should" know how to spell (straightforward words, words that were studied at school)
3.  Words that may be indecipherable to someone else (i.e., so their writing can actually communicate)

Look at the writing when they are all finished, so their thought process isn't slowed by agonizing over spelling, and after having them change/correct a few, let it be (unless they are eager spellers and would like more assistance).  Praise them for thoughtful, careful spelling, not perfect spelling.  Have them read their writing back to you and themselves out loud so they can be sure it says what they want it to say.

After employing this "Well, how do you think it's spelled?" consistently, the back-and-forth dialog between you and your child will become internalized, and they will likely ask you "How do I spell...?" less frequently, and simply take the initiative to sound it out on their own.  This is the goal: for them to rely on their own skills and knowledge, and not be dependent on the adults in their lives to spoon feed them everything.

Finally, don't feel like you MUST help your child sound out every single word every single time.  You will not be a terrible parent if you write out some words for your child to copy!

Praise the thoughtful process, praise the improvement and growth over time, and don't expect or encourage perfection!