Daunted by teaching children their ‘there’ from their ‘they’re’?
Spelling might feel scary, but it’s possible to make the process easier! This guide supports your child’s language development with tips on spelling rules, how to avoid misspellings, and enjoyable ways to improve their spelling.
Why does spelling matter?
Exasperated learners might ask, “What’s the point? Why does spelling matter?”
Yet the importance of spelling cannot be understated. Put simply, spelling is an essential means of communication. Bad spelling can change the meaning of a word completely e.g., confusing stationary (still) and stationery (office supplies).
Poor spelling in the workplace or job interviews can give the impression of incompetence and affects how others perceive you.
At what age should a child be able to spell?
Every child learns at a different pace, but most children can recognise letter sounds and spoken words by 4 or 5 and spell simple words by 6 or 7.
Typically, children can spell their own name by 3 years old. Teaching your child to spell their own name is a great way to motivate them to learn and solidifies a sense of identity.
Here are some tips to help them spell their name:
Write your child’s name on their pictures
Label their belongings with their name
Draw their name in giant letters with chalk on the pavement or patio
Draw their name in sand at the beach
Sound out the individual letters as you write
Show them their name in capital letters first
How is spelling taught at school?
Spelling is an integral part of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence.
Most children will be introduced to spelling through phonics, a method of teaching children to read using sound. Children develop phonics skills by linking spoken language with written language. When ‘sounding out’ words, children break words into smaller sounds or syllables which teaches them that letters represent different sounds.
Learning the relationship between letters and sounds in order to form words is a fundamental part of spelling. Children start to see sound patterns within words instead of a meaningless string of letters.
Children’s first attempts at spelling are ‘phonetically plausible’ versions of words. This may lead to spelling mistakes like ‘pursen’ instead of ‘person’ until they learn the correct spelling.
This isn’t something to worry about because most people read words better than they spell. As they develop their language skills, children learn the correct spellings of words. In Key Stage 2, children build on previous spelling progress while learning new word lists and exceptions. They’ll also learn spelling rules that include prefixes and suffixes i.e. word ends like -tious, -ence, and -cious.
Common English language spelling rules
Though other languages are more consistent, British spellings do have a pattern. While there are always exceptions, it is best to start with the common spelling rules to give your child a solid grounding. Diving into the many irregularities of English language will overwhelm and confuse them!
Keep these basics in mind:
Nearly every word contains at least one vowel (a, e, i, o, u).
A syllable is at least one vowel e.g., there is one syllable in ‘cat’ and two syllables in ‘monkey’.
The letter ‘c’ is soft before an e, i, or y (centipede, circle, cycle) and hard before everything else e.g., cat, cloud.
Likewise, ‘g’ is soft before e, i, or y (gerbil, giant, gym) and hard the rest of the time (gorilla, glass).
Q is always followed by the letter ‘u’ (queen, quiz).
Double ‘f’, ‘l’, and ‘s’ after words with one syllable/vowel (stiff, spell, pass)
The sound ‘k’ at the end of a word is spelled ‘ck’ in short vowels (sack) and ‘k’ in everything else (silk).
People’s names and place names are always capitalised e.g., ‘Scotland’ instead of ‘scotland’.
A silent ‘e’ is added to words that end in ‘v’ (have, gave).
‘J’ is spelled ‘dge’ after a short vowel (hedge, fridge, bridge).
Learn the most commonly misspelled words
A good strategy to improve your child’s spelling is learning commonly misspelled words. Misspelling words as children is a part of learning, but if errors are left unchecked bad spelling will trip them up later in life. They could be marked down in exams for poor spelling or lose credibility in a professional context.
Give them a helping hand by studying the English words they struggle with.
‘It’s’, ‘two’, ‘frightened’, and ‘sometimes’ are words that young spellers often stumble over. Increasingly their familiarity with complex or irregular words will reduce the likelihood of misspelling words and boost their confidence in the classroom.
You can buy posters of the 100 most misspelled words to pin on the wall. Ask your child which words they struggle with. Get them to spell tricky words by saying them out loud and writing them down; studies show that a combination of reading and writing improves spelling.
Here are some fun ways to remember difficult words:
Because: Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants.
Friend: I will be your friEND until the END.
There: Ask children who mix up ‘there’ and ‘their’ to think about going HERE or THERE.
Wednesday: We Do Not Eat Sandwiches on Wednesday
Weird: ‘I’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ but some spellings are weird!
What is the best way to learn spelling?
Patience, practice, and consistency are key to learning how to spell. English is a tricky language so you might need to motivate your child to learn new words. The following techniques should help, and always remember to praise their effort!
Dolch words
Dolch words make up roughly 75% of words in English children’s books. Teaching your child high-frequency words in English will automatically increase their fluency and spelling ability. An excellent book to read at home is The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss which contains every word on the Dolch list.
Read together
Familiarity with correctly spelled words improves your child’s spelling ability by adding the words to their long-term memory. Pick books that contain words your child frequently misspells to increase their awareness of the correct form.
Write by hand
Writing by hand is another way to store tricky words in their long-term memory. However, his might be challenging for a child who struggles with handwriting.
Spelling games
Spell mousetrap with three letters: C-A-T!
Spelling games and riddles are a great way to engage children with letters and words. Alternatively, group spelling bees or playing ‘hangman’ are fun ways for children to flex their spelling skills without feeling bored.
Mnemonics
Mnemonic devices are memory aids that help children learn how to spell by weaving a story around a word. Mnemonics can become ‘cheatsheets’ for long, complex words. For example, Silly Ants In Dresses (said) or People Eat Orange Peel Like Elephants (people).
How to teach spelling to dyslexic children
Dyslexia is a learning difference that makes it harder to read, write, and spell. Dyslexia affects how the brain processes languages, and visual and auditory input. Dyslexia does not affect a person’s intelligence (Albert Einstein is a notable example).
However, children with dyslexia will fall behind their classmates if they aren’t given support early on. That’s why it’s so important to recognise signs of dyslexia to help your child reach their full potential.
So, how do you know if your child has dyslexia?
Signs to look out for include:
Written work that’s significantly poorer than oral speech
Messy work full of scribbled-out words and misspellings
Confusing similar letters like ‘b’ and ‘d’
Poor pencil grip
Reliance on phonetic spelling
Slow reading progress and no expression while reading
Find blending letters together challenging
Misses out words when reading or fails to recognise familiar words
Loses the thread of a story
Dyslexia can also affect numeracy skills and timekeeping, from telling the time to poor personal organisation. Behavioural signs include work avoidance, a ‘dreamy’, distracted disposition due to concentration difficulties, and tiredness.
Check British Dyslexia Association for more signs and next steps.
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