How to Help Children to Spell Better

Teaching a child to spell can be a daunting task. It's just a fact that some people are great spellers while even some very intelligent people - are not. Even so, you can help your child to be a better speller than ever with a little time and patience and these tips.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Read closely whatever your child writes. See if you can spot a pattern to his or her poor spelling. Maybe it's just "ie" and "ei" words or those that have repetitive letters. Finding a pattern will make it a lot easier to know what to work on.
2. Learn some mnemonic (a tough word to spell anyhow) tricks. How about "There's a cop chasing a hag towards us" in sarcophagus? Or the principal is the pal (both end in "pal") who teaches you the rules or principles (both end in "les"). You can make things memorable with words in a little word game.
3. Try using the letters in a little sentence. Eva and Ida are neighbors (e before i here) or Irene and Edna really believe (for i before e). Just make them up and the sillier the better because they'll stick better when they're ridiculous.
4. Play word games with your poor spellers. Circle a word, children's crosswords, anagrams, and even hangman games all help words to be less daunting. You can make these games up for your kids or find them online for free at many sites.
5. You can even hold spelling bees with your children. Give them points that they can turn in for goodies. When they get 10 right words they get a token and 10 tokens and they can rent a movie. Perhaps for 100 tokens, they can get a new game. Make it to suit your children and your budget.
6. Remember that spelling is not as easy for some as others. Its no reflection of intelligence; it's a neuromuscular skill that some are more gifted with genetically than others. If your child is a poor speller, help him to understand that it doesn't mean that he isn't as smart as other kids. Many people with genius IQ's have been horrible spellers. Encourage him and help him to practice and make it as fun as you can. However, don't let it be something that either of you measure his IQ or his worth by.

Tips & Warnings

• Make it fun. Take the pressure off and have fun with games and little tricks. Your kids will love you for it.
• Don't make spelling such a big deal that kids feel lousy about themselves if they don't get it all right. Kids are not that resilient when it comes to self esteem and no one's opinions count more than a parents.