How to Help Children Learn to Spell
Spelling is a challenging skill for many students, but one they should develop early in school. They need frequent practice in a variety of activities. Spelling does involve rote memorization, but there are many ways to help students improve their spelling ability. Teachers can play games in the classroom that are fun and educational. There are also many Internet spelling sites with interactive games and puzzles that provide additional practice.
Instructions
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Directly teach spelling skills instead of writing words on the board for kids to copy. When you introduce the words for the week, lead the class in a brief word study. Knowing a word's language of origin and function as a part of speech will help students learn spelling patterns and phonetic techniques for determining correct spellings.
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Practice spelling every day. Recite words together, spell them, then say them again. This is a rote and mechanical procedure, but is effective in helping them remember. Have children clap or snap their fingers as they spell as an alternative.
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Post spelling rules as visual reminders. There are many exceptions to the rules, and kids will benefit from being able to look at a poster or wall chart with a few of the most common ones listed. Write rules like "i before e, except after c" and "When two vowels are together, the first one talks, the other one walks" on a poster. Remind students to refer to rules often.
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Make spelling fun by playing classroom games. Write the letters of a word on the board, then call on a student or a small group to come up and unscramble the letters to form a spelling word. You can also set a timer for one or two minutes, depending upon the level of word difficulty. Another way to play this is by displaying alphabet cards on a word wall or on the board and have the kids come up and position the letters to spell the word correctly.
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Tell students and parents about Internet sites that help kids practice spelling skills. Gamequarium and Spelling City are two of many online sites where kids choose from activities that test their spelling knowledge. Games are interactive and many of them include sound effects. The parent or child can enter the current spelling list on Spelling City, which will generate games and quizzes.
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References
Resources
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