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Asks me how to spell something?

• “Say the word. What sounds do you hear? What letters make those sounds? Write those letters down.”
• “What are the first three sounds you hear? Start there and try again to spell the word.”
• “Can you stretch it out like a rubber band? Say the word slowly and listen to each sound.”
• “Tap or clap out the syllables in longer words. You can also put your hand under your chin as you say the word to separate the syllables. Your chin drops with each syllable. Each syllable has a vowel.”
• “Write the word two different ways. Which one looks right to you?”
• “What are your strategies for when you get stuck on spelling a tricky word? Teach me.” (Your child may need reminding that they actually have spelling strategies they learned in school.)

• “What word would make sense there?”
• “What did you want to say there?”

• “It’s hard to write when we don’t know the word. Let’s stretch it out together and see what sounds we hear.”
• “You want to know how to spell ‘dog’. Let’s see what we hear…dog…d-d-d, what do you hear? Hmm, what letter makes the ‘d’ sound?”

• If your child is resisting correcting their spelling mistake (even after you have had a conversation about what they hear in the word, what is tricky about that word for them, and have shown them the correct spelling on another piece of paper), then let it go. The potential for developing resistance to spelling and reluctance to taking risks in writing is worse in the long-run than a misspelled word.

• “I can see you’re really frustrated with writing. I made a mistake in how I was talking about your spelling. Let’s try a different way.”
• If your child is discouraged with writing and spelling, in general, here are some everyday things you can do with your child to practice.

• “Read your writing to me.”
• Beginning spellers may often not be able to read their own writing in which case, you prompt them. For example, here is how you could work with your child to find a solution:
  • “I wonder what word were you writing here?”
  • Phonetically say what you see – “I see ‘ran-bo’ for ‘rainbow’.”
  • “How can ‘rain’ be spelled?” (If your child needs support, you can write on another piece of paper – ‘rain’ or ‘rane’.)
  • “Yes! ‘Rain’ and ‘bow’ together spell rainbow.”
  • Have your child decide how they want to write it correctly on their homework.
• A quick response: “Which way do you think ‘rain’ is spelled – ‘rain’ or ‘rane’?” (Write two different ways so they can choose, then copy onto their work.)
• Remember: encourage your child to be their own editor.

• Instead of waiting for your child to say, “I can’t spell ‘Happy Birthday'” or “How do I spell ‘Patrick’s’ name?” you can write a message to your child when asking them to write the card: ‘Make a Happy Birthday card for ____.’ This way you can frontload the spelling of ‘Happy Birthday’ and the name so your child can copy (and practice reading).
• Create a word list on a piece of paper with words your child is likely to use when writing a card or letter. By easily and independently accessing this paper, they will feel more successful and empowered.

• “What are the top three foods you want us to buy from your list? Let’s spell those correctly together so that when we go shopping, we know exactly what to buy.”

• Poems, diaries, journals are for self-expression. Do not correct spelling in these items.