In order to teach your child spelling words, improve their general skills, and instil confidence in them, it’s essential to keep in mind that learning should be made exciting, engaging, and fun.
This is crucial for children who already struggle to spell certain words.
Here is a quick guide on how you can teach your kids spellings while removing the stress from the process.
Start teaching Phonics. Sooner, the better.
A good foundation in phonics is a must. It will help your kids sound out words and understand the basic building blocks of spelling.
After starting phonics for my child I noticed a difference in her interest and love for reading.
A good age to start phonics is 3 years.
Tips on teaching spellings –
- Focus on the SOUNDS in words rather than letter names.
- Group words with similar spelling & sound patterns together in a list so your kid can visually see what the words have in common.
The brain of a child LOVES patterns!
For example group words like these together:
air
Fair
Pair
Hair
- All spellings cannot be done phonetically so memorizing is unavoidable.
Break down longer words into subsets and teach. For example:
rain-bow
pol-ice-man
gar-den
- Make it a sing-song pattern which is easier for kids to learn.
- Focus on the SOUNDS in words rather than letter names.
- Use a highlighter to color only the letters the words have in common.
- Download online game apps or shows for learning spellings. Ensure monitored usage.
- Use interesting worksheets, games and activities to teach spellings and not just dictations
Games around Spellings
Games for kids are a great way to improve spelling skills. By playing these games, children can learn how to spell words correctly and practice spelling them in a fun and interactive way.
Wondering what games can you engage your kids in to fasten up the spelling learning process?
Stair Steps
This is an easy game to help your child memorize the way certain words are spelled.
- Have your child write each word as if they are stairs, adding one letter at a time.
For example:
S
Sp
Spe
Spel
Spelling Bee
- To play, children are given a list of spelling words, and they have to spell them correctly.
- The winner is the child who can spell the most words correctly in a given time.
Word Ladder
- One player starts with a word, and then the rest of the kids have to spell words that are one letter different from the given word.
For example, if the given word is “cat,” the next word could be “bat.”
- If a player takes a lot of time or can’t think of a word, he is striked out. The player who gets till the end wins the game.
Word Jumble
To play, you’ll need a list of spelling words.
- Players take turns picking a word and then jumbling it up.
- The other players have to guess what the word is.
- The player who guesses the most words correctly wins the game.
Word Battle
Word Battle pits two players against each other.
- Each player writes a list of words on a piece of paper. The words should be ones that the other player may not know how to spell.
- The two players then take turns spelling the words out loud.
- For each word that is spelled correctly, the player gets the point.
- The first player to reach 10 points wins the game.
Spell and Toss
This spelling game is perfect for kids who need to get up and move around.
All you need is a ball and a list of words.
- Write out a list of spelling words on small pieces of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bucket or hat.
- Kids pick out a word, spell it correctly, and then toss the ball into a basket or bucket.
- If the spelling is incorrect, they must put the word back and try again.
More tips that can help you –
- Let them get creative.
- Write words out by hand.
- Encourage reading.
- Spell the word out loud.
- Keep words on display.
- Play games to practice.
- Teach typing.
- Understand mnemonics ( for yourself)
Hope this post helps!
Let me know if you have any more doubts and questions. Follow my blog for more such content.
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