- In this post, we are going to review 5 tools needed for building better spelling skills.
- Just like we have tools that help us cook, clean, complete our daily tasks, and take us from one location to another, there are also tools that help us learn to spell and write more accurately.
Spelling Tool #1: Letter names and sounds:
Reading is the ability to go letter by letter in a word and say the sounds for those letters. Writing is the ability to go sound by sound in a word and write the letters down that make those sounds. Recognizing letters and knowing their sounds is essential for building spelling and reading skills.
Below you will find two awesome videos that have proven to be very helpful for my tutoring students. Play them often.
Spelling Tool #2: Short vowel practice
If you have visited my blog before, you probably know that I think vowels are the most important letters in the alphabet. I believe we should work on vowels before worrying about consonants. Because an a, e, i, o, u or y is used in every syllable of every word, vowels knowledge is critical for building spelling skills.
If you’d like more info about why I think vowels are the most important letters, check out this post:
Spelling Tool #3: Long vowel spelling patterns
Long vowel spelling patterns are worth special attention. I have a post for each vowel. Find the link for Long Vowel A below.
Spelling Tool #4: Sound boxes
I love sound boxes. If you don’t have special sound box paper, just draw squares for your kid. Find out how to use them here:
Spelling Tool #5: Syllables
Focusing on syllables is extremely helpful for accurate spelling. Learn more in the link below.
- When I introduce the Golden Rule of Spelling to a student, I always use the child’s name as the very first example.
A final thought…
I’d much rather see your child write sentences that have a lot of errors than be so afraid of making a mistake that he/she freezes and can’t put anything on the page. Remember that writing sentences takes a multitude of skills, and that professional writers pay people to proofread their work and fix the mistakes.