Spellings are something that your child may start coming home with when they hit a certain age in primary school. All schools are different and while some might send them home with a set of spellings each week to learn, other schools might integrate spelling practice within the lessons. No matter what happens, it is a good skill and habit to get into to help your child learn how to spell. Not only by remembering words but also by using the phonics sounds and recognising different spelling rules. There is no denying it, the English language is a hard one to grasp in terms of reading and writing. So here are some of the ways to help your young child with spelling.
Tracing letters and words
If your child is particularly young and getting spellings, then a great way to start things off is to trace the letters and words. You can grab a piece of paper and do this yourself, or print out some sheets online. This will help them to recognise the order of the letters and learn to write them out.
Spelling games
One of the easiest ways to help a child to learn their spellings is to play games with them. A quick look online will help you to identify some of the best games to play, depending on the age and the complexity of the spellings. Some examples include splitting the spellings in half and asking your child to match them up or having all of the letters spread out and asking your child to put them in the correct order. Once you start researching them you might find that you come up with your own games to keep your child interested.
Reading them
There is no denying that reading the spellings is always going to be one of the best ways to remember them. You can ask your child to read through them, and then cover them up while you test your child to see how much they have remembered. The more they read them, the more they remember.
Writing practice
Writing practice is always a great option as well. The more they can write them down, the more they will remember them. Many schools encourage this method and say writing them out 4-5 times is a great way to help the spellings to be cemented in their minds.
Using letter magnets or bath letters
Another great way to make spellings fun is to use letter magnets and bath letters. This is great to help encourage them to read but also to sort the letters into the right order. This is spelling practice without it feeling like it is. The more they can do this, the more those spellings will become easier to learn. You can fit in spelling practice while they are in the bath at night, or using the magnet letters in the kitchen while you are cooking tea. The more practice they get, the more they will remember them.
Create stories with the spellings
If you are particularly creative then you can create stories using the spellings. Each time you come across a word ask your child to read and spell it. Or leave out the spellings as blanks in your story and ask your child to fill in the gaps with the spellings and words they have to learn. Another great way to help a child remember particular spelling rules is to associate the spellings with something they will remember. “I” before “E” except after “C” and other similar notions.
Don’t force it
Spellings are not always the easiest thing for your child to grasp and it can feel more like hard work than reading their book, so don’t force it. Instead, pick up on the cues of your child. They might not always want to learn their spellings, but if you can do a bit of practice each day it will make things much easier. A combination of different ways can often help to mix things up and will mean there is less likely a reason to feel bored or unengaged in the activity.
Make it fun
Finally, make it as fun as you can. The more fun they have learning, the more chance you will have of them taking the information in and remembering it. Spellings are never an easy thing to learn, but making it fun and an activity you do together will help your child to be more engaged in what they are doing.
Hopefully, these tips will help you to when it comes to your young child learning their spellings.