Two Keys to Quick Spelling Fluency
Spelling can seem so daunting because there are so many words in the English language,...or are there? Actually, only 300 words in the English language make up 65% of our spelling and reading needs! So, cut through the fluff and focus on the words we really use. Unfortunately, some of those words are what we call "sight words" and don't follow basic phonetic patterns, so spelling by sound can be difficult.
Secondly, many words that rhyme are spelled similarly, like light, fight, night, tight, etc. If a student can learn -ight, they can spell a bunch of words that use that ending. If you teach your student words in rhyming/spelling groups, they have the added help of remembering one word then triggers their memory for another word.
Secondly, many words that rhyme are spelled similarly, like light, fight, night, tight, etc. If a student can learn -ight, they can spell a bunch of words that use that ending. If you teach your student words in rhyming/spelling groups, they have the added help of remembering one word then triggers their memory for another word.
Ways to Practice the Common Words
- My standard present and practice spelling exercise: the, th_, t_ _, _ _ _. To help my audio learner, she also has to say the letters as she writes them.
- If after several days, my child still cannot spell the common word without the scaffold, then I isolate the missing letter(s) and draw or doodle on them to make them stand out (add a smiley face, for example). Then we practice the scaffold exercise with the extra doodle. Or if it is a group of letters that go together, I will write the word with those letters missing for my student to fill in multiple times with the drawing. In my resources section below, I will include a link to a resource that teaches this concept well.
- Another way to make the missing letters stand out better is to always say the spelling of the word in same sing-song way, emphasizing the missing letters with a deep voice or high voice, for example.
- When mastery is achieved, instead of quizzes or isolated exercises, we continue to review our mastered spelling words in the penpal letters we write to friends. I write my child's dictated letter putting blanks where the target spelling words go.
How to Practice Rhyming Words
- Have the student write several times the common ending shared by the group of words: -ight, -ight, -ight, -ight.
- As with the common words, create blanks to fill in for each letter: -ight, -igh_, -ig_ _, -i_ _ _, - _ _ _ _.
- Then add in the beginning letter sound option: light, fight, sight, bright, night, etc. Always start with the same word when writing the group down, so that word becomes the leader word for the group. For example, this is the "light" group. This creates a trigger if a student forgets. For example, you can remind the student that bright is spelled like light.
- For any of these exercises, if a student doesn't like or struggles with the physical act of writing, then trace in sand or use a word processor (my son had to learn how to type early on).
** For all of these exercises, remember your 5-Minute Homeschool rule, don't spend more than 5 minutes on spelling. Don't work on more than 3 new words at a time. Divide that 5 minutes up into new words and review words.
My Favorite Spelling Resources in the 5-Minute Homeschool
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