Working with your child to help him become a better speller is a worthy goal. Spelling is closely connected to reading, and as a child's ability to spell increases, so does their reading proficiency, according to R. Malatesha Joshi, professor of literacy education at Texas A&M University. Good spelling can have a snowball effect as children who can read well tend to do better in school overall. You can do many things to help your 10-year-old to feel more comfortable spelling and to increase her proficiency.
Step 1
Provide your child with authentic activities during which he can practice spelling. Write thank you notes together, ask him to copy down the grocery list as you dictate it, and write down activities on the calendar. Encourage him to keep a daily journal where he can write down his thoughts. The more writing is integrated into everyday life, the easier spelling will become.
Step 2
Teach your child to recognize spelling patterns in words. Point out that she already recognizes some of them, as the double-consonant word "bell" looks correct but a double-consonant word such as "bbel" does not. Teaching your child spelling patterns for the silent "e," for example, can give her spelling skills a boost.
Step 3
Ask your 10-year-old to draw words with which he is having an especially difficult time. For example, the word "city" can be drawn so that the letters resemble tall buildings. Encourage your child to spend some time turning the word into a colorful picture, and chances are that he'll always remember how to spell that particular word.
Step 4
Watch closed-captioned television together and ask your 10-year-old to identify misspelled words. Make a game out of it, and give her a point for each misspelled word she catches. This activity can also increase fluency in reading and is recommended by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for this purpose.
Step 5
Keep a running list of all of the spelling words your child has had in school during the year. In fifth grade, most teachers give students a spelling list once a week. Save the spelling lists and review several words a day from them. You can quiz your child in the car when you go on errands or make a routine of reviewing spelling for a few minutes each evening after dinner. This will increase your child's retention of words learned earlier in the year. Keep in mind that some children will do better if they have an opportunity to write the words down rather than spelling them out orally.
Step 6
Allow your child time to determine how a word is spelled. Calculating which discrete sounds make up a word and putting them together are both parts of the process of learning how to spell and can make your child a better speller, according to Harvard University's Project EASE.
Step 7
Read to your child and encourage her to read on her own. When you read out loud, encourage your child to track the words with her eyes as you read. Give her books to read that are interesting and are on her reading level. The more your child sees the written word, the more proficient she is likely to become in spelling.
